Magic launch under the sun, in the wind and by the water!
What a day. Stockholm is at its best. We gathered on the pier by Glashuset, Kajplats 18 along Strandvägen in the city center. Friends, guests, and followers came and we managed to get almost everything ready for take-off...
Round the world sailor, ambassador for change, and our dear Project Patron, Dee Caffari MBE, zoomed in from the UK to be part of our launch on the screen – meeting the team and our guests and sharing the magic moments under the sun. Photo: Filip Cederholm.
100% fossil free, 100% female racing crew, 100% zero waste and solar food, and 100% determination to test and experience new lifestyle alternatives, Here holding a short presentation at the pier in front of the bistro Glashuset... which ironically was a gas station back in the days...
...yes, it was the first architect-designed gas station in Sweden (designed by Peter Celsing in 1949) and one has to say that the building has made a positive transformation – from being a meeting point for fossil fuel guzzling cars into a meeting point and bistro for sun guzzling pedestrians. There is obviously hope for humanity when thinking about that development and we are truly proud to have introduced a fossil fuel-free project on this historical site. www.glashuset.com
No fossil fuel will ever enter this boat again. After ditching the old gasoline engine in 2018 (as well as the tank, the tubes, the grease, the smell, the filters, the sound, and the cooling water pipes) all new power is delivered by sun, wind, and water and nowadays transferred into these two babies: Powerful Lithium batteries by our partner Torqeedo. Follow us and we will tell you more. Read more about electric engines: www.torqeedo.com
Talking about our partner Torqeedo – here we are standing together with Torqeedo's CEO and founder Christoph Ballin on the laptop screen, calling in from Munich to greet the team and share the moments.
A launch of a sailing project just has to start with tech challenges. Here we have racing crew member Siri Rembe up in the mast "early morning on Strandvägen", fixing the stuck jib shackle before our sail off later on:-)
Racing team member Hanna Torlén describes how this adventure started some 10 years ago in high school, when the three buddies Hanna, Hanna, and Siri started dreaming of sailing Gotland Runt together – the largest sail racing competition in the Baltic Sea with a sailing distance passing 300 NM and with several hundred participating boats. Peder Wallenberg Jr is holding the live camera, he came to the launch as a spectator, but spontaneously ended up in our ad hoc film crew haha...thanks for an excellent job Peder!
Team member Guri Bigham, managing our zero waste and food issues on board the project - during racing and long-distance sailing – made a presentation of the ambitions, the policies, and the challenges we will be facing. Changing habits ain't easy, but we are going all in under Guri's inspirational guidance and support. So exciting! Follow us on the voyage and see how it goes. More on our zero waste and solar food policies here. Read more about Guri's work here: www.sovway.earth
Tadaaaaa... six-year-old Kaikane is hereby officially starting the project's floating compost and garden by handing over the food scraps from our launch buffé to mama Guri. Yes, as a representative for the generations to come, Kaikane is part of the project and his mindful views about Mother Nature, the climate, our behaviors, and habits see through all our human excuses like a sharp knife cuts butter. We are proud to have him on board as a reminder, friend, guru, and teacher. (Why he wears both a life west and a helmet? Well, riding a kick bike/scooter all day on a floating pier next to a busy street calls for some safety measures:-)
Never seen a Wonderbag? Guri demonstrates the two slow cookers we will use onboard to save energy and make yummy food. Bring a chicken casserole or a pot of quinoa to a boiling point, turn off the heat, and put the pots in the Wonderbags. Let them sit for 4-12 hours and enjoy warm, slow-cooked, and delicious food without reheating. The best part with these energy-saving cookers is that when you buy one Wonderbag, they will give away one for free to a family living where unlimited access to heating, fuel, or electricity is something one cannot take for granted. Read more about the bags: www.wonderbag.com
Our friend Maki from Japan came to check that Guri is right...yes, it is still hot. Very good, very good...yeaaah!
Here is our next energy generator and saver – the solar beam cooker. A glass tube and a reflector. Put raw sweet potatoes in the tray, slide it in, aim the reflectors towards the sun and wait 30-45 minutes. Et voila, done deal and superhot (it gets to 150-200 degrees in the tube). Works for cooking casseroles, bread baking, scrambling eggs, or boiling water as well. www.gosun.co
Photographer Filip Agoo took a photo before taking one of Guri's sweet potato samples. Under the surveillance of Niclas Ihrén, climate consultant, yogi, and inspirational teacher.
See you soon everybody...we have sooo much to tell you, and will share anything from our voyage that we hope will contribute with lots of inspiration, love, and hope for change and better lifestyles on the water and on land!
THANK YOU ALL! All team members, friends, partners, supporters, helping hands, believers and doubters...thank you, this would never happen without you!
