Sailing & Other Adventures

Author: fiandadrian (Page 3 of 13)

Fi left… twice

An honest account of my experiences of going totally out of my comfort zone. The photos in this blog are a combination from me, Marie, Clothilde, Sean, Kate, Rebecca and Sylvia. Thank you.

If you had told me a year ago, I’d be ticking off a bucket list item of completing the Fastnet race in one of the hardest years of the Fastnet, breaking halyards, doing night watches and spending a week in a small space with 5 other beautiful strangers I would have laughed. But this I did.

Before I start, a little about Emma. She is a 52 foot aluminium cruising vessel with a lifting centreboard. She has a large sail at the front called a “solent”, a smaller sail just behind that called the “staysail”, a main sail that can be made smaller by reefing, and it has 3 possible reefs, each making the sail smaller – so this means we can change the sails around for the different conditions. She also has a light wind sail called an asymmetrical spinnaker which is a pretty pink and red colour and is really powerful. Inside she has 6 berths, plus the central table that can be converted into a giant bed for pyjama parties. 2 bathrooms, a generator, 2 fridges and a large freezer.

Right – Fi did some racing. Here we go.

One grey afternoon, we walked to the airport in Brønnøysund to say goodbye to Fi (me) who was leaving for some new adventures.

What am I doing…?

A few months ago, I was asked by our lovely contact at Garcia (who built Away) if I wanted to do the Fastnet (one of the worlds biggest sailing races with 500 boats in this years race). As I picked myself up off the floor, and stuttered some words at Adrian about it in no discernible order, Fi and Adrian Sailing decided to become “Fi Racing and Adrian on Dog Sitting Duty” for a short time. I said “yes” having no idea about ocean racing, but that’s what I do – say yes to opportunities. Why not? I’ve sailed Away for 2 years in ocean swells and gale force winds, around tiny islands in Sweden and Norway, around massive ships in the Kiel and the standing mast route in the Netherlands. Plus we’d done the south coast of England, the Solent and the channel, and the north coast of France – plus all the other stuff. All good training for what was coming.

First up was the La Trinite/Cowes by Actual race, which would enable us to qualify as a team to race in the Fastnet.

I left Brønnøysund bound for an evening in Paris, then on to La Trinite sur mer the next day to meet up with the mighty 52 foot Garcia Exploration, named Emma which was to be my home for the next week. I met the wonderful team, Clothilde (skipper and the lovely person who invited me), Marie, Kate, Sean, Sylvia, Rebecca and Mark (owners of Emma).

From left, Clothilde (skipper), Marie (co-skipper), Sylvia, Me, Kate. Rebecca arrived a few hours after this was taken. Don’t worry we’ll see her.

After a big day of getting to know each other and prepping, I suddenly found myself untying lines, and in the La Trinite/Cowes boat race. Sitting on the windward side of Emma I pondered my life decisions as I reached out to some super massive sail boats for a high five.

High fives dudes.
Crocs and socks.
Getting through the start line!

We pass the start line and headed west to get out from the harbour and its islands and into the sea. Then, heading north, we did lots of tacking as the wind was on the nose. It was hard to learn tacking on what is basically the same boat, but entirely different, whilst at the same time figuring out where I fit in this new group. My experience with groups of people over the last few years has been… Adrian – and being the borderline painfully introverted, unconfident but capable type that I am, I was suddenly thrust into a group team situation and found myself calling on resources I hadn’t called upon since my working days (team work, communication etc etc) and crikey I’m rusty. Adding to that, my life consists of picking nice weather windows to travel in our home to exotic places, spending time with Adrian and my beautiful dog. Its all quite relaxed and enjoyable, and ocean racing is… well… challenging! My first watch was from 12 midnight to 4:30AM and so I learned a lot in the dark on a new to me boat, with new to me people. To say my poor little brain was overloaded is an understatement, and to be fair, I think I did okay.

Clothilde, in her absolute element!
Standard clown activity from me.
Marie and Kate on watch.
Helming upwind. The autopilot had decided not to work so there was a lot of manual helming on this race.
Dancing to request the wind.

