Yesterday it was time for us to join the sailing ship Gratia, a 30 metre long sailing ship from 1900. The ship belongs to the Swedish Cruise Club's Sailing School Foundation and we had the chance to try out a sailing course over a weekend. We will tell you more about the sailing school and all our experiences on board over the next few days. Here is a small picture bomb from the first day!
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ShareEmbarkation in Nynäshamn
We had been told that we would sign on in Nynäshamn on Friday afternoon, and took the commute south after work. Excitedly we looked around the harbour, and there she was. Wow! It not only felt like signing on to a ship, but also like signing on to another era.
Meeting with officers and crew
Who would we meet on a sailing course like this? We had no idea... Now we know that there are a bunch of happy, positive and nice people on board.
The ship has a master, two mates, a trainee mate, two instructors, a cook, a trainee cook and a crew of 13 people, including Peter and me. The crew is a mix of young and old, women and men. Some are experienced sailors, while others (like me) have barely sailed before.
Calm weather and difficult words
All Friday evening we had calm and sunny weather. Maybe we could have had a little more wind in the sails, but on the other hand it was lovely in the sun. What about the sailing? It is really cool to be involved in hoisting and salvaging the sails on this old sailing ship. We in the crew get clear and good instructions, but oh boy, what a lot of difficult words ...
As I write this it is late evening, we have docked in Utö harbour and I am far too tired to remember any new sailing terms... We'll see if I can do better tomorrow! What are your sailing experiences?
This sailing event was organised in cooperation with the Swedish Cruiser Club Sailing School Foundation. The texts, pictures and opinions are as usual our own.
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Lena - good for the soul says:
How lovely it looks. At least to look at pictures. I have never sailed and it is not something that attracts me. Possibly I could sail if there was no wind. I, who gets seasick from a car wash, would not feel so good. My stomach turns when I see a leaning sailboat on TV. I blame it on the fact that I have a good balance 🙂.
Have a great day! I will. Going on an adventure in the forest all day.
Hug Lena
06 May 2017 - 7:26
Helena says:
Haha, if you sail when there is no wind, you won't get there quickly 😉 Wishing you a nice day in the forest!
06 May 2017 - 8:36
Matts Torebring says:
You are Real Adventurers! In the full sense of the word! I guess it's an incredibly nice feeling, just to hear the water rushing along the boat, the birds, the sound of the waves, no engines, all under the condition that there is enough wind.
I'm not a boat person myself. I think it looks so scary to see all the little pebbles, big rocks in the water. I myself would certainly steer wrong and hit one of them. Have a great trip.
06 May 2017 - 7:50
Helena says:
Surely it is a fantastic feeling to be out on the water! Not least in a boat like this where you get so close to nature 🙂 And luckily it's not us who control 😉.
06 May 2017 - 8:37
Imelda says:
It looks really lovely but nothing for me, I get seasick so easily. Have a daughter who sailed for many years and who never got over her seasickness but thought it was so worth it anyway. Have a cosy sailing trip!
06 May 2017 - 8:04
Helena says:
Impressive of your daughter to sail despite seasickness! I don't usually get seasick so easily I think, but if it's storming I'm not sure ...
06 May 2017 - 8:38
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
How wonderful it looks and what happiness to get to this sailing on the most beautiful weekend of the year so far! Keep up the good work!
06 May 2017 - 8:27
Helena says:
Lovely with the sun! Have a nice weekend!!!
06 May 2017 - 8:41
Ama de casa says:
What a fantastic ship! And what lovely weather! The fact that it does not blow so much is slaps you have to take when the sun is shining so nicely 🙂 .
I've done a lot of sailing. Had dinghies of various kinds in the cottage when I was little. Then my brother has had a larger sailing boat for many years in Vaxholm, and we have travelled on it many times. (By the way, I usually tease my brother by calling all the sheets, halyards, ropes and everything else "sailing lines", it's much easier to remember 😉 ).
We also rented a large sailboat with the ski and boat gang once, and "chugged" around the Greek islands for a week. Absolutely wonderful! 🙂
Have a nice sailing trip and a lovely Saturday 🙂 .
06 May 2017 - 9:03
Helena says:
Oh how good! "Sailing laces", I should probably start with that, haha 😉 NOT easy to keep track of everything new ... Luckily there are others on board who have better control than me 😉 Glad you have sailed so much! Sailing in Greece sounds wonderful!
06 May 2017 - 9:57
Lennart says:
Lovely weather you had, at least at the beginning!
06 May 2017 - 9:17
Helena says:
Yes indeed! And it's sunny this Saturday too (at least so far ;))
06 May 2017 - 9:57
Across the board says:
For some reason, Stig-Helmer and a sailing trip come to mind....I don't know why because none of you have moustaches....
06 May 2017 - 9:22
Helena says:
Haha, that would be my awkwardness in relation to all the ropes and sails and stays then... 😉 Otherwise, it doesn't feel very much at all like the Society trip 😉.
06 May 2017 - 9:59
Marina says:
Awesome! What a fun thing to do! Me? Nope, I've never been on a sailboat (unless you count when it was moored at a jetty).
06 May 2017 - 9:29
Helena says:
No, moored at the jetty doesn't really count 😉 I'm also a novice sailor, but interesting to try!
