Near gale in Saltsjöbaden - 8/9 May 2017

Second day of the 2017 season. Negative temperatures during the night and light snow flowing around in the morning. Blessing once more the diesel heater in these circumstances!

Waterborne again - 7 May 2017

Very early wake-up this morning to go voting at the opening of the French embassy at 8:00. I was there at 7h45, and there was already a line of a good hundred people waiting! I just heard now the results of the vote and I am vey happy to have delays our time to set waterborne... 

Just a short ride to get the brunch at Artipelag, and reach Slatsjöbaden for the night. The weather forecast is for snow tonight...

Cooking on board - 26 April 2017

Maybe it is the never ending winter this year, but I have decided to start a new thread on this blog to report on cooking issues that I have been exploring in the previous years. You may have noticed this only in one of the recent posts on the blog, but I have been engaged in exploring "slow cooking" and "sous-vide" cooking for quite some time now, and would like to share our experience with you, as sailors on a boat...

Source: http://photo.ina.fr/volumeLR/ina_volume20101011/44292345_26797098/m_167707852_0.jpg 

There has always been an issue in getting fresh product on board of sailing boats to prevent scorbut. When the Dutch colonised the Dutch indies (Indonesia nowadays) they started producing wine in an attempt to replenish sailing ships on their way to Batavia with scorbut preventing "muscadet", first produced in 1659. From 1688, with French religious wars ongoing, the huguenots fleeing away from France started the production of scorbut preventing wine in the "French corner" of South Africa, which was instrumental in the trade with Dutch Indies. Still nowadays, you can find the best of French wine in that corner of the world...

There out to be a way to prevent scorbut for sailors without requiring to load bunch of wine bottles on board, like the "Shadok Marin". This is the aim of this new tab, to show you how nowadays, Belisama plans to prevent scorbut on board with our necessarily loading lots of small bottle in the boat.

You must believe in spring - 22 April 2017

21 March is long gone, but you still must believe in spring. This is the toughest time of the year in Sweden. Days are getting longer, but spring does not show-up. Finally, flowers have blossomed in Stockholm in the past week, a bit in advance compared with previous years. Belisama is ready to sail, but temperatures are still fluctuating around 0°C, and we are waiting for better conditions for the first cruise of the year.


The cherry trees on Kungsträdgården are at their best. But snow remains around. Weird!

"Sous vide" for the boat - 8 March 2017

The long and cold 2017 winter is prone to long and dark evenings preparing for the coming sailing season. The ongoing Stockholm boat show this week is the signal here of the end of the hibernation. Still a long way to go when looking at the car this morning though...

Let me tel you about "sous vide " cooking technique to ensure good fresh food available on Belisama all season long.

Last sailing before the winter - 13 November 2016

Last of the last for 2016. Temperature today was 1°C. Belisama had to get out in order to fill the tank for the winter, as it is advised to reduce as much as possible the air in the tank in the winter to avoid condensation. Therefore, a short 30 minutes ride to one of the fuel pump open at this time of the year!

Autumn gale, 7-9 October

This weekend, a gale was announced over the Stockholm archipelago. A good opportunity to stay home and rest a bit. But not with two visiting friends from Austria and Croatia!

8.5 knots with back winds...