The next few days were a blur of night watches, dealing with no wind at all, dolphins, storms with a fully reefed Emma and shouting at ships at the same time, before we finally found ourselves gybing up the English coast, and navigating the tides through the Solent before finally getting to Cowes and the finish line, and that much anticipated glass of French wine. 3 days, 7 hours sailing and 411 nautical miles.

Whoo upwind! Still smiling even though the autopilot was out.
Yep, dodging ships at 03:30 in the morning. I shouted at one… But they moved for us.
Marie and Kate hoping we’re going to hit the tide correctly for the Solent passage.
Passing Hurst Castle through the north channel.
Clothilde calling up race control on the VHF. We arrived at 12:37 at night. No one was particularly interested as we were last.

I think I didn’t eat a hot meal for 3 days, as I was just putting food in for fuel, sleeping, trying to keep clean, and sailing. Huge challenge. I think as a team this was so great. We learned by the end of the race how to really mesh as a team and we nailed the finish. Oh my gosh, we have qualified to do the Fastnet race.

Too cool. I finished my first race!
Marie feeling great we finished!
Ahhh some English beers for lunch!

After a great sleep, we enjoyed the next day in Cowes, went to the awards ceremony and dinner, and planned to leave that night at 2am, or was it 12:30…? French time (boat time) or local time? We were all so tired, but we got the right tide to get out of the Solent, and back into the channel to get to Cherbourg for some more training and sorting out of Emma.

Awards dinner outfits!
Happy face.

In Cherbourg, we were really fortunate that Mark (one of the owners of Emma) had organised for sailing great, Pete Goss, to come and mentor us for a few hours on Emma. We learned a lot from him, and these lessons we are taking into the Fastnet.

Good chats with Pete Goss! We took notes for sure! Loads of lessons to be learned and a growing to do list to prepare Emma for the Fastnet!
Wow we met Pete Goss! Thank you Pete!
Sailing star struck me!

I get back to my home on Away, and my lovely little family a few days later, and we enjoy settling back in. It felt so good to be back in my comfort zone, Away, our home that we know how to sail without even thinking about it, that is set up exactly how we like it for sailing ease and safety. All the things I take for granted are here with me and I am oh so grateful for our world here.

Little bubba.

We head south to Lervik in Norway and meet some wonderful new friends on the dock. Ahhh to be back cruising. It really is bliss, and whilst I know I can complete the Fastnet with Emma and her wonderful crew, Ocean racing is probably not going to be something I’m doing on a regular basis. I like chill out cruising too much – which comes with its own challenges of course! But at least I can turn on the motor in no winds, and pick the best weather window to leave, or change destinations on the fly.

Ah cruising again. Beautiful Norway with the wild flowers.

We have a reasonably leisurely trip down the Norwegian coast a day or so after I get back. Huge thanks to Norway, for demonstrating to Adrian what the La Trinite race was like – no winds, 35 knots and triple reefed etc all in just one 30 mile passage. Once in Trondheim, I had a flight booked back to Paris, and then to Cherbourg to meet back up with lovely Emma and the crew to prepare Emma for the Fastnet. Whilst I am away from Emma and the team, there is a flurry of activity at the boat to get things done, and I study tide charts, autopilot settings and spinnaker pole setups in preparation. Oh yes, and I get some tricky sailing under my belt. Good practice. Thank you Norway.

After a day in Trondheim, I pack up my backpack again and head off to Cherbourg and the lovely Emma to prepare for the Fastnet. As I write this (post Fastnet) it is actually hard to remember what happened exactly, but I’ll give it a go.

The Fastnet.

I arrived in Cherbourg and went straight to Marie’s for a night of planning and cooking. My contribution would be to drink the wine and provide the entertainment whilst Clothilde and Marie created yummy smelling french dishes to be frozen for our race. After a good nights sleep after my big day of travel we were off to Emma to do some prep work – which mainly consisted of turning Emma the cruising boat into Emma “the kind of more like a race boat”, boat – i.e taking off all the non racing gear like kayaks and extra tins of food, and much to my dismay the stash of whisky and wine.

With Emma a lot lighter, and the team feeling pretty ready, we had our “photoshoot” with Garcia so they could social media the crap out of us (provided we were successful of course) and then we were off to Yarmouth where we had a berth booked for the night before the race. Oh I didn’t mention the cool jackets – how cool are the jackets!!!!! Matchy matchy!

