N Norway 2012
Vis North Norway 2012 i et større kart
Click on the map and roll up to see more. Click on the link below for larger size.
Siller Lass sailed northwards, as far as Tromsø, summer 2012. We left Åsgårdstrand, our home harbour, in beautiful weather on the afternoon of May 29th. All harbours, marinas or anchorages will be placed on the map above. Zoom in on the map using the + sign to the left. Click on the coloured pins to move around and zoom in the map for details. Yellow pins mark our sail northwards, crimson, marinas on the way south.
This information is written in English. The automatic Google translation to Norwegian is rather odd! IPad users are unfortunately unable to view most of the photos.
The log is written in Parts 1- 7.
Part 1 Åsgårdstrand to Bekkjarvik
29th.May to Krukehavn, 59.05N/10.27E 3 hours, 20 nm
30th.May to Lillesand 58.14N/08.23E 11 hours, 74,4 nm
31st.May to Kristiansand 58.08N/08.00E 4,5 hrs, 17,7nm
1. June to Mandal 58.01N/07.27E 5 hr. 23,2nm
2. June to Farsund 58.05N/06.48E 3,5 hrs 23,3nm
4.June to Flekkefjord 58.17N/06.39E 4 hrs 24,2 nm
5.June to Kirkehavn,Hidra 58.14N/06.31E 2 hrs 9,1 nm
6.June to Skudeneshavn 59.08N/06.15E 10 hrs 68,6 nm
7.June to Bekkjarvik 60.00N/05.12E 8,5 hrs 57,6nm
After an easy sail to Krukehavn, Sandøsund, we had an early start to our long sail to Lillesand, 75 nm. eleven hours altogether, only a slight breeze after the first two hours, and sunshine. Time for a walk before bed, to stretch our legs a bit.
Menu: Gourmet cod filets served with lime and dill sauce, potatoes and a mixed salad
Were interviewed next morning by the local newspaper about the effects of the lack of weather forecasts due to striking metereologists. Winds increasing in strength made us choose to sail through the “Blindeleia”, an inner chanel to Kristiansand, next day. Strikes in Norway, affecting all pilots, are hindering deliveries of fuel to the country’s ports so we filled diesel to be on the safe/sure side. “Sailing” includes quite a bit of motoring, due to unfavourable wind directions. We enjoyed a fine sunny afternoon in Kristiansand .
Menu: Hake served with squash, sweet pepper, a little onion and tomato stew.
Our next port of call was Mandal, motorsailing for 5 hours against a SW head wind. Talked to the Turkish crew of a new 54ft Hallberg Rassy, also on their way north. As usual, a visit to the local fish shop and baker, made the day.
Menu: Avocado halves filled with creamed blue cheese and a dash of lemon. Fried ulkekinn served on top of cucumber and banana slices cooked in lemon juice, soya sauce and spiced with coriander, salt and pepper
Left at 6.am and sailed round Lindesnes with rough seas against us, wind 6-8 m/s. Took the route via Kongshavn to Farsund in calmer waters and arrived in time for a late breakfast. Farsund had its annual boat and food fair, making plenty of life in the town. The harbour has no fee, free internet and electricity, making it rather popular. Life is great!
Farsund is expanding, just like our hometown Kongsberg, and there are lots of discusions about architecture and style combinations, new with old.
Menu: Starter was avocado again, filled with cream cheese and shrimps. Smoked haddock with lots of parsley in a white sauce for the main course.
We spent 2 nights in Farsund while other boats stayed for 4-5 nights, waiting for the gales to blow out, to get round Lista and up to Stavanger. Apart from a couple of local sailing boats there were 2 Dutch, 2 German, 2 Swedish boats along with us at Farsund.
Menu on day 2: Time for meat after so many fish dinners!
Fillet of beef, marinated in redwine, soya sauce, olive oil and herbs, served with asparagus.
At 6am. we took advantage of a short period with less wind and made our way round Lista, choosing to go into Flekkefjord where neither of us had been before. It is the most westerly town on the south coast, nearly all the buildings are white as is the custom in the south of the country. The charming town has been trading since the 16th. Century and is known for its narrow streets. We were lucky to have a fantastic visit aboard in the evening - one of my hospital pharmacy friends, Ragnhild Sunde and husband Johan. It’s always so pleasant to meet up again after so many years.
We talked to the German couple in the HR 40 by the quayside and arranged to go over to Kirkehavn, on Hidra next afternoon when the wind should be less than gale strength, ready then for a longer motorsail next day in calm weather.
Kirkehavn is always sheltered and the nature around so interesting. We shared dinner og La Rondine with Anne-Lise and Hans.
We decided to get as far as possible while the sun shines and there’s little wind, so sailed all the way to Skudeneshavn next day. We were met there by a smiling, helpful Australian, Geoff and his wife Margaret. They were a really interesting couple, sailing their homemade ship “Skookum 1”, over from Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands. Earlier expeditions have included the Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Alaska and Norway including Svalbard. They built the boat in Vancouver in 1985 and have sailed most of the time since then but with several trips back to Australia to earn some money!
