Mia: Back in Sweden while IceBear is sailing south

A very nice day to fly back home to Sweden…

Written on July 10, 2019 by Mia

Back in Sweden…

IceBear is currently offshore, about 100 nm from Lunenburg and off the coast of Nova Scotia. They had a nice passage south from St. Johns with a stop in the French Island St. Pierre. But this is the first time in a very long time that I am not onboard, sailing with Andy and the crew and finishing off the season. We made the decision a while back, we have now lived at the farm in Sweden over two years but never been there in the summer time.

There is old windows to change, junk to clear out and houses to be painted. So we made the decision for me to fly home from St. Johns, go home and take care of the farm while Andy is ending the season with IceBear. When the day came to say goodbye to Andy and the boat, I was all of a sudden wondering why in the world we thought this was a good idea. Both Andy & I are very independent people but I realized spending every day and minute together makes it very hard to be away from each other. It hurts in the heart and life is not as much fun without my second half. Back in the days when we first met, we spent lots of time apart, and one of the years we only saw each other for seven weeks in one year. But then we had to, Andy working back in the States while I was in university in Sweden. But this time, we didn’t have to be apart, and that makes it harder.

The flight from St. Johns had a stop in London so I took advantage of seeing my old friend Sara who lives there since many years back. After a quick stop in Halifax and a nice long sleep on both flight, I arrived early in the morning to London. Both Andy & I value time with family and friends, and the lifestyle living part time on the boat, part time on the farm makes it harder so see them on a regular basis. So we have to grab on to the moments we get, and spending five days with Sara was truly amazing. We haven’t seen each other in a year and a half, but it truly felt like we just saw each other just a week ago. London showed off its best side, and the only day it rained was when I left.


Visiting my friend Sara in London for a few days before flying back to Sweden.

I am now typing from my parents house, patiently waiting for my bag to arrive… I checked in a bag in London and 48 hours later they still have not located it. Will be interesting to see if I get it, and if so, when… So back to working back home, I promised Andy to keep working on the house and the farm while he is still on the boat. I have already weeded the vegetable garden that mum very kindly had planted for us (yes, we are spoiled!), ordered new wallpaper for the house and spent long hours chatting with my parents over a cup of coffee in the morning..

IceBear is due in sometime tomorrow and I can’t wait to chat with Andy and see how the passage has been. I have gotten updates from the sat phone email, but as you all know its pretty limited and nothing like catching up on the phone.

Cheers, Mia