Matchy matchy!
Such fun!
Naturally we sent the photographer up the mast.
Clearly feeling confident.
Clothilde and Marie at the skippers presentation.
Clothilde went up the mast.
While I get interviewed by French TV.

We had some good practice coming across the channel. We picked perfect wind against tide to come into the Solent near the needles which, as we would find out, was excellent training. The forecast for the start of the race the next afternoon was looking more and more bleak.

Braids are mandatory. It may seem trivial, but it keeps the hair out of ones face.
The Needles in the afternoon light.

We squeezed into Yarmouth, then squeezed through the bridge leading to the creek at Yarmouth, then squeezed up the creek, then we all held our breath as Clothilde professionally squeezed the 52 foot Emma into a space that I would not even have attempted to put Away into (Away being a full 7 feet smaller). PHEW, we were in! A night of planning, weather routing and sleeping is to be had. Oh yes, and we had to figure out how in the world to get out of the tiniest berth possible, without breaking the boat, breaking other boats, going aground or hurting ourselves.

Squeezing.
Squeezed.
Encouraging messages from home.

The next morning, we have a chat again with Pete Goss who gave us some great last minute strategies and a good pep talk, then we were off, fortunately with enough water under us not to go aground, and enough people on board to shout when other boats were too close. We were so happy to get out of Yarmouth and into the 25 knots in the Solent.

Sufficiently unsqueezed in order to take a smiling photo.
Here we go.

Sailing downwind, we headed for the start line area, put up our storm sails up and passed the “identity gate” – right, we were ready for the start. The wind was building and building so a reefed main was up, and the staysail. Tacking towards the start line, we were 5 minutes from starting, and made our final tack to point for the line. All excited faces! And bang.

Storm sails up and passing through the identity gates.
Lots of big boats!

What happened? The staysail is suddenly flapping weirdly. Shit, the halyard has broken. Kate and I run to the bow and pull down the sail, and strap it in. What to do? We can’t put out the solent, there is far too much wind and it is forecast to build and build – right storm jib it is. Finally we cross the start line and begin tacking up the Solent behind the fleet, with the storm jib. We quickly learn that the storm jib does not tack very well, and we do complicated tacking by pulling out a little solent, then tacking, then pulling the solent back in. So hard.

Hmmmm….

After a while of this the mayday calls started pouring in. People were going overboard at the needles, one boat was sinking, others had broken masts. Pip Hare passed behind us with her Imoca, with apparently the same problem as us, they had broken their staysail halyard I think… Carnage. Marie in her wisdom popped her head out from her bunk and suggested we anchor and let this system go through – Oh yeah – we can do that! And so we spent the night where we started. Yarmouth.

Imoca passing close behind.

After an evening of anchor watch, we put a new halyard on the staysail (which by now also had a broken furler) and got going out of the Solent and into the channel. I was off watch at this time, and was sleeping. When I woke we had taken the north channel at the Solent exit, and we were passing Swanage and still tacking. As the days went on, we tacked the coast of England, choosing to go straight through the Portland race with strong wind against tide at dinner time which made for a wild ride. Happily no Beef Bourgogne was spilled.

Night watch as the sun just starts to light things up!
Probs should reef if my bunk window looks like this.

We chose to stay out in the channel at Salcombe which at the time seemed a silly idea as we lost all the wind. But we sent Clothilde up the mast to see if she could fix the staysail halyard anyways. As she was up there the wind came back, and we quickly brought her down as the wind built up to over 20 knots again. Turns out that the boats near us that stayed close to shore when we went out got smashed by this squall that came in and they retired due to weather, whereas by the time the squall got to us, it has lost some of its power and so we just enjoyed the ride out to lands end. Fortunately it was also at this time we realised that our autopilot (now named Charlie) didn’t have the right sized fuses, so with them changed we had a solid autopilot again! Phew!

Some great morning sailing.
Why fishing boats why?
Sunset on the south coast.

