Midsummer
Like the links of a chain, the Low pressure systems pass along from Island, via Norway and Denmark over Sweden in a never ending order. Their corresponding frontal systems influence most part of Northern Europe and a day without gale winds is almost considered as extraordinary. Temperatures during some days are hardly getting into the teens, counting in Celsius. We have thus now gone over to Fahrenheit, since saying it is "above 55 degrees" (F) sounds better than observing another day with 12 degrees C.
We have never sailed so little before Midsummer as in this year and the entries on our web-site are thereafter. Midsummer with children dancing around the maypole in light summer dresses, sitting outside in the grass, eating hearing with sour cream with new potatoes and thereafter strawberries, seems far away, when looking out into another rainy day with freezing gale winds.

There have been "bad" Midsummers before, but this year is special in that respect that there have been no "summer" at all, yet.

Our sailing plans for 2004 are now being questioned in our family, despite us having purchased charts all the way to the Shetlands, Orkney and Scottland. Instead, Jonathan is asking for destinations southbound. Our plans to sail to the Norwegian west coast, where Bergen is known to be the most rainy city of Europe, might not be the most pleasant thought right now, considering our current weather situation. Why not sail into the more "sheltered" Baltic to Åland?

Jonathan objected: "Åland? Isn't that to North-East? Daddy, I meant South! You know: France, Spain and Portugal, and the like! I want to go swimming in the sea to use my new underwater housing for my camera!". And Karolina murmured: "These gales make me crazy!".

Well, luckily enough, we have not commenced our vacation, yet, and the weather could well change in the coming two weeks, but it'd better hurry up, since the forecast for the next 7 days is very similar to the last four weeks...

And Jonathan's underwater housing has proven quite useful when taking the below pictures with spray and rain constantly draining the camera. In port, to be noticed.
Most of the Midsummer's eve, the boatowners in the harbour were trying to do their best to minimise the impact of wind and waves rolling in.
We got our strawberries, after all, sitting under the sprayhood extension watching the boats swinging to and fro. I wondered if it was the boats holding the floating pontoon or vice versa, since the pontoon was actually moving more heavily than the boats, it seemed. Jessica complained about getting sea sick on the boat. The strain on the mooring lines were heavy despite the rubber springs on the lines. It was, in fact, a memorable, yet different, Midsummer and far from a picturesque broshures.

After Midsummer strawberries on the boat, we slept dreaming of sunnier latitudes.