Sailing Positive Waves

  When we decided to traverse a large portion of the Netherlands via the inland canals, the Standing Mast Route, we honestly had no idea what we were doing. Of course, we know how to handle the boat under power, how to dock, how to wait for opening bridges, and how to go through locks, but we had zero reference sources for the route, correct VHF channels, where to dock, etc. etc. Transiting the canals was a last minute decision for us, whereas a lot of people spend months, if not years, preparing for the trip. I love planning. I love lists, I love researching new destinations, I love guidebooks. (Hans might remember an epic fight we had on the steps of a cathedral in Florence, Italy back in 2008 when I was panicking because we were visiting a famous, historic city without a guidebook and I was certain we were missing all the “must-see” sights. As a teenager, I was always the self-appointed tour guide whenever we were in a new place. Honestly, the way to my heart is to let me be in char

  A container ship passing in front of our bow just north of Germany. This one was rather close, around 300 meters, but we watched them closely on AIS, we can only assume they were watching us, we both maintained our courses, and they passed safely by. It helps that it was daylight. At nighttime I like to keep a nautical mile distance, but that's impossible in busy shipping channels. A fast sail from Denmark to Germany After our LegoLand extravaganza, we pointed our bow south to Germany and the entrance to the Kiel Canal. From Korsor to Kiel it was approximately 65 nautical miles, about a 10-12 hour sail. We didn’t rush off in the morning because the winds weren’t forecast to build until around lunchtime, but build they did. We had a fantastic sail with the winds just aft of the beam and between 15-20 knots. Ideal sailing conditions for Positive Waves. We flew the code zero for awhile until the winds reached around 18 knots then we sailed under reefed main and jib. There wa

Fully embracing the warm, long evenings. Swedish summer is incomparable.  Hans returned to the boat on July 15 and the whirlwind began. With a little luck and some coordination, we were able to share one last Swedish anchorage with Malin and Joel on s/v Grandiosa. Of course we had champagne and snacks, and, as always, lots of laughs and fun. Our engine had an appointment with the mechanic the next morning, bright and early at 07:00. Matilda's new best furry friend, Stella. green hair dye, the best going away present from Malin & Mr. Gorilla! We weighed anchor a little after 6:00 and motored around the corner to the summer sailing mecca that is Marstrand. We had been there in the fall a couple times and the harbor was always nearly empty. Not so in the middle of July. Every slip was taken in the guest harbor and boats were rafted two to three deep. I went to the grocery store while the mechanic was working and was met with empty shelves! The check-up was routine ma