A couple of days into May it was time to launch our boat, Aina. The time came sooner than we had really hoped for, as we were neck deep in boat projects. But the big crane had only been booked for one day, and the costs could be shared by several boats, so we had to be ready. We had the boat survey done, keel cooler units installed on the bottom, two layers of new antifouling applied and all the zincs replaced. Right on time!

Our boat looked huge as it flew over the boat yard and landed in the Baltic Sea. No water was oozing in, so the crane men eased the slings and we were officially afloat. But the projects didn’t end there – they have been ongoing ever since, and there’s still a lot to do. Some of the projects were actually planned, but it seems that new ones just keep appearing. We’re afraid to touch anything, as it feels like everything we touch just crumbles in our hands.

Neglect is a powerful enemy. Many parts and systems on a boat have a certain lifetime, and you have to keep fixing and changing them in order to keep the boat in ship shape. Sadly, it appears a lot of the things that broke on our boat were just left as they were, and if anyone really used the boat at all, maybe they did it with gradually diminishing comfort.

But the boat is going to be our permanent home. We can’t afford to live with rusted gas burners and shot through propane hoses. Shiny new galley stove is being installed while we still have some form of income. We might have to live with a blocked toilet, at least for a while, until we have time to fix it in some exotic anchorage. Because, hear this! – we have two toilets! I will never, ever again consider two toilets on a sailboat a vanity!

I really hope we don’t have to live without pressurized water. We’ll have to block some of the system because of broken water pipes, but not in the galley, if we’re lucky. Our boat has inch parts but we’re in a metric country, so no parts to be found here, and too late to order them from the other side of the Atlantic. It seems the boat is due a very thorough plumbing job, a little later. That’s fine – anything to keep us from getting idle – but now we really need to get going!

The summer is paying an early visit to Finland. We’ve had record high temperatures after a fairly cold spring. Not that we’ve had many chances to enjoy it. I have spent many days with the upper half of my body inside a cool box, adding insulation and preparing for the evaporator installation. Because our boat has large, American style cooler boxes, we chose an energy efficient keel cooling system for our fridge and freezer. I will write more about it as soon as we have some user experience.

In the evenings we’ve grabbed the opportunity to enjoy the summertime and our new life by the water. It’s not bad at all to watch the sunset while having a barbeque by the breakwater, and it’s so refreshing to sleep with the cool sea breeze and the gentle sounds of the water.

But one of us sailed with the first summer breeze…

One of our crew, our soulmate and companion, did not have time to wait for our sailing journey to begin. He already embarked on his own adventure. He lived a full life, the whole long life of a dog. In human years it just happened so fast! Glimpses of joy are still few and far between for us, but I know we will get better. Why? Because we were so lucky to have such an amazing, wise and humorous creature as part of our family and our lives. When the time came, it was his human’s duty and honour to send him safely on his way.

He would have loved our sailing journey, though. Not the sailing itself so much – it was tolerable, but what was the point? The exciting smells in the air, now that was a whole other story! The different islands with people and other dogs on them, your own deck for watchkeeping – and the best of all: that cosy little cabin where you could curl up at night, the whole pack happily together. Pure bliss!

• Countdown to summer sail
August 9, 2016
• Sailing the Big Seas – From Dreams to Plans to Reality
December 23, 2017
• Easy sailing
July 28, 2016