We have left the south coast now and are approaching the wilder west coast with fjords and rugged mountains. A short stop by Haugesund to install a new GPS satellite receiver was followed by several hours of motoring to Bekkjarvik on Sebjørn Island. This is a lovley little, thriving town, expanding mostly because of fishery incomes. A new training centre and flats in building 4 floors tall are in the process og building in the harbor area. The shopping centre has now a wine monoply and will get a pharmacy soon – these businesses attract most customers!
We filled up groceries before leaving on yet a sunny, calm morning.
Part 2 Bekkjarvik ti Kristiansund
9.June to Florø 61.36N/05.01E 7,5 hrs 48,3 nm
10.June to Måløy 61.55N/05.06E 4,5 hrs 28 nm
11.June to Ulsteinvik 62.20N/05.50E 6,5 hrs 41nm
12.June to Ålesund 62.28N/06.09E 4 hrs 16,4 nm
14.June to Tornes 62.50N/07.02E 6 hrs, 38nm
16.June to Kristiansund 63.07N/07.43E 5,5 hrs, 34,1 nm
The nature along the west coast is much more interesting with rugged, snow topped mountains, fjords and many islands. We chose the inner chanel, passing many fish farms and meeting several trawlers.We had chosen a natural harbour, Kjerringøy but there was a gathering av local boats and we weren't welcome! Luckily the was a public quay nearby, that we could use.
The weather continued to be bright, warm and sunny but the wind increases in strength so we left early for Florø, where we had time for a historic walk in the main street. The town has many buildings dating from 1700 onwards and each has a bronze plate on the wall, describing its history. Many other towns could copy this idea!
On Sunday morning another of my colleagues, Karen Sindre with husband Bjarte , took us on a tour of Florø, telling about the place from the ice age until todays thriving industry based on the large oil base in the North Sea.
The sail to Måløy later in the afternoon was yet another stretch by motor against the wind. Mooring in the gusty, turbulent harbour was no easy matter. We were lucky though to get help from neighbour John Cotton. There were no facilities open in the harbour. Actually, the summer season has not yet begun.
Rounding Stattlandet, the westermost point in Norway.
A weather low has been stuck over southern Norway for more than a week, setting up NW and NE gale force winds particularly on the Statt corner. We met up with John, in our previous boat Josin, a Ballad, in Måløy harbour. John sails single-handed and has fitted the Ballad with stainless steel safety railings and a furling foresail.
We discussed weather plannig after Norma's delicious dinner and a bottle of Henry Natter 2011 Sancerre. There is a gale warning forecast on the VHF, but retro.met.no said 10 m/s and 2 meter wave height.
We therefore left Måløy at 04:30, meeting the southbound Hurtigruta in the Måløy sound, before reaching the "Bukkane Tjuvane" under the steep seacliff. We experienced gusts of 40 knots(20m/s) and very choppy seas. After rounding, the waves became more regular - and the wind steadied to 20-24 knots(10-12m/s) all the way to shelter in Ulsteinvik.
Siller Lass, under motor, wind straight on the nose, takes the weather fine. We were a little worried about John, in the much smaller Ballad, but he is tough and entered the neighbouring harbour a couple of hours after us. The skipper was impressed with his wife's stamina. She took 6 hours in the roughest seas you find on the west coast with a smile!
Ulsteinvik has developed ships industry through the years and is thriving. The town itself though, is rather uninteresting at first glance.
Ålesund next stop. Several boats in the inner harbour, mostly deserted, owners probably waiting for summer weather! We remark that there seem to be fewer sailing boats than usual on their way north.
We enjoyed a couple of days, the highlight being a visit to Atlanterhavs Parken, Ålesund aquarium. We treated ourselves to an excellent dinner at XL diner with sjef Roar Aarseth. The low pressure is dying out so we plan to leave for Tornes where Ole, the owner of our previous HR36, is harbour master.
He welcomed us by the 75ft. long pontoon. John in Josin had sailed in just before us. He spent one night there before moving on to Kristiansund to solve a VHF problem.
We had an eventful day there on Friday, replenishing stocks etc and being driven by Ole, both around Molde and to Varden to get a fantastic view of the Romsdal Mountains. Later we were treated to diner at Ole and Randi's home, well into the peaceful countryside. The whole area is very productive, both agriculturally and with many important industries . One factory pulverizes marble and exports several ship loads weekly, while others build supply ships and equipment for offshore use. This area of Norway is magnificent for mountain views, pastureland and forrests.
One interesting boat in Kristiansund was "Pampera" a 54ft. catamaran, also on it's way north. It can't be easy for a boat that size, to find moorings in many Norwegian harbours! Believe it or not we found later that Pampera had been in tiny Støtt!
Kristiansund has also industry connected to maritme activity Sterkoder, Ulltveit Moe, for examample. Several large, rusty Russian trawlers lay docked there too.
Our sail to Kristiansund in calm, rather cloudy weather took just over 5 hrs. We celebrated my birthday with champagne on board along with John, Ole and Randi. The latter couple are now starting their trip northwards. Our diner, as on earlier cruises, was enjoyed at "Smia" with traditional bacalao.
