The Christening (continued)

Down below, the cabin proved equally impressive. Mahogany and holly floorboards partially cloaked in beige carpet, complementary beige upholstered easy chairs and settee, more mahogany paneling, lockers, and shelving, and a gleaming stainless steel gally were first to greet the eye. The well appointed V-berth forward, aft cabin, and navigation station also met our immediate approval. It was love at first site.

We spent the next day and a half in an orientation led by Roland Olsson, HR's head of sales, going over the boat stem to stern. We started by attaching and furling the sails. Then, the briefings began. Roland introduced us to the contents of the many owners manuals for all equipment aboard the boat, and proceeded through a systematic inspection and review of each piece of equipment. In the afternoon, favorable winds offered an ideal time for a test sail, during which we exercised the 55-hp Volvo Penta diesel, the electric furling mainsail, and the Furuno navigation system liberally. Each worked like a dream.

Back at the dock, we continued with more equipment orientation until five p.m. when we called it a day. Earlier, Roger had informed us that Friday was "Midsommer," a major Swedish holiday when most stores would be closed. This put a crimp in our provisioning plan, as we had reserved Friday as our biggest shopping day. So we had to accelerated our timetable and get as much shopping done as possible right away.

We had noticed an IKEA store a few exits north of the center of Gothenburg, so we blasted back across the island, onto the motorway, and into the city. There, we spent a few hours shopping for everything we could think of to supply the boat. Basics like dishes, utensils, bedding, tools, and the like. We found a large supermarket next to IKEA and stocked up there on staples, like pasta, rice, canned goods, baking supplies, juices, paper products, etc., etc., etc. Time ran out and we drove back to the boat, exhausted. We arrived near midnight with the western horizon still glowing red from the barely setting sun. We crashed instantly, setting the alarm for 8 a.m.

The next morning started with another delicious Swedish breakfast at a delightful cafe near the docks. Then, more orientation, focusing primarily on the engine room. We asked Roger and Roland to end our lessons by Noon so we could spend more time at the shops before they closed for the long weekend. We would pick up any final tutorials on Monday morning if necessary. We figured we would need the entire weekend to get settled into the boat, take another shake down sail or two, and rest enough to overcome jet lag. Plus, Vickie Vance over at HR Parts said some of the supplies we had ordered hadn't arrived yet and wouldn't until Monday.

Back in the car, we were starting to become familiar with the route to Gothenburg. This time, though, we detoured along the island's west coast so we could check out the yard where we would leave Windleblo for the winter. There, we met Johannes, an interesting character who had nothing but time to show us around his place. Huge cranes stood near ramps adjacent to docks occupied by several sailboats. Nearby, boats of various shapes and sizes lay in cradles inside cavernous storage buildings. There were specially paneled rooms where sails and upolstery were kept dry and others where batteries lined the walls. Masts and rigging rested peacefully on sawhorses under awnings. Johannes kept up a narrative about all we observed as we moved from station to station. His dialect qualified as Swanglish, kinda like Spanglish, but with a Swedish bent. Quite comical, actually, although it was obvious he knew his business. We left feeling good about where our boat would spend the winter. (We had been referred to Johannes by two reliable sources: 1.) Vickie Vance, the American who owns HR-Parts, and 2.) a fellow Mahina Tiare III alum and Portland, OR, resident Jim Noval who kept his 40, Ranidan, with Johannes for several seasons. I met Jim briefly in Ellos last year, and took a picture of Ranidan to email to him.)

After the detour, we raced back to Gothenburg to fit in more shopping before everything closed. In between stores, we stopped for a delicious lamb, rice, and ratatouille meal at a funky bistro in the center of town. Lots of young educated looking folks at adjacent tables. We figured we must have been near Gothenburg University, which serves some 60,000 students. Overall, this city seems very progressive. Besides the Iranian rally, we noticed the city was hosting an "Under 21" football tournament and the 13th World WAS Congress on Sexual Health this week. The town has a very cosmopolitan feel to it, with well dressed, good looking people walking down well swept cobblestone sidewalks fronting Rennaissance style buildings. No one smokes, everyone seems thin, all the streets are clean, and the buildings freshly painted. Very first world.

It was very late by the time we returned to Windleblo. Once again, we were fully spent and crashed immediately. This night, we slept for 10 solid hours, arising at Noon on Friday. After a hasty breakfast of Muesli and banana, I hustled off to return the rental car to Landvetter airport and catch public transportation back to Ellos. This ended up to be an eight hour ordeal involving four buses and lengthy layovers, valuable experience none-the-less as we will have to negotiate the bus system in September once we leave Windleblo with Johannes. Jocelyn made good use of my time away organizing and stowing our belongings and going for a nice walk through Ellos.

Upon arrival back at Hallberg-Rassy harbor, I was greeted by Jocelyn and our two friends Chris and Anne Adams, a British couple who had taken delivery of their new HR34 the day before we arrived. Chris had prepared a delightful supper of smoked salmon, salad, and potatoes for us all to enjoy. Before sitting down to eat, we took time for separate celebrations christening our boats. The HR folks had given each of us a bottle of Moet Chadron champagne and, as the sun finally set at 10:30 p.m., Chris took first honors, popping the top off his bottle and drizzling some champagne over his bow while I captured the moment on camera. Then, chanting the ancient sayings handed down to me on the Dolores River by John Renna, I paid homage to the gods, lords, kings and queens of the east, south, west, and north before pouring some of the precious juice over Windleblo's bow.

And with that, Windleblo was christened.