06 May 2017 - 9:59
Ditte says:
We have sailed a lot both in Stockholm and Åland/Finland archipelagos . over to Gotland and along the Swedish east coast and I have really liked the sailing life. Some sailing with chartered boats that we have sailed ourselves has been done in Croatia and in Turkey.
Your luck is great and maybe you'll get another taste. It is a bit like motorhome life, but it takes longer and you are dependent on the wind.
Many years ago, I was out for a week with a ship, model Ä, which is similar to Gratia and it is so special with these old ships. The sails are heavy and there is a lot of climbing in the masts.
Wishing you great days.
06 May 2017 - 10:22
Helena says:
Great that you have sailed so much, and even older ships like this! Certainly there are similarities between boating and motorhome life, but also differences 😉.
06 May 2017 - 10:55
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:
How are our landlubbers doing! But wonderful pictures we want to see more
06 May 2017 - 10:32
Helena says:
Haha, well, we do the best we can. I have just learnt how to make a pole roast.
06 May 2017 - 10:56
Role o Carina says:
Lovely on the lake in fine weather!
Enjoy......
06 May 2017 - 11:34
Helena says:
Isn't it great to be on the lake! And even better in fine weather of course 🙂
06 May 2017 - 12:33
JoY says:
Have had a sailboat for many years and done Stockholm's beautiful archipelago. Wonderful.
On Wednesday, I was in Karlslund marina and waved to my friend, Magnus the solo sailor, who was sailing a boat down to Malmö. He has also had bad wind and has just arrived in Limhamn.
Have a nice weekend on board
Hugs
06 May 2017 - 11:51
Helena says:
Tough to sail alone! And we don't have much wind today either. Let's see how it will be this afternoon!
06 May 2017 - 12:35
Husis blog says:
How wonderful it looks and hope you have as good weather as I have, a little wind and a clear blue sky. My male owner has sailed a lot in his youth when his parents had a sailboat. So it has been both pleasure sailing and shorter competition sailing. He remembers the slightly howling sound of the wind and the boat tilting, a wonderful feeling.
Wishing you a nice sailing weekend!
06 May 2017 - 13:17
Helena says:
Fun that the owner has sailed! 🙂 We had a little quiet in the morning, but then the wind came and there was a lot of sailing and cruising! 🙂
06 May 2017 - 23:11
Monet says:
I have also been sailing since I was very young. My grandfather had a nice two-masted sailboat in Arkösund, I have since grown up with sailing summers and my former husband (naval officer) and I spent all summers in our own sailboat in the Stockholm archipelago. All three children grew up with that kind of summer holiday and are now good sailors and their own boat owners as adults. Now it is the grandchildren's turn to grow into this life. The French grandchildren are also lucky with a French sailing father, used to the rough and tumble of the Atlantic, who has just bought a nice sailing boat with a berth (very difficult to get here) close to us here in the Mediterranean. Good friends have a great sailing boat down here (also rented as a charter - you should try it - check on google on Windigo and his website) so we have also sailed in this fantastic Mediterranean to the paradise islands of Porquerolles and Port Cros. For us, it was therefore not the least bit difficult to get into motorhome life. Almost everything reminds, including the interiors. Boat on land we called it. Gratia is a nice old boat. My mum, now 92 years old, took a multi-week course on board her when, in her sixties, she wanted to go from being just a witch and a country bumpkin to an active sailor in their then large motor sailor. So it is not surprising that we lived 50 metres from the sea in Stockholm's courtyard before it became Provence. I also recommend that when the worst fatigue is over that you really try to quickly memorise the most common sea terms. Everything just gets confusing otherwise and the terminology is there so that everyone knows what everything means and can act quickly and collectively. A few "strings" won't do then? Have a wonderful trip in the most beautiful time in the archipelago!
06 May 2017 - 13:48
Helena says:
Great that you have so much experience of sailing! Funny also to hear that your mother took a course on this particular boat! 🙂 Of course, the terms have a meaning and of course we try to learn to the extent possible, but I feel a limitation when it comes to what I can get in during a weekend 😉
07 May 2017 - 6:20
BP says:
Fantastic pictures!!! Oh what great weather you had for that sailing trip. What a thing!!! The sailing terms are unimportant in this context if you ask me - a string is still a string, right;-)?
I have only sailed the Flying Dutchman and Catamaran, but have never been on a sailing trip like you - on a boat this big.
06 May 2017 - 23:03
Helena says:
This is new for us too (although Peter has sailed other smaller types of boats) and really cool to be involved!
07 May 2017 - 6:22
Arletta Ellington says:
When you say that you go to Utö for the night, I think of Evert Taube's "Vals på Mysingen" where the chorus is "We go to Utö for the night" and it ends "goodnight small waves that cluck, goodnight small waves goodnight". They were probably also very tired after a day at sea, just like you. How nice to be lulled to sleep on such an evening!
Ellington
06 May 2017 - 23:30
Helena says:
What fun that he sings about that, I did not know that! 🙂
07 May 2017 - 6:23
Arletta Ellington says:
You can find that song here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyChDgVKWOs
13 May 2017 - 8:04