Part 3 Kristiansund to Bodø
17.June to Kvenvær 63.31N/08.23E 7 hrs 34,2nm
18.June to Kuringvågen, 64.02N/10.03E 8,25 hrs, 54,5 nm
19.June to Setervika, 64.23N/10.29E 5 hrs, 25,7 nm
20. June To Abelvær, 64.44N/11.11E 5,75 hrs, 33,7 nm
21-22.June To Skeishamn(Leka)65.0N/11.4E 4,5 hrs,28,5nm
23. June To Vegstein, Vega 65.41N/12.01E 7 hrs,41,5 nm
24. June to Skogsholmen, 65.48N/12.02E 2 hrs,8,6 nm
25. June to Herøy, 65.58N/12.17E 1,5 hrs, 12,5nm
26. June to Sandnessjøen, 66.01N/12.36E 2,3 hrs, 10nm
27. June to Onøya, 66.23,5N/12.49,6E then on to Selsøyvik 66.34N/12.58E 6 hrs altogether, 37,2nm
28. June to Rødøya 66.39N/13.03E 7 hrs 42,7 nm
29. June to Bolga 66.48N/13.14E 3,5 hrs, 12,1 nm
30. June to Selvågen,Fleina 67.06N/13.52E 4,5 hrs,24 nm
30. June to Krokholmen, 67.08N/13.59E 1 hr, 5,3 nm
03. July to Bodø, 67.16N/14.22E 1,5 hrs, 13,3 nm
Kvenvær on Hitra, was our next port of call. This is an attractive little fishing village, modernized to a certain extent Fishing is now practised from small boats, hired mostly by foreigners, who also rent the small apartments by the harbour. There is a small restaurant and bar in addition to the normal facilities. There are several pontoons for guest boats. The sea temperature is now 13,5deg. C, but still not tempting enough,
Kuringvågen is charmingly situated in a little bay, just off the main route for Hurtigruten and other ships. A new pontoon for guests is a great improvement on the previous one. Nordavind, our friend Ole's HR36 lies longside too, the only other guest boat. Stokksund is a thrivng place in summer weather The local shop is expanding and there is an outdoor restaurant on recycled fishfarm equipment.
We have been extremely lucky weatherwise since we left home 3 weeks ago. Next day was our first rainy morning, postponing our start and giving us time to read the electronic newspapers and to write! Sailing is a flexible, lazy life at times!
Arrived in Setervika in blustery, wet weather. Still few boats around. Only a busload of Austrians hiring flats and small fishing boats. They say there's not much cod at the moment but they'll take home 28 kg. of frozen saith filet each home.
Menu: We were invited aboard Nordavind for a really tasty dinner of roast wild lam. The lamb came from Randi's home island, Sæterøya.
Gale force wind and rain during the night, but we woke up to a lovely sunny morning and an intricate sail on the inner track to Utvorda and then on to Abelvær. Abelvær was disappointing - the local shop had closed down and their was little activity, even though we are nearing midsummer! One fisherman was both active and kind. Ole and Jon Erik chatted to him just as he was leaving and he offered us both large saith and liver when he came back!
We made a short stop at Rørvik to replenish our larder and decided to continue to Leka, with a small harbour at Skei. The entrance is narrow and shallow but well marked, and the pontoon long enough for several boats.
Menu: Boiled saith and liver served in the traditional Norwegian manner.
Met a group of biologists on "Artic Cruise", working on ocean research. Another interesting event was waving to one of Jon Erik's colleagues as he sailed past aboard the Hurtigruta ship Trollfjord. A pity they couldn't meet, since Tore lives in S. Afrika!
Leka is a really interesting island where we spent an extra day to look at the viking graves and other cultural remains. The local King Herlaug decided not to come under the rule of King Harald Hårfagre and buried himself alive with 13 of his men, cattle, boat, food and other valuables! The island continues cattle farming and fishing. We see fish farms all the way up the coast here, the communities being well off as a result.
The weather is now much warmer and the cold north wind has changed direction luckily. We made an early start with Vegstein on Vega as our aim for St. Hans Eve. We were even tempted to have a dip in the sea 14 deg. C.
We found a fine pontoon at Vegstein and enjoyed typical Norwegin smoked meats with trimmings along with Ole and Randi before going ashore to meet some of the local people. Britt is very welcoming and was keeping the barbecue hot, serving coffee and newly made waffles and even opening the museum for visitors like us. She remembered us from our visit 3 years ago! She is very proud of the work done by the local community for the Coastal Culture Museum. Vegstein was an old trading post. http://www.vegakystlag.no/
We now leave the main route northwards to visit some of the smaller island communities and stop at Skogsholmen. Until 1970 or so there were 8-9 farms on this island but the buildings are now summer homes for descendants. Herøy community is known for initiating fish farming and thrives well on the industry now. The old school on Skogsholmen has been restored and is now a guesthouse with restaurant and other facilities, including a new pontoon. Many families from the islands in Herøy visited the restaurant today and we too had a delicious meal made by a charming Nigerian family who run the place this summer.
We notice how open and friendly people are. We commented on the well kept grass roads to one lady who replied that on Skogsholmen they take walks with their lawnmowers, not with a dog! The temperature was as high as 26 deg.C in the shade! We chatted to Kurt Nilsen and family on "Aqua Lena" and learned a bit about their home community and Herøy's celebrations this week - 150 years since Herøy community and parish was founded, and 40 years since the annual fair days were established.
We are in area of many islands, deep lagoons and many skerries and rocks, making sailing almost impossible even though the weather is suitable, so we were tempted to motor next day to visit Herøy, Kurt and Lena's shop for sports clothes and equipment "Herøy Sport og Fritid".
