They stayed for a couple of hours to continue to some of our real favourite places: Ellös (to visit the Hallberg-Rassy yard), Gullholmen (which really is a beautiful place) and Marstrand, where this 17 days expedition is planned to end.

I have my own thoughts why Smögen is like it is and Gullholmen always will stay a pearl: The Bridge. As long as Smögen still was an island, where you could only approach this fishing village by the natural vehicle - the boat - it still had its charm. But since the bridge was built, it all changed. The bridge, by the way, was long time boycotted by the local inhabitants. It was only used by the now thousands of summer tourists visiting Smögen. The locals still move into the cellars during the warm summer, where the cool walls give a comfortable temperature. The main floors upstairs, too warm to be comfortable, is usually rented by “stupid Stockholmers”, who come for their summer vacations. Stockholmers needed a bridge, of course, since, having driven so far, can not wait for a ferry boat and always seem to be in a hurry.

Gullholmen, just as Marstrand by the way, still has the ferry boat, not even allowing cars to be taken to the island. Thus, you still have to come “the real way” to these places: the approach from the sea by boat.

I wonder how Sweden will develop since the now one year old bridge over the Öresund has opened. Or is it Denmark being in danger?

When asking Karolina how the 120 miles sail from Norway was, she just replied “fine”. That was the whole answer! I had to beg for more details, when she explained that they had had winds just under gale force while the deep sea between Norway and Sweden gave comfortable long waves. Well, that is all I can forward from that leg... Karolina seems to have adopted to this kind of (night-) sailing pretty well, since it was mentioned just as if she had come home from Kåseberga 12 miles from Ystad.

In the morning of 15 August I received an SMS saying “Slept for 11 hours! Now theoretical lessons”. And shortly thereafter “Tell your Mom to come to her beach. Have anchored there.”

My Mom, having also read this E-mail bulletin, got really excited, when I called saying “you have visitors at your beach!”. This kind of guests you don’t get every day! Unfortunately they had no time to come to the house to visit her, so the quickly laid table for 10 people had to stay unused.

Instead, she excitedly called her neighbour, the 85 year old Harald, who actually was born in the archipelago on Lilla Kornön, a tiny island just outside the bay. He immediately came over with his three wheeled moped (<Flakmoppe>), which all the locals use in the archipelago. Mom jumped onto the moped into the square box in the front, eagerly holding a bottle of champagne and the just organised cake. They quickly drove down to the beach and tried to find Mahina in the fog. “There she is”, Harald said in his local Bohuslän dialect (<dä ‘e ho’>). She was anchored just a short distance from where we normally take our morning swims before breakfast. “Quick!, let’s hope they don’t cast off before we can get your boat going!” shouted my Mom. They knew Mahina had an appointment at the Hallberg-Rassy yard at 14.00, so they had to cast off very shortly. Harald started his moped again and the duo, Harald on the moped and my Mom in the box with the champagne and cake in her hands, quickly drove on to the little wooden pier, where Harald has his vintage open wooden fishing boat.

The engine, not being very reliable these days, gave its best and started immediately. It was as if it understood the urgency of this prestigious job to take Harald and my Mom to Mahina.

Arriving at their anchorage, Karolina put her head out with a huge smile all over. But when seeing the bottle of champagne (which is almost a synonymous of my Mom…), she became serious and whispered: “Eva, we are not allowed to have alcohol onboard!”. Soon, some other heads became visible. John and Amanda also wanted to know what is going on out in the cockpit. What a surprise! Guests visiting! With champagne and a cake! Welcome onboard!

Karolina looked splendid, sweet and very happy according to Mom, who thought it was great also meeting John and Amanda she had been reading about so much lately through my E-mails and their web-page www.mahina.com . It’s like reading a book, and suddenly the figures in the story are standing on your door-step! A felling of an almost unrealistic situation, which was just amplified by the local fog they had. Also Mahina got her compliments looking as new, Mom said. She did not believe Mahina had already sailed the equivalence of two circulars around the world.

John and Amanda must have looked quite surprised when my Mom was asking questions referring to specific situations during their current leg. How could she have known?… Well, I think I have to print out a copy of this bulleting for John and Amanda, too, so they know what rumours are going around…

After some photographs taken of each other, Harald and Mom took their boat back, jumped onto the moped and drove back to the house, now sitting at the laid table for 10, drinking coffee for themselves.

Whof, what a day!