The Siberian Express seems to have moved on for the time being and we have returned to more normal March temperatures of around -4C or so. It is getting lighter earlier now as well and the sun is warm so I do know that spring is on the way.

The good:

Last night we were in Stockholm for the annual dinner for the OE Yacht Club of Scandinavia. We own an "OE" boat - that is a boat designed by the Swedish boat constructor Olle Enderlein and we are friends with several other owners so we looked forward to going along and catching up with all the news. We were lucky that Lars-Göran's daughter was able to dog-sit for us, so that I could enjoy my dinner without having a desperate dog staring at me!

There was an address and presentation by Lars Hässler, a well known author who has sailed for many years around the world. He was quite inspiring and very professional.

Afterwards we went to dinner together with the other guests (around 40 in all) and we were really lucky to grab a table with some lovely people, our friends who own an OE36 (the same boat that we have) Bosse and Ann and another couple from Hässelby, Lennart and Pirjo, who own an OE32. I don't think there was a quiet minute all evening as we happily chatted about everything under the sun. I have sometimes seen people on expat sites in Sweden complain about the fact that they are lonely and have no friends, people here are cold and how unfriendly Swedes are etc, when in fact I've found the complete opposite to be the case. The people I've met here have been warm, friendly, interested in both where I'm from and what I think of Sweden and happy to share experiences with me. The evening really was enjoyable because of the excellent company at the table.

Over coffee there was a short discussion about the club business and some ideas for summer meetings and we closed the evening with firm promises to get together in early summer out on the water - perhaps somewhere like Fjärdlång or Huvudskär would be nice.

This was a photo we took at Huvudskär last time we were there



It really is a picturesque place and always so relaxing to be there. I love the little red cottages that line the shore and the smooth, bare rocks that are so warm to sit on. It's all so very special and typically Swedish. It is impossible to work while you are in such a setting. So I take my cue from the natives:



Amazing how the dog starts to copy the mater's mannerisms, isn't it?

The bad:

We have discovered an online site for a person in Stockholm who owns an OE36 that he rents out for 9,000kr a week over the summer. We went to his site and clicked on the link for my rental boat to have a look. To say I was shocked is an understatement! Mr Staffan Carlens has pictures of "his" lovely boat. And she is a lovely boat. I ought to know because in fact those pictures are of OUR bloody boat, lifted and used without permission or indeed any acknowledgement. The one picture of the boat under sail is not our boat, but in fact is a boat called Märtha, that is moored in Nyköping. I suspect that the interior photos are the ones we sent in to be used in the OE36 site (click on various parts of the layout to see the photos).

I wouldn't normally be angry, except he is a businessman who ought to know better and his is a commercial site using pictures of OUR boat to get paying customers. The text definitely reads Click below for my hire boat (Klicka nedan på min uthyrningsbåt). MY boat for hire? I wonder what they think when they rent the boat and she doesn't look anything like the pictures? After all, part of the charm of the OE36 is that all 100 of the Mark 1 boats (of which ours is No. 16) are individually built. No two interiors are alike and the type of wood and finish and indeed the layout is very individual. Our boat is also unusual in that it uses mahogany rather than the more commonly used teak.

We were not happy campers when we discovered that and are making our views known to him. I'm interested to see what he will say for himself.