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I think we may have discovered what Freya’s problem has been. Today, on the occasion of collecting The Bob and putting it back in the water, she suddenly came alive and happily joined us for a putter around Öbolandet. Okay, she slept for a lot of it but, she was more than happy to come on board and curl up in the dog bed as we hit the sea. Obviously, Emma was happy to join us as well.
So, maybe that was it. Maybe, as Mirinda said, she was just pining for the Baltic.
Then, following our watery jaunt, she happily accompanied us to Mat Studio for a celebratory meal. This, Mirinda declared, will be a new celebration. A way to mark the beginning of our boating season. Not that it was particularly smooth sailing.
Mirinda had organised to pick up The Bob at 2:30pm so we headed out around 2pm, to check that our mooring was still ours before parking outside the boat shed where The Bob has been for the winter. After the boat was floated, we started loading it up with the essentials, leaving the car for later pickup.
Mirinda, being the captain, started The Bob up and, after a few tries, we reversed into the channel. Then the engine cut out. We were afloat on the creek with only one paddle. Yes, we only have one oar on The Bob. I’m not sure why and what happened to the other one but it precedes our ownership.
I managed to grab the bank and after restarting the engine and hearing it hiccough, Mirinda went in search of the guy who serviced the boat, the one who told us the engine had petrol in it.
In the meanwhilst, I was sitting, with the dogs, listening to the engine as it smoothed out and started running normally. As the guy explained, the engine was just cold and would now be no problem. So, with no further ado, we headed out of the harbour and under the road bridge to circumnavigate the island.
I even took a short video.
While the water was a bit choppy, the day was very pleasant and the first boat of the season went very well until it almost ended in tragedy.
Okay, that maybe a bit of an exaggeration but, nearing the Worlds End pier, the engine started making weird, sputtering noises and Mirinda realised we were almost out of petrol. She blamed the guy at the boat yard but, to be fair, he didn’t say the engine was FULL of petrol, he merely said it had petrol in it.
Being the genius she is, Mirinda ascertained that both petrol containers had a few sloshes of petrol left in them so she combined them which gave us just enough to start up again and head for the bowsers in the harbour.
We had to wait for a couple of other boating types to fill up but then headed in, tied up and filled up, grateful we made it. All was good.
It was then just a matter of heading for the dock to once more claim mooring 22, where The Bob could rest up, ready for next time.
After a short rest back at the house we changed and headed out to the restaurant. At first, we thought the dogs would be all ready to spark out, happy to remain asleep while we ate out. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Freya, especially, was eager to join us, trotting confidently out to the car.
They are very well-trained restaurant dogs and were soon asleep on a bench seat, either side of me. They garnered lots of admiration from the other patrons who pretty much filled the outside area of the place.
And, of course, the meal was excellent. I had my usual steak tartare but, rather than following it with fish, I tried the lamb. I am so glad I did. It was easily one of the most succulent lamb dishes I have ever had. Perfection on a plate.
The perfect end to our first day’s boating on the Baltic for 2026.