We took a walk to the church dating from the middle ages but restored several times and had a chat with a local artist Rolf Jørgensen was preparing his art exhibition in the museum nearby. He has painted many fine landscapes, particularily of the mountain range, the Seven Sisters. We were impressed!
We sailed most of the way to Sandnessjøen seilforeningens marina, just south of the main harbour to fill diesel and decided to use the guest pontoon there. Three years ago we met Per and Turid in Petrell at the little Ørnes harbour. They gave us several harbour tips for Helgeland and we tested some of them. They also told us to use the private sailing club harbour instead of the main city harbour. Which we did - and surprise - met Per and Turid again! A most pleasant reunion with new harbour tips.
Onøy - Lurøy havn where we met Randi and Ole again. Randi's skipper nephew took us on a sightseeing tour of the islands, thriving and beautiful with wealth based on fishfarming, 2 seagoing fishing boats, 7 farms and a DNT (Den Norske Turistforening) seaside hostel.
We sailed through spectacular scenery up to a harbour recommended by per and Turid, Selsøyvik on Rangsøysund. On the way we sailed under a craggy mountain, Hestmona and crossed the Artic circle at 66,33deg. N. Selsøyvik is an old trading centre and we had the privelege of chatting to the owner, and salmon fishfarmer, Aksel Olsen. His grandfather bought the estate in 1933 and gradually renovated the buildings. The expensive restoration continues, helped by "salmon incomes". Aksel has two concessions and earns well, as do other fishfarmers.
Selsøyvik (nr 54 in Havneguiden 4), has new pontoons and the locla "Landhandleri" functions well. To our surprise Hurtigruten Trollfjord passed through the narrow sound next morning.
Our next port was Klokkargården på Rødøya, after a motor tour into the base of Nordfjord in Melfjord to see the glacier Svartisen - fabulous scenery all the way. Anchoring in the two marked bays was unsuccessful due to rocks and stones in the bottoms of the bays.
then click on your left if necessary for slide show (lysbildefremvisning)
We were heartily welcomed by Malin at Klokkargården. She is full of enthusiasm and initiativ and new projects. her business goes on all the year round with winter conferances and meetings, weddings and other arrangements, summer events, nature trails for both children and adults, new quay for cruise boats and catering for larger cruise ships by the glacier (Holandsfjorden). http://www.klokkergaarden.no/
Freshly baked bread and rolls were delivered to Siller Lass as 8am as ordered, along with a little gift from Malin, who appreciates old friends returning again and again.
June 29th and we sail out from Klokkargården to fish! Jon Erik's dream was fulfilled. He found an underwatermound, depth 30-40 metres, and while I kept the boat as still as possible in the windy weather, he drew up a large cod and an even larger saith at the same time. Jippi ! Boiled cod and trimmings for our main meal today, seared and fried lightly saltet fish later!
On to Bolga to relax and wait for the wind to change direction. Bolga harbour has expanded, 5 new summer houses with a pontoon and boats for fishing are ready or renting this year.
We hope to be quit the cold northerly at last! We've had amazingly sunny weather all the way so far, little or no rain compared to home areas, but wind against us continually! Only a few more stops before Bodø where we take a pause.
The scenery is indescribably beautiful with mountains of all shapes and sizes, snow clad tops, glacier views, mydriads of islands and small villages ! We notice though that seeing 4 sailing boats at sea today was unusual. There are far fewer boats, especially foreign boats, around this year.
From Bolga we sailed northwards and had a lunch pause in a natural lagoon on Fleina south coast, Selvågen. An ideal anchorage in good weather! We continued on to Krokholmen, one of the most scenic and beautiful island groups that we visited 3 years ago. Unfortunately the place was deserted. No activity at all in the buildings and no open restaurant, but the grounds were well trimmed. We prolonged our stay due to rain, our first day of continual, heavy rain. Three other sailing boats were moored up with us, one who remembered us fron Mariehavn 5 years ago! Have a look at this website for more info: http://turliv.no/bodo2/krokholmen.html
We have visited many new harbours on our way north to Bodø and will continue to do so after a week or so break.
3rd. July finds us in Bodø with 984 nautical miles on the log - from our home harbour in the Oslofjord. We keep a log over the distance sailed - or mostly motored! - and coordinates of all harbours or anchorages. Since we have experienced strong headwinds most of the way, we are very happy to have onboard a reliable Yanmar 50hp motor. Average diesel consumption is 2,8 l per hour or 0,4 l per nm.
Part 4: Bodø to Tromsø
10th. July to Kjerringøy 67.31N/14.45E 3 hrs, 17,6nm
11th. July to Norskot 67.50N/14.47E 4hrs, 19,4 nm
On to Bogen, Bogøy 67.53N/15.11E 2hrs, 12nm
12th. July to Skutvik 68.10N/15.20E 1,5 hrs, 11nm
13th. July to Svolvær 68.13N/14.33E 4hrs, 22,4 nm
17th. July to Sortland 68.43N/15.24E then Risøyhavn 68.58N/15.38E 9 hrs. 53,9 nm
18th. July to Hamn på Senja 69.25N/17.09E 7hrs. 45nm
19th. to 21st. July in Tromsø 69.39N/18.57E 7 hrs, 48,7nm
Bodø has installed new and better pontoons in the inner harbour, since we were here in 2009. We exchange news and harbour information with other sailors and get interesting suggestions - Finn Iversen and family in their well-equiped HR 352 turned out to be from neighbouring Notodden. We also made friends with Danish Aminguag, Inger Lise and Ole, and met one of Norma's pharmacy colleagues who, helpfull as usual. drove us to the airport for our short trip to Kongsberg Jazz Festival.
