We woke up earlier than the usual time, to a bright, sunny day. Kalmar was hosting a boat show that weekend and already, at 05:15, people were out and about readying things for the coming weekend. We'd decided to do the laundry and then go back to bed with a cup of tea and our books, after all it was a pretty uncivilized hour!

By 10:30, the laundry on my lashed up washing line wrapped around the foresails and shrouds, was almost dry and it was time for coffee with Seren Wîb’s crew who came on board . During our conversation I commented upon their elasticated mooring warps – they are super in that they dampen down any tugging of the boat against its lines, tugging that can get transformed into annoying graunching sounds inside the boat that renders sleep impossible, (I am told!). Mike has seen some for sale in the nearby chandlers and I determined to get some, so that our guests would have a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, when I went over I couldn’t find them and with one thing and another, it slipped my mind.

That afternoon we were delighted to receive a text from a lady called Dawn, who was the new owner of our last Guide Dog, Kerry. She was over the moon with her new friend, had even been to London with her on the train with no problems and was very confident that they would have a long and productive future together. It’s lovely to hear from the new owners after our dogs leave us, it makes the parting with these wonderful dogs easier to bear – after all, it is why we volunteered to help the Guide Dog organisation in the first place.

Later that day we were back on Seren Wîb for aperitifs, where we met Richard & Elinor Leech of Stem Ginger; Richard is the treasurer of the Baltic Section of the Cruising Association and they have been cruising the Baltic for a few years. It’s always nice to meet other Baltic enthusiasts and it was a pleasant interlude.

Then it was back to the boat for pork chops & vegetables and to settle down for the evening, to await the arrival of Jeff & Greta. The arrival was going to be somewhat later than we anticipated, as their flight from Heathrow was delayed by 90 minutes. Consequently, we allowed ourselves to nod off whilst we waited.