Celebrations

Pancakes for breakfast was the fuel for another perfect downwind sail. The swell out of the fjord did not look promising but as soon as we got out and around the corner, we could surf the waves. Mostly sunny, we passed many cool fjords. Axel was owning the steering with the waves and turning in to a real sailor. Beautiful baked toasties caused Angela to feel slightly off but then also cured the sickness a bit. Except for that, the day was really all you could ask for! Closing in on our anchorage spot - subtropical looking islands on Google Maps by the lightblue water that surrounds them - we tried some more fishing. Axel wanted to catch a fish for his birthday. Eventually he did; a coalfish. Merel tried gutting it but damn it was a slippery one. She managed. The spot we found was magical. In between two of the many islands, looking out on a lighthouse. While preparing for a swim we discovered we were surrounded by jellyfish, we could see that because the water was so clear we could see our anchor. As we had a birthday on board, we had to make a cake. In a pot. On the stove. Luckily Angela had some sort of spunge cake in mind and she could whisk with a manual whisker. We all tried. Russel was doing Allright. But the Dutch got cramp and lost power after the first minute or two. Impressive. While baking the 3 layers of the cake, we had to do something, so Catan it was ofcourse. And GUESS WHAT!! MEREL WON. Her highlight of the trip, she still cant stop talking about it. Finishing the game at 23:30 meant we had to hurry packing the picknick and getting up to the lighthouse to celebrate a 25th birthday. Game was on. We managed and 2 minutes before 12 we sat with beer, old Dutch cheese on the lighthouse, watching a sun that would not set for another two months and feeling grateful for our friendship, sailboats, the arctic and all else what live gives. Merel raised an idea to put a selftimer on the ground to make a group picture and the 10 second challenge to make it back up began. Eight or nine failed attempts before the birthday boy managed to get grab the railing and see the camera at second 10. Finally we managed to get ourselves to bed at 2. Wild nights!

The next morning was an early one, as there did not seem to be any sheltered anchorages for a while south of us, so we had to cover some distance. Beautiful weather again and TURKISH EGGS with selfmade naan for breakfast, veeery much worth the long wait. While gull winging. And a 3 layered lemony cake with jam and cream filling and chocolate sprinkles on top. What more can one wish for? Indeed. Candles. But: no fire on the boat. So matches were lit on the cake. More great sailing and cake in the afternoon and A WIN FOR AXEL ON CATAN!! Or did we let him for his birthday? We got another beautiful spot in the middle of many small islands at the only mooring bouy in the area. Some pasta bolognese and more cake for dinner. We finished it in one day. What else can you do if you dont have a fridge?Read more