On July 9th, we are back in Bodø ready for daughter Lena and grandson Jesper, who join us to explore Kjerringøy, "The Hamsun Country", and Hamarøy. In incredible summer weather we were able to see Kjerringøy a restored trading centre from around 1800, at its best. Beautiful sandy beaches, panoramic views, 15 or so protected buildings forming the museum and a good guide to give details on the way of life in the estate. http://kjerringoy.info/
After an unsuccessful fishing spell on the way, we had a lunch break at Nordskot next day, but the northerly wind blowing right into the harbour induced us to carry on to Bogen to spend the night. The place is small and has little of interest apart from a church tethered to prevent the autumn and winter storms from blowing it off its foundations, a shop and a gas station.
We berthed at Skutvik, on the south side of the large island, Hamarøy, early on July 12th, with beautiful and intricate fjords and magnificent mountains all around. One of Lena's friends, Marianne, turns out to be exhibition designer at the brand new Hamsun centre, 20 km drive from our harbour. Have a look at the website:http://hamsunsenteret.no/no/velkommen We had a very informative tour at the centre, learnig about the architect's intentions of "A building as a body".
Artist Elisabeth at "Mormors Hus" http://www.galleri-mormorshus.no/ gallery rents her car to us, enabling a visit to both the Hamsun centre and Tranøy lighthouse and village. http://www.tranoyopplevelser.no/ . All in all, a magnificent day.
Lena and Jesper left by the speedy catamaran, 32 knots, back to Bodø early on the 13th, while we set sail for Svolvær in perfect conditions. We were met by colleague Sveinung who found a mooring for us and invited us home for a pizza lunch. We really appreciate the friendliness and hospitality from friends along our route!
This report, from the skipper this time, is written in pouring rain with even more rain and gale force winds forecast, giving three days rest.http://www.svolvaer.net/
Saturday 14th. 10 pm. We've just been aboard the Hurtigruta ship Trollfjord to have a chat with John and Margaret from "Josin", the Ballad we owned previously. The've left Josin in Bodø while they live in luxury on Trollfjord all the way to Kirkenes, then finish the tour by bus back to Bodø.
17th July, the rain had almost stopped and the wind promising. so we sailed northwards, and into the narrow Trollfjord with its almost vertical walls. Fog covered the mountain peaks but we saw a good bit up the faces and were impressed by the nature around. Our aim was the north harbour at Sortland, but it turned out to be deserted and locked, preventing us from getting ashore. Therefore only a brief lunch stop before we moved on. Risøyhamn next! An interesting old trading village where the Hurtigruta stopped for many years. The ships have gradually increased in size and larger quays are necessary, so another quay near the bridge over to Andøya is now used. We were invited to tie up at the concrete pier owned by the local grocery store. The shopkeeper, lady Adelheid Flesland Benjaminsen, offered to open her new museum shop, a general store from 1912. But she couldnt open before midnight she said, was all right for us? YES! At 1130 , a beautiful lady was sighted and heard on the pier above our heads, singing in a crystal clear voice the fishermans psalm by Peter Dass. So we had a most fascinating night at the museum shop which was full of all kinds of utensils and equipment sold to the fishing community 100 years ago. Actally, this shop was opened in 1912, exactly 100 years ago and reopened now in 2012. We discussed the future with Adelheid, could she learn something from Malin on Klokkergården about developing the tourism business?18th July -
An early start with our route to be decided after passing through Risøyrenna, a narrow but well marked channel, and into open Andsfjorden. Cloudy weather, 6-7 m/s wind in a good direction for sailing NW to the tip of Senja. The sea became rougher and rougher as we came clear of Andøya and felt that the north pole wasn't far away. We made good speed and passed the first northerly finger of Senja and into the scenic Hamn harbour. The floating pontoon had been taken by the previous weeks' storm so we were advised to moor onto the quay side. Hamn is a beautiful little harbour which attracts many tourists and other active people. The harbour itself will be improved by 2013, according to the notices on the pier.
We have reached our aim! Moored in Tromsø at July 19th 2pm ! 1200 nm logged from home harbour.
Our first day in Tromsø was spent scouting around the town to plan Jon Erik's brother's visit next day. Keeping in mind the forecast that promised 60mm rain and heavy winds, our activities would be rather restricted. We met Olaf when the Queen Mary 2 docked north of the town. The ship is so colossal that the 36,5 meter high bridge can't be passed. The passengers on these extra large cruise ships get little chance to see the magnificent Norwegian fords. A wonderful reunion - fancy coming all the way from New York, just for a day with us!
We began with a champagne breakfast aboard Siller Lass and exchanged gifts - Jon Erik is now the proud owner of Olaf's 50 year old Rollieflex camera. We then braved the rain to visit museums, an art gallery and of course Mack's beer hall. Prawn and king crab lunch aboard with a bottle of Sancerre made the day. We were sorry to see him go, but on leaving, Olaf suggested that our next meeting ought to be in the Carribean or Pamama canal where the weather is guaranteed warmer , a great idea.