At the Scilly Islands, we lost the wind again and were doing Christmas tree tacking backwards and forwards saying hello the Scilly’s a few times. We took the opportunity to update our families and of course social media. We also took the opportunity to rest a little, as we knew a new weather system was coming and it was going to be over 30 knots whilst we crossed the Irish Sea. And sure enough, I awoke the next day to a triple reefed main, staysail and a heeling over boat. And rain. We sailed in this until the fastnet rock, where it was shrouded in cloud. We saw a blob.

A wet and wild watch for me.
Trying to warm up in the PJ party. I was freezing after this watch.

After tacking around the rock, Emma suddenly came to a screeching halt. The team was looking around everywhere… What’s happened??? There were no fishing pots around. Centreboard was quickly raised. Nothing, then lowered again and suddenly we were off again. PHEW and thank goodness for our centreboard. We believe we hit a drifting fishing net and we heard another report of someone else hitting it too. It was kind of fortuitous, as because of this dramatic turn of events, we did actually get to see more of the Fastnet as the clouds cleared slightly.

Looking for the blob.
Blob Fastnet.
A little bit more. Thank you weird fishing net.

Heading back to the Scilly islands, we enjoyed the feeling of being over halfway – although it was about this time I was a little down and thinking that this was my life now and I was never going to get back home. Its funny what the mind does. It was this evening that Marie brought out her beautiful quiche which frankly lifted my mood to no end as I had been there when she cooked it prior to the race and it looked so delicious I was looking forward to it all week! So with a full tummy, and a brighter frame of mind, I went off watch and hit my bunk, falling asleep listening to delightful giggling upstairs on deck and feeling really safe.

Yuuuuummmm!

The next day I awoke to stories of the spinnaker falling in the water as we had broken another halyard – so no spinnaker for now – also when it was brought back on board it had a 3m tear in it. I used my now honed pole skills and got us going wing on wing for a while until we could change course and the solent did its job.

Sleeping captain.

As I woke up for my next night watch, we were in the shipping lanes and we had a fun night of calling ships, dodging fishing boats, and racing to the Alderney race. The Alderney race was the final hurdle for us before the finish line, but alas, the wind didn’t want to come, so we missed it by about 30 minutes. For those of you who don’t know, the Alderney race is a tidal stream north of Alderney and it can run at over 9 knots, and if we got stuck there, we’d literally be stuck going no where. So the watch at the time made the decision to go north of the race, costing us more time, but meaning we were safe from the currents.

More fishing boats?

Arriving in Cherboug, we had the solent, the staysail AND the storm jib up to get us speed to finish. Our friends on Voyager (another Garcia) came out to meet us with all the available husbands (alas Adrian was on dog sitting duty in Norway) and cheer us on as we finished the line! We were so so so excited to see them and cross the line! Whoo hooooooo! Cheering and maybe some tears from little old me! Sails down, motor on and some choice tunes to head into harbour. My favourite was blaring Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” as we came into harbour. YEAH YEAH YEAH!

Yeah crossing the line! Whooooooooooooo!
We had fans on the headland who took this cool pic of us crossing the line. As much sail as we had up!

Once docked, it was celebrations!!! All the families were there, friends and partners. It was mad! Even the press came down and interviewed us. As I was the only loner, I was either on the phone or asking everyone when could we please pop the champagne???????? FINALLY, photos done, kisses, cuddles and congratulations all round were done, there was a glass of bubbles in my hand.

Bubbles!
Yay!
Emma safely docked in the best spot in the marina.

Wow, what a ride. Would I do another – yes probably, but it would have to be the same amazing team I just did it with.

There was about 450 boats that started, and about 200 retired. We finished because we are TENACIOUS!

Celebrations! And great French food!

The best part of a week of my life was spent on some amazing type 3 fun. What a ride.

Can’t you just feel it?

To Rebecca – thank you for lending us your boat for this adventure and thank you for your endless positivity and support. And especially for cooking going through some of the roughest water I’ve ever been in!

To Sylvia – I loved falling asleep in my bunk listening to you and Kate laughing and competently sailing and keeping us safe. Thank you for your tenacity and your wind dancing.

To Kate – Thanks for the great night watches and story sharing. Thanks for supporting me when I wasn’t feeling super confident. I so appreciate you!

