It's been a busy first few days.
Andrew and I arrived in Gothenburg on the 21st with four duffels full of gear, and spent two days sourcing everything we needed to outfit the boat. We did a full Ikea run — bedding, kitchen supplies, tools, extra bits — and snuck in a visit to the World of Volvo museum while we were at it.
On the morning of the 24th, we drove an hour north to Ellös in the pouring rain and saw Stani in the water for the first time. We spent the morning going bow to stern, opening every hatch, and learning the boat from the inside out. After a lunch break at a local restaurant, we took her out for a sea trial.
The winds were blowing 25–30 knots — a fairly intense introduction for me. I was glad to have Pär, my primary contact at Hallberg-Rassy, on board. He was effectively in command: running the lines, working the buttons, pumping hydraulic levers. I was at the helm, but Stani is a modern ship with a lot of unfamiliar systems, and the overwhelm must have been visible on my face. (I haven't asked Andrew what he saw, but I can guess.)
Pär made a few notes on things to tweak, and then Andrew and I moved all our gear onto the boat. We were up until 11pm getting things sorted.
Day two started with a meeting at the parts department with Carl. I'd ordered a significant amount of spares — a backup water pump, and about a thousand other things you hope you never need but absolutely want on a 1.5 year sailing journey back to Canada.
I couldn't tell you where the rest of the day went. At some point we took a nice sunset walk around town, and Andrew made a delicious mushroom pesto pasta with a spinach salad for dinner. I realized I'd had nothing but a small sandwich all day, which explained a lot.
By day three, things finally started clicking into place.
Someone went up the mast to tune the wind vane. The Starlink got beautifully mounted on the stern. And Andrew made my dreams come true: Stani is now a smart boat — a Raspberry Pi connected to the NMEA2000 network, plus a smart switch wired in to control the anchor light remotely.
We tested the Code Zero, a large light-wind sail, and I felt noticeably more at ease — both with the boat and with the buttons and levers. It was blowing 15–18 knots, which felt much more manageable. Back at the dock, Andrew and I sat on deck with a beer in actual sunshine, which felt well-earned.
The evening was spent installing new lights with USB charging ports, followed by another Andrew special: a mushroom Thai green curry.
The plan is to wrap up a few things tomorrow morning and then set sail for Norway. I need to officially export Stani from the EU, and Norway is only about two days north. We'll return to Ellös after that for some final tweaks, and then we'll continue south.
Time for bed. Thanks for reading!