It’s Friday in Ellös and we had hoped to leave by Sunday for easy-going cruising up to Fredrikstad.
When we began filling our water tanks today we found that the water was going into the bilge rather than into the tanks. We have three tanks: the two smaller tanks are empty, and the large main tank is 1/3 full. Unfortunately it’s a long holiday weekend and we’ll probably have to wait until Monday to get the issue resolved.
The good news part of our efforts to fill the water tank is that Adam and I had to move the boat by ourselves to be close to a water tap. We are happy to report that we did just fine leaving the dock, pulling out of the harbor to turn around, moving into the inner harbor, executing a 180° turn, and pulling alongside the dock. We have bow and stern thrusters, and they worked like a charm. It also helped that there was no wind!
We’ve continued to busy ourselves with stowing our gear, spare parts, and accessories. We are making good progress. Tomorrow we plan to begin our day at the bakery, and then we will inflate our dinghy, and hopefully get it raised up on the davits at the stern of our boat.
Luckily we found the instructions in English online.
We have a small washing machine in the head and have done laundry several times over the past week. Laundromats are not common in Sweden, so we are very glad we have the washing machine. The knobs and instructions on the washing machine were in Swedish, and the instruction manuals were in about 30 languages other than English.
Your knowledge and explanation about a sailboat is amazing. I wouldn’t have a clue where to start nor the understanding. Definitely looks like a beautiful area.
We’re not as proficient as you might think!! There’s lots and lots of new stuff we are experiencing… Some of the types of docking we’ll be doing for the first time… and with a brand new BIG boat. It’s scary & intimidating. There’s always a first time!