Part 5: Southwards - Tromsø to Sandnessjøen
21st. July to Finnsnes 69.14N/17.58E 5 hrs 15 min., 34nm
22.nd July to Kjøtta 68.52N/16.42E 6 hrs, 40 nm
23rd.-.24th July in Harstad 68.48N/16.32E 2 hrs, 6,5nm
25th. July to Lødingen 68.24,7N/16.00E 6 hrs. 34,1 nm
26th. July to Skutvik 68.00N/15.20E 6hrs. 35nm.
27th. July to Bodø 67.16N/14.22E 8hrs. 54nm
28th. July to Støtt 66.55N/13.2 E 6 hrs 29,3nm
29th. july to Myken 66.45N/12.28E 6 hrs 30nm
30th. July Sandnessjøen 66.01N/12.37E 8hrs. 44,5nm
Departure from Tromsø was timed to have maximum effect of the current through Rystraum sound where we recorded 11.3 knots! Apart from this our speed was affected by wind from the south. We're now on the way south and had hoped that the northerly wind direction would be with us for a while - but - no luck. As soon as we change direction the wind does the same! Our stay in the marina north of the bridge at Finnsnes was brief but other sailors gave us good advice: "A natural harbour, the lagune at Kjøtta near Harstad is worth a visit". As usual we meet few boats on the trip, but we saw some small minke whales and are always fascinated by the young puffins swimming on the surface, hoping we'll steer clear of them. As soon as we get within 10 meters they decide to act, and either duck under the waves or make a fluttering, usually unsuccessful, attempt to be airbourne.
Entering Kjøtta several hours later confirmed how right our friends were. KNBF the royal boating association, had a buoy in this beautiful lagune taking boats up to 10 ton. Just outside the lagune, we caught a 6 kg cod next morning, excellent for our dinner i Harstad where we will be staying for two days due to forecast of southerly gale force winds.
On our way to Harstad , we see the southern and more fertile side of Senja, Norways largest island, which we now have circumnavigated. We then sailed past Rolla, the island where one of our Kongsberg friends was brought up. The islands here are fascinating with alpine with craggy peaks up to 1400 meters.
We moored in the central harbour in Harstad, and took a walk to the southern marina. According to "Havneguiden" this marina is within walking distance of the town centre, but the walk was along the highway with little or no pavement. We found the Grottebaden an amazing and fun place. This swimming pool/park has been blasted out of the rock under the town, probably giving stone to increase the harbour area.
Menu: Jon Erik is fishing large cod and improving his filleting talents, giving a bigger variety for dishes in our limited space. The cod fillets were salted for about an hour, rinsed, seasoned with pepper, herbs and a dessertspoon of lemon juice then packed in alum.foil. These packets were cooked slowly in a little water in our large frying pan, then served with lemon and sour cream sauce, using stock made from the less edible parts of the fish.
We enjoy meeting other sailors, interesting people with different aims, boats, and routes. During the last few days we have talked to the crews on two boats sailing north to leave their boats in Tromsø for the winter, one boat from Alta, way in the north, that sailed the ARC race over the Atlantic a couple of years ago, a boat hired in Tromsø with 10 Russians from Moscow aboard etc.
The wind is still rageing here. After an expected heavy rainfall this forenoon, we'll move south to Lødingen, since the forecast is promising. Not long after leavingHarstad we noticed a German sailing boat returning to Harstad - was the weather worse than forecast? Well, with gale force wind on the nose increasing to 18m/s now and then, we motored out the fjord and were mighty glad to have a sturdy Hallberg Rassy boat taking a beating.
Lødingen harbour is small but safe. After crossing Vestfjorden,we stopped briefly at Straumhamn on Hamarøy. Straumhamn is one of the most exotic lagoons we've ever seen, with sandy beaches and a small river running into the sea from a innland lake. The lagoone is surounded by ten magnificen peaks, some up to 800 metesr, including the s harp pinnacle of Hammarøyskaftet. The level of the lake on the inside of this lagoon is only a couple of meters above high tide. In good weather you can bathe in both fresh and salt water at the same time! Our day's sail continued to Skutvik where our circumnavigation of Lofoten, Senja and Tromsø is complete.
We left Skutvik at 6 am to cross Vestfjorden ov the Tranøy and pass Kjerringøy on the way to Bodø. where we refilled groceries. We had a great evening and scrumptious dinner with colleague Arne and wife Britt who have a fantastic view over the fjord from their beautiful home near the old Bispegården in Bodø. The garden ot this manse in now partly occupied by gipsy people from Romania, in the hope of a solution to their problems /rights as to their way og life.
