Bovallstrand

Woke up early and packed my things. After a quick breakfast we was on our way again. The first goal was Gothenburg and Daniel. The forth member of the crew. The roadtrip was tedious and I was happy when we arrived at Bovallstrand. Stretched my legs and took a necessary toiletbreak. The sun was out and the mood among us good. Eager to set sail we packed in our bags on the boat and David starting going over the boat's different parts to check that everything was set properly. It wasn't apparently since it took quite some time to get it ready. Me not knowing anything about boats and didn't want to be in the way followed Martina for a valiant effort of fishing. We didn't get anything but we had something to do at least.

After a while of fixing and headscrathing we left the harbour. Setting course for Smögen a popular island for boat tourists. David and Daniel set sail and turned of the engine. Only the wind and the water hitting hull could be heard. At that moment I could kind of understand the gist of sailing.

Arriving at Smögen the wind had picked up speed and we couldn't find any place to lay to. Everywhere we looked was filled with boats. The options we had was either to find a good natural harbour or return to Bovallstrand for the night. Not wanting to return we tried to find a good spot to lay during the night.

We had almost taken a whole turn around the island when we thought we had found a good harbour. But the wind's direction made it hard and David decided to go out of the harbour in hope of finding something better elsewhere. With his eyes focused on the navigational charts he was looking for a suitable place. The rest of us was feeling low on energy and had started to lose focus.

Suddenly I hear David screaming out. The second later I feel the boat flying upward almost as a car hitting a speedbump in high speed. Scrathing noises followed, then silence. We where stuck. The boat had hit a shallow and wasn't moving. David was swearing and jumping around on deck trying to assess the magnitude of the damages, looking for water inside of the boat and so on. Not finding any water leak David calmed down a bit. We started to wonder how to get the boat unstuck. Calling the coastguard was one option. Daniel shouted. A person on a jetski was approching. Waving him in we explained our situationen. He offered to pull us free. It was worth a try. And it worked. The boat was free. As thank you we gave him a beer then he was was on his way.

We decided to return to Bovallstrand for the night, making it easier to inspect the damages on the hull tomorrow. The trip back was kind of gloom. Talking about how lucky the boat didn't receive any major damage. David was still blaming himself and the rest of us tried to explain the it wasn't only his fault. None of us had been paying any attention. We all agreed on be more attentative hereinafter. When back in harbour we cooked dinner. Afterwards we played boardgames before going to bed.

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Grevie

Left without any place to live during the whole month of July David and Martina offered me stay at their place. I gratefully accepted since it was the best option I had. Even though I was a little bit anxious about it since it didn't want to strain our friendship. I knew it would be a bit intense since I also would join them sailing during their vacation. Living one and a half week on a cramped boat together would be intense enough for anyone.

The vacation came and we were on our way. We decided to stay one night at Grevie with David's parents at his childhood home outside of Båstad. David and Martina showed me around the place since both of them grew up in this parts. My favorite place was probably the beach by the swimming school. The next day we was going to pick up Daniel in Gothenburg and then continue for Bovallstrand where the boat was resting in harbour.

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Defying the weather

Came back from Stockholm late in the evening. David and Martina arrived just minutes before me to the apartment. Me and David took the bikes down to the pier for an evening swim. The water was surprising warm. While back home making ourself ready for bed David made me aware of the flashing clouds closing in over the city. Telling him about my wish of capturing the lightning on camera he asked why I didn't just bike down to the pier. Not finding any good argument why not I packed the nessasary gear and headed back to the pier. It had started raining. I could feel how my T-shirt started getting heavy and sticking to the skin. Arriving at the pier soaking wet I set up the camera. Swearing quietly for myself everytime a lightningbolt flashed over the sky. So many lost opportunities I thought to myself frustrated.

The hardest part was trying to keep the lens from collecting raindrops on the front glass. Nothing I had at my disposal was anyway near dry enough for it to work. It had started blow heavily and I could now feel how cold my clothes were. I tried to hold out as long as I could in hope of seeing more lightning but eventually I gave up. Only two photos was to my liking but it was enough for me to feel pleased. Hopefully the summer will give me more dramatic scenes as this.