From left, Bob Shogren, Carol Shogren, Bosse Niklasson and Helene Niklasson.
TREASURE ISLAND – The friends may live thousands of miles apart, but that means nothing for a bunch of sailors.
“We met at a marina in DeTour, Mich., at the entrance to the St. Mary’s River not far from Lake Heron and the straits of Mackinac,” said longtime sailor and Treasure Island resident Bob Shogren.
“We became friends in the ‘sailor way,’” added Bosse Niklasson of Sweden. “It was the name on (Shogren’s) boat, The Solstråle, which means sunbeam in Swedish, that got our attention.”
Soon the two men and their wives were reliving a chance meeting that turned into international friendship and a warm, Florida berth for the holidays.
Niklasson, who is now traveling with his wife Helene, said that their multiyear “cruise” began in 2008 when they “Sold everything we had. Home, cars, etc.” and left Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. Since then, they have logged more than 16,000 miles on their 36-foot sloop, SeaQwest.
The Niklassons have cruised to a good chunk of the planet including the European Coast, the Canary Islands, Brazil and other South American ports, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, Florida’s East Coast, and the Great Lakes area and Canada.
“This odyssey has been a lifelong dream,” Bosse said. Helene added, “We’ve wanted to do this for years, but family and career kept getting in the way,” Helene said. “Now our children are old enough to care for themselves. We expect we have enough money to continue our journey for another year and a half.”
Helene is a real estate broker and writer, while Bosse is a sales and marketing professional and artist. But for now, their lives are the sea.
It’s no easy feat traveling by boat for years, into country after country, and across ever changing oceans and rivers, Bosse said.
“You have to get used to very little space. We have a big house at home, but on the boat we must find a place for everything.”
He also noted that “redundancy” is essential.
“We made lists before we left of thousands of things we would need – spare parts for electronics, new sails, etc. It cost almost as much for the equipment as it cost to buy the boat.”
Helene added that a pressure cooker and a water maker are musts.
“I cook a lot in the pressure cooker, often meals for 4 to 6 weeks at a time,” Helene said.
They both added that the water maker provides fresh water for drinking and is a godsend.
Bosse said the bureaucracy they experienced sailing into the U.S. as foreign nationals was interesting.
“Before you leave, you have to get visas,” he said. “Then there’s a cruise permit and other paperwork to get through customs. It’s all very involved and complicated.”
Adventures? Amazingly the Niklassons have not had any major problems during their multi-year voyage, but they did have one close call.
“We had left Trinidad for Granada and were nearing and area known for pirate activity,” Bosse said. “There is one oil rig in the region that we had to pass and were warned to do it at night. We decided to ‘sail black’ (without lights) and just use the sails so we could be as quiet as possible. Just as we approached the rig the wind died. We were becalmed. Despite my better judgment, I was forced to use the motor. But, when I turned it on, nothing happened. We were literally dead in the water. That was a very nervous night as we waited for the wind to pick up. The next morning we sailed on without incident. When we reached Granada, we learned that someone in Trinidad had probably tried to steal our prop and had loosened it. When I turned the motor on, the prop had fallen off. Luckily we had a spare prop with us and put it on in Granada.”
The Niklassons couldn’t say enough good things about the hospitality they’ve experienced along the way.
“People have been very kind and generous,” said Bosse. “Americans, especially, have been very friendly and very helpful. Anything we need someone has provided for us.”
And it was that friendly hospitality that gained a holiday berth for the SeaQwest at the Shogren’s dock. But, not just Bosse and Helene enjoyed an American Christmas in Florida. The Niklassons love Florida so much and their special Treasure Island friends that they invited their whole family for Christmas. Carol Shogren prepared a holiday dinner for 24 people, including members of the Niklasson family who flew in just in time to enjoy a holiday in the sunshine.
The SeaQwest has since resumed its journey and can be followed on the Niklasson’s website, www.seaqwest.se.
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