Next port of choice was Støtt, an old favourite. What a change! Daughter, Eva , of the elderly owner of the area, the fishery catch and transport business, and local store Karl Sørensen, has taken over and renewed the family business . She has given up a good job in Oslo and moved north to Støtt with her husband Trond and 3 sons. Her friend Silje too, has moved north and does a wonderful job as chef. A new pontoon and a newly renovated building housing en newly opened restaurant are already in place and business is thriving. Several boats fish actively from Støtt now and another came in with whale meat for sale. We were even tempted to take a dip when we moored up. The sea had reached the highest temp. so far - 14,5 deg,C! http://turliv.no/bodo2/stott.html
We sailed on to a minute group of islands far from the mainland, Myken. This charming place has been inhabited for many hundred years and although fishing isn't as good as it was 100 years ago, people still live there, keep their houses and piers ship-shape and enjoy each others company and social life. 22 peoople live there permanently, including 14 Icelanders, who came after an initiative from Bjørn who himself has moved back to his mothers place of birth. The school has 5 pupils with an enthusiastic and active school teacher who runs the restaurant "Karenstua" in her summer holidays. Many other activities like sailing courses, renting of the lighthouse and summer cottages are well cared of by Helge Eriksen who was born and brought up on the island, Have a look at www.myken.no for more info and fotos. Myken folk gave us a warm welcome and a very good impression of the community.
The fast catamaran ships running to and fro among the islands, function as an umbilicle cord to the mainland.
31st. July to Leka 65.05N/11.44E 9,5 hrs, 61nm
Gale force wind on the nose kept us in Rørvik until 3 pm when we motored out, along with Embla from Frøya and Juno from Måløy. We decided on Villa Havn for the night while Embla continued on against the rather rough sea.
Part 6: Sandnessjøen to Stavanger (Tananger marina)
1st. Aug. to Rørvik 64.51N/11.13E 3,5hrs, 20,5nm
2nd. Aug. to Villa Havn 64.32N/10.42E 4,5 hrs, 23,7nm
3rd. Aug. to Kuringvågen,Stokksund 64.02N/10.03E 7 hrs, 37,6nm
4rth. Aug. to Børøsund 63.34N/09.11E 6,5hrs, 34,4nm
5th. Aug. to Kristiansund 63.07N/07.43E 7 hrs, 45,4 nm
6th. Aug. to Tornes 62.50N/07.02E 5 hrs, 34,5 nm
7th. Aug. to Sandshamn,Sandsøya 62.15N/05.29E 10 hrs. 58,5nm
8th. Aug. to Kalvåg, 61.45,9/N04.52,6E 7,5 hrs 48nm
9th. Aug. to Byrknes 60.54N/04.49E 9 hrs. 57 nm
10th. Aug. to Strusshavn 60.24N/05.11E 5,5 hrs. 36 nm
11th. Aug. to Espevær 59.35N/05.09E 8 hrs., 52,2 nm
12th. Aug. to Tananger 58.55N/05.34E 6 hrs, 41,5 nm
We had a long haul to Sandnessjøen and were welcomed by John and Margaret who invited us aboard Josin for a splendid dinner. The prevailing weather, wind now southerly with rain, continues so we prefer to take another long sail to Leka then on to Rørvik. These harbours have been decscribed earlier.
Gale force wind on the nose kept us in Rørvik until 3 pm when we motored out, along with Embla from Frøya and Juno from Måløy. We decided on Villa Havn for the night while Embla continued on against the rather rough sea.
Villa Havn has an interesting old coal fired lighthouse, now not in use. The coal was sailed over to the harbour from Newcastle from 1839 to 1859 and pieces are still to be found on the pathway up to the lighthouse building.
We sailed continually next day for many hours, something we haven't managed to do so often on this cruise, and arrived at Kuringvågen, along with Juno from Måløy, in brilliant sunshine. Kuringvågen is one of our favorite marinas, always so clean, well kept and sheltered from all winds.
We deicided to have mackerel for dinner next day and caught 3 large fish in next to no time. Sailed genaker until the wind tailed off, then motored on to Børøsund, a new marina for us, small but scenic and with a good restaurant. We spent a fine evening with Britt and Glenn and had a surprise and fun meet with our friends from our cruise 3 years ago, fam Antonsen from Fillan på Hitra, sailing "Fortuna". It's always fun to renew contact with friends.
We use SKYPE otherwise to keep in contact with family and friends.
Tornes is a "must" stop for us - we meet Randi and Ole there. owners of our previous HR36. The harbour has a fine long floating pontoon, club house, washing machies etc and is much better than Bud (a bit further north) in our opinion. To Sandhamn på Sandsøy from Tornes took ten hours motoring mostly in fog and rain, but Sandshamn is a fine starting point to round Stadt tomorrow. Rosenlund Marina has new long pontoons and is the process of expanding.
Rounding Stadt was much less challenging than when we sailed northwards, taking 2 hours from Sandhamn to the westerly tip, them 2,5 hours more on to Måløy. We saw gannets on the way, not puffins any longer. We continued on to Kalvåg, with Hornelen on our starboard side. Apart fromHornelen's steep sides, the mountains are now rounder in shape with more vegetation than up north. Kalvåg is a pleasant village with good pontoons and a lively restaurant and bar. The restaurant gives very good service, has a fine variety of dishes and is popular too, for people coming by road, not just sailors.
Pamela Dunbar from Ireland owns the lovely altelier on the pier and can offer a wide variety of goods, not just her knittwear. www.holmenatelier.no
An early start gave us time for a long haul to Byrknes, a new harbour for us. Small but fine for an overnight stop. Byrknes lies in an archipelago of more than 100 islands and has about 500 hundred inhabitants, many young people involved in fishfarming and the businesses connected with that. The local shop lies nearby.
