at home in the houseboat - after storm Alfrida

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Now we are back in the houseboat after our trip in Sri Lanka, and it is clear that the storm Alfrida has been raging. It was not quite the same in the houseboat when we came home... Luckily we have thoughtful neighbours who check on the boat when we are not at home!

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Storm Alfrida

Storm Alfrida hit Sweden and northern Europe in early January 2019. The storm toppled many trees and caused power cuts across the country, which in many cases lasted for several days. In some places, it is actually still power cuts, and shops have run out of electricity here and there.

In the Bothnian Sea, the significant wave height was measured at 7.9 metres, with record waves of 14 metres, and the storm caused ferry services to be cancelled and bridges to close. In the Stockholm archipelago, wind speeds of an incredible 37 m/s were measured in the gusts, and on the mainland, wind speeds of 24 m/s were measured in the villages. So, how did our houseboat fare?

Holes about noise on the floor

When we got home, we realised that something had happened after storm Alfrida. We have lots of jars of spices and oils on the kitchen sink, and everything had gone in one direction. Some had continued down to the floor in the kitchen, and others had travelled down the stairs to the lower deck. The floor was full of salt and olive oil, and on the lower deck we had got a large olive oil stain on the carpet ...

Fortunately, we have wonderful neighbours who live right next door. They have a key to our houseboat and usually look after it when we are away. The morning after the worst storm winds, they went into our boat and fixed the worst mess. They straightened furniture that had fallen over and picked up cans from the floor and put them in our sink. Most importantly, they checked to make sure nothing serious had happened, and it hadn't.

Test in Storm Alfrida

The houseboat withstood the storm well, and the only thing visible on the outside was that our grill had been overturned. However, we know that the houseboat leaned heavily during the storm, and it would hardly have been comfortable to be at home, so perhaps it was just as well that we were in Sri Lanka.

If you're wondering how the other houseboats in the marina have fared, we can tell you that everyone seems to have done well, although some say they had trouble sleeping that night. And by the way ... if you have any good tips on how to remove olive oil from carpets, please share!

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