Bushpoint: Taking cruising stories to Youtube

For Jeanette and Fredrik - better known under their boat name Bushpoint are no strangers to longhaul sailing and experiencing the open. Bushpoint is a Boréal 55 OC, and the French aluminium special is the second boat in their sailing career so to speak.

And being on their second boat, the couple from Waxholm just outside Stockholm have already seen a lot of the world under the power of sails.

It all began with an Allures 45 and an ambition through years to sail the Caribbean. When considering a new boat and an upgrade, they had plenty of ideas to choose from. And despite considering Hallberg-Rassys and Najads for their centre cockpits, the Swedish couple eventually decided for Boréal on its combination of layout, material choice and for being a very shallow sailing boat.

Fun!

Sailing has however led the Swedish couple a long way since they first started sailing and indeed sharing their stories.

Today, they enjoy a Youtube following of over 5.000 subscribers, highlighting the big and small adventures they get to. And despite thousands and thousands of miles of touring, their venture into sailing is still relatively new. They first caught the bug in circa 2011 and began taking courses and gaining knowledge to go and sail - having very, very limited previous experience.

A different boat

And experiences have been in abundance since their first big expedition in 2016. Later, you have also been able to follow their travels to Svalbard and lately around the British Isles, Ireland and Scotland.

The first big expedition took them across the Atlantic to warmer climate island hopping around the Caribbean and up to Florida, where they had to abort their further endeavours due to the pandemic in 2020.

- Our first expedition was to cross the Atlantic and cruise the Caribbean in 2016. Incredible experience to go there. Part of our schedule out there was also to do the Suzie Too Rally, which was really fun, and it was a great way to share the experience with others, Jeanette says while Fredrik adds:

- Later, we went home to Sweden for a few months and then returned for another leg from Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, Cuba and ended in Florida. Our plan was to do the American East Coast and home via Iceland, but then Covid happened. Covid was a huge question mark in so many ways. It led us to make the decision to sell the boat in Florida as a Canadian couple made a good offer for it. Aluminium boats are not super common in the US, so we made the call and sold it in Florida – and we flew home rather than sailing.

The next step did however come quickly, and Bushpoint soon became a Boréal 55 OC after careful considerations. Going full aluminium may strike many as a slightly controversial choice - but ask Fredrik and Jeanette, and it fits their ways:

- We looked for other brands but ended up with Boréal. It fits our need for a big and open cockpit, but it works great when it’s cold, too. If you sail somewhere warm, then you want a big and open cockpit. If it’s cold, then you need other features. And we sort of had enough of sailing in warm places with sun and drinks all the time. It may sound crazy, but we got to a point where we needed something else, Fredrik says.

Out in the cold

With plans for colder travels – which ended up being Svalbard and later the British Isles, the Boréal turned out to be a good choice:

- The 55 fits both jobs as it has the 'doghouse' which makes so much sense as soon as you don't sail somewhere warm. And it has the shallow draft and a swing keel – so you can go anywhere as long you have more than 120 cm of water. So yes, it's not a common choice, but we are really happy about the way it does warm and cold really well – and how it combines the strength of aluminum, less maintenance and more comfort.

Bushpoint is equipped with a full wardrobe of Elvstrøm Sails – plus the Furlstrøm, which is good for cruising:

- Our sails are Elvstrøm Sails Hydranets, so that will be the main, our jib and our genoa. We had an extra reef added to our main, and then we also invested in a Furlstrøm, which has been really good for our cruising. A Boréal is by no means a racing boat, so it needs a bit of wind to pick up speed. This is where the Furlstrøm sits really well whilst also being easy to manage, Fredrik explains.

Cruising in colder climates is also where the future of Bushpoint probably leads Fredrik and Jeanette:

- Svalbard is so different. So vast and so empty – but in such an overwhelming way as the nature is so wild. Some people say you get bitten by the Polar Bug, and I totally get it. And I would say that our programme for the future is also in the colder ways – we would love to do the Viking route via Norway, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and over to Newfoundland. It could be our next big adventure, Jeanette says.

A change of plans

Cruising the British Isles and Ireland was a big experience for the couple, and this is also their current series on Youtube. It did however come to a break as they were on the western side of Ireland, Fredrik tells:

- While we were on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, my sister called. She told we had to get home as my father had fallen very ill, so we changed plans and headed back to Sweden. Unfortunately, we lost him two months later, and with my mother being alone now, we have changed our plans and stay at home in the coming months. We have lots of projects for the future, but this year we will stay in our home waters and sail the Stockholm archipelago this summer.

You can follow Bushpoint and their adventures on Youtube - Bushpoint.