This week was meant to be a sailing holiday for Alex and everyone else, so when they came up today, we gave them various options. Given the ‘exciting’ sail yesterday, I didn’t altogether expect them to choose the option of going for a sail again today, not least because the wind was even stronger today. However, that is the option they chose and perhaps the most appropriate phrase would be ‘gluttons for punishment’. We headed out and I had decided to use the channel to the north of Hållö, head out to sea and test the conditions, so test the conditions we did. As we got out into the main open water, I checked if everyone was okay. They apparently were, but …. perhaps I didn’t altogether pick up the vibes on board. A slightly quieter demeanour of everyone should perhaps have given me a hint, but I was having a lovely sail!
After tacking out to sea for a while, we then tacked to try and clear the southern tip of Hållö and, it has to be said, the seas were a little lumpy. The boat was taking them well and we made good progress, but the conversation in the cockpit became more a more muted and there was almost a tangible sense of relief when we rounded into the channel back north to Smögen and back into the guest harbour. It was only a nine mile sail, but it may stay imprinted on some people’s memory for a lot longer.
The island of Hållö is a beautiful pink granite island with a lighthouse dating from 1842, making it Bohuslän’s oldest. It is quite a popular (summer) destination and the old radio-direction finding house has now been turned into a hostel, while the engine house is now a chapel!