From Byrkens we sailed on in warmer weather towards Bergen, and moored up in Strusshavn after a good genaker reach. The scenery is changing, the islands and skerries are more friendly and rounded in shape and have heather blooming on them. Strusshavn was a quarantine harbour long ago, for ships coming into Bergen, and is now a well kept and thriving harbour. Foreign sailing boats visit Strusshavn and we met one Dutch sailor who had spent 2 years on the west coast of Scotland, then sailed over to the Bergen area when the temperature is generally 5 deg. warmer. Like many other foreign and Norwegian sailing boats we've been in contact with, the owner plans to dock his boat in Norway for the winter.
We have made a point of visiting as many new harbours as possible on this cruise so we chose Espevær
the following day. Espevær is a small group of islands, surprisingly cosy with houses and little nooks and cranies with boats everywhere. Nothing like olden times though when the fishing was at its highest.
Today Espevær has only 20 permanent inhabitants and most of the charming houses and quays are owned by descendants from the old inhabitors now living and working in Stord, Bømlo or Haugesund. We tied up outside one of the private quays and paid our harbour due through a one inch hole in a window frame. We spent the evening in Espeværs only pub watching Norway beating Montenegro in the final olympic gold metal match in handball. Several sailingboats stopping here also on their way back to Bergen after regatta sailing in Stavanger. One minute automatic ferry carrring 4 people transported folk from one island to the other.
A fine sail on Sunday brought us to Tananger where we were treated to dinner with nephew Eirik and family and were impressed by their really beautiful, well planed and elegant new house. Son Ivar,14 year old and a keen free diver, decided to crew with us for a few days and came aboard with full diving equipment.
Part 7: Stavanger (Tananger) to Åsgårdstrand
13th. Aug. to Egersund 58.27N/06.00E 8 hrs, 43,2 nm
14th. Aug. to Skarvøya,Farsund,58.04N/06.54E 8 hrs, 43,6 nm
15th. Aug. to Mandal 58.01N/07.27E 4 hrs, 23,4 nm
16th. Aug. to Stokken 58.06N/08.06E 4 hrs, 24,7 nm
17th. Aug. to Lusøkilen 58.11N/08.17E 2hrs, 11,8 nm
18th. Aug. to Arendal 58.27N/08.46E 4 hrs, 26 nm,
19th. Aug. to Risør 58.45N/09.18E 5 hrs. 25,7 nm
20th, Aug. to Kragerø 58.52N/09.25E 3 hrs. 13,1nm
21st. Aug. to Stavern 58.60N/10.02E 3,5hrs., 23,5 nm
22nd. Aug. to Tallakshavn 59.04N/10.18E 3 hrs. 11,8 nm
23rd. Aug. to Åsgårdstrand, home harbour
This week had early 06.00 starts and long days, first to Egersund, then rounding Lista to Skarvøya, an island in the Farsund archipelago. Jon Erik visited the rescue boat RS"Reidar von Koss" in Egersund to discuss safety in sailing with the skipper Lars Solvik, who turned out to be a former Ballad sailor. Lars had made a check list of equipment and safety precautions for sail boats, which he distributes out at skipper meetings.
This coast, rounding Lista, is one of the danger spots along the Norwegian coast. Here, heavy North Sea swells meet the Skagerak current often creating very unruly seas. After 8 hours sailing , we tied up in the Skarvøy lagoon in fine sunny weather. This scenic lagoon was full of mackerel, the shoals being chased around by something larger. We soon found out what! Ivar, an excellent free diver was down with his harpoon gun at around 8 meters depth when he suddenly stared right into the eyes of a full size seal!. The seal was chasing the mackerel. In our harbour guide we read that a few meters from Siller Lass a sailing ship was set fire to and sunk in the 18th. century, due to infection with bubonic plague. Ivar was dubious about diving near the wreck and had ghosts in his mind. So he was extra scared when he met the seal eye to eye! We gave the seal some of the fish Ivar had harpooned, it was curious and possibly friendly and entertained us the rest of the evening.
Ivar ready to dive and the seal that scared him
Mandal was our next port of call, after a relatively short trip in sheltered waters, through Korshavn then round Lindesnes, the southermost point in Norway. We were sorry to see Ivar go, but we hope he'll crew for us some other time. We met up with Anahitra again, a British boat with a skipper well known in Scandinavia.
We then spent two nights in peaceful, natural anchorages, then continued up the coast to Arendal. We're not far from home now and are really enjoying lazier days in warmer weather! The strong winds and heavy seas are less dominant - we now have light breezes on our tail.
The last few days of our cruise were surprisingly relaxed in warm weather, good sailing and great company with friends both in Risør and Kragerø. Stavern, with a fine larger marina than we experienced a few years ago then one of our favortie anchorages Tallakshavn before fishing more mackerel on our sail up to Åsgårdstrand.
Tonight, one day later we've just enjoyed a gourmet dinner of fried, slightly salted mackerel and newly picked chanterelle mushrooms cooked in sour cream and oregano.
What an fantastic experience! Cruising 2300nm, vis
iting 70 different marinas or anchorages, 88 days altogether and numerous memories of people we've met and wonderful nature! Many thanks to all those who have been so generous and friendly along the route.
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