The first week in Sweden because of the refit of the SeaQuest is over. A beautiful week in which we switch in a short time from the free boat life to a working life from a nice holiday home close to the shipyard. This transition reminds us very much of our arrival in Florida in 2017 and getting settled there. Slightly less violent of course but there are similarities because it was then as now also boat cleaning and temporary new house furnishings, and even the houses are similar and it is also warm weather 👍😊. Always special to experience how such a change can happen and how you can make a transition to a completely different life in a short time.

We sail in four days from Copenhagen to Sweden, to Adams Boat Care on the Vindön peninsula on the northeast coast of Orust. Through overnight stays on the Danish island of Anholt and three beautiful anchorages in Sweden. On the south side of the small island of Hönö off the coast at Gothenburg, in a beautiful bay northeast of Orust and the last night around the corner from the shipyard. It is beautiful summer weather with little wind. So lots of motorbikes and just a bit of sailing in the direction of Anholt. The water in Sweden is nice and warm so we swim several times a day and even twice for breakfast 🙂. Sailing through the Swedish skerries is very varied, along beautiful villages, through narrow passages and over stretches of open water. At Tjörn (island under Orust) we encounter hundreds of boats sailing high by the wind that participate in the annual trip around Tjörn; a beautiful sight. A nice way to end the summer holiday while the girls do their own thing in the Netherlands.

On Monday morning we have an appointment with Carl and Anna, the owners of Adams Boat Care. We receive a friendly welcome and are lying in a good spot at the beginning of their jetty. It's nice that the boat can stay there and doesn't have to go into their hall. They take plenty of time to go through our whole wish list. Good to hear that the materials for the aft cabin have already been delivered by Rassy. Unfortunately they can't start this week because they are busy preparing for the Open Yard at Rassy in Ellös where they are. Nothing to do and that gives us a little more time to prepare some things in the boat in the weekend 😅.

We clear the boat and drive with a rental car and bags full of stuff to our temporary home. Cycling is not possible here, too hilly and little space for cyclists on the narrow roads. What a beautiful house, we already saw that on the pictures of Airbnb, but it really is 👍😊.

The house is very tastefully decorated, with light colors in Scandinavian style, large windows and a large wooden terrace around the house overlooking the south. We couldn't have done better 😊😊.

We set up the house in such a way that we have two good workplaces with good internet connection so we can make video calls without being bothered by each other. This is an important condition to be able to be here for a longer period of time. Toine is in the separate guesthouse which also has air conditioning. That's very nice this week with temperatures around 24 degrees and large windows facing south. I'm in the living room/kitchen. We both have a nice view over the water. Good to be able to work again and nice to notice last week that 'working from home' here goes very well 😃.

Groceries we do in the small local supermarket 10 min. drive or in the large supermarket in Uddevalla, 20 min. drive. You really need a car here. That's why Toine is going to pick up our own car next week if he has to be in the Netherlands for an appointment. To get a bit more in the Swedish mood we watch the Swedish/Danish crime Netflix-series 'Bron' in the evening.

On Friday afternoon we visit the annual Open Yard at Hallberg-Rassy in Ellös. That's only a half hour drive. Because of corona access is very limited, only by registration in advance so there is a maximum of 50 visitors per time slot. This is strictly regulated with registration of check in and out, and a sticker on your clothes with the time until when you may stay. We have all the time and space we need to look around outside and inside while we feel like we're alone, so few people we see. For example, we can take a closer look at an HR 48 Mk II which also has a centre bed in the aft cabin. Handy so we can take some measurements. Also nice to see the first new HR 50 under construction. And it's great to see that we both come to the conclusion that these two new boats won't make it to our own boat with the custom alterations we are going to do 😊😊. We regularly have email contact with Carl and Anna about additional wishes and sizes. It has already become quite a list, see SeaQuest refit list Sweden.

Saturday is a full day of work on the boat. We clean everything, including the bilge and testing the pumps. Toine disassembles the central heating in the aft cabin and we disconnect the batteries and put them in the cabin under the table. We also determine the height of the front bed and the height of the rear bench/table. We can now have it all made to measure and the table in the aft cabin is standard too high to make it a good place to work.

Today, Sunday is a day of sightseeing. We wait for some more loot. Just like in the Netherlands, the real heat has passed and the weather is changeable. We drive to the beautiful village of Grundsund, at the tip of this peninsula. Real Swedish with white houses and red roofs surrounded by rocks and boats. Luckily it is already after season here and therefore not so busy. It must be full during the summer. We eat a delicious lunch in a fish restaurant and after that we make a tough 9 km walk through a very varied landscape. We wanted to do it the other way around first, walk first and then eat. But the restaurant closed at 4 pm. This also goes well. The hike goes up and down small paths through birch, beech and oak forests, over rocks, along the coast with beautiful views and through meadows with sheep and lots of blackberries. Unexpectedly nice, also according to Toine 😎.

And now we're back home. We just had a nice video call with the girls. Eline had nice days with Thorold on a falcon in Friesland. Marinthe has had a better than expected introduction week in Maastricht 😃. On to a new week 👍.