To Marie – Thank you for your friendship and support, your clear head and good decisions. Thank you for keeping us safe, and making me laugh. You’ve taught me a lot.

To Clothilde – thank you for being the skipper and bringing such a positive attitude to everything you do. You kept morale high, kept us racing, laughing and safe the whole time. What a legend.

And we were in the press! You can read on the RORC website.

Please enjoy some of these little clips too.

Keep rollin. Going through the Portland Race wind against tide.

Goodbye Arctic: sharks, glaciers and mad walks

Our time in our remote granite walled anchorage came to an end and we motored out looking for wind. We needed to get south to find an airport for Fi’s next adventure.

The wind in northern Norway at this time of year had not been big red sail wind. Big wind shifts and constantly weaving between islands doesn’t make the big red sail happy. But today we had some open water and found a consistent (ish) light breeze.

We sailed with Lofoten visible in the distance to contrast the big red sail.

Whales passed us, then we spotted dolphins and then…

We thought some dolphins had come to play, but as they approached we realised they were actually small sharks! I grabbed the phone, quickly tried to turn it on three times and snapped this memorable image of sharks with Lofoten in the background!
During the evening the wind was too light even for big red. But the reflections were kind of cool.

We were expecting a more modest anchorage after the previous few nights, but it looked ok as we pulled up near a white sandy beach and a whale swam past us heading south. Summer in Norway is absolute bliss.

Even by our new high standards this was a pretty spectacular spot and not too crowded.
Next day we had a look around while we waited for the wind to fill in.
There were some pretty bays.
And some sandy beaches. A dip in the water was as breathtaking as the scenery.

At lunch time we headed off to make the best of some northerly winds.

Big red sail two days in a row! This island was our view for 6 hours as we headed down the coast.
An AIS target called ‘Norwegian Submarine’ appeared, so we sped up to make sure we passed as close as possible. Sure enough it was a Norwegian submarine, or perhaps a foreign submarine cleverly disguised as a Norwegian submarine.

We made the most of the northerly winds and sailed into the ‘night’. The wind finally died as we closed in on the coast and we motored the last few miles into Bolga around 2 am.

Sunglasses and beanie are mandatory equipment for a midnight watch and firing the laser.
As midnight struck we energized the flag pole laser and shot a hole in the sky.
We burned this hole in the sky which looked quite pretty, although there was nobody else around to appreciate it.

With wind from the south for a few days we decided to rest, regain our sanity and explore Bolga.

The season for growing is short, so lush green and colour appear almost overnight as the grey and white receed.
In Australia this would be fenced off with some over judicious signage warning us of certain peril. In Norway its the not-wheelchair-friendly part of the intermediate round-the-island walk. The useful rope has no doubt been added after too many tourists slid from the slippery rocks into the just-above-freezing water, especially when there is snow and ice on the rocks.
Of course when you have this level of natural balance and ability to find those micro finger holds there is not much to go wrong. It looks like I have a chalk bag which is standard equipment on an intermediate walk, but its just a poo bag holder.
Bernie watched on as we showed him where the best paw holds were after falling in the water.

The island had been home to fishing people who dried ship loads of fish on the rocks during summer until the early 1900s. We chose to traverse the south side of the island first as it was open the squally southerly weather. This is Norway so the protected northern side was also somehow open to the squally southerly weather.

The path headed up a cliff and some non wheelchair friendly sections where even big ears needed a lift. And then, Mum are you sure we go into that hole?
Yes Bernie, you should know by now, all island walks in Norway go through mountains.
Dad did you fit through that hole in the mountain?

After our walk we noticed many motor boats arriving at the island and people setting fire to huge bonfires. We realised it was mid summer and everyone was out for a party. Not only was the restaurant open (they often close at most times of the year and days of the week), but it was packed with revellers creating a vibrant atmosphere that we had not been expecting. We had a great dinner and chatted with loads of people. Bolga was a great place to visit and very beautiful.

Looking for our next anchorage, Fi noticed that the glacier we missed on the way up was only a few miles away. After filling up with diesel, we headed round for a look before it melted.

A peaceful dock at the end of the fjord with a view of the glacier.
The view from the boat. Pictures taken in 1920 show the glacier accessible from the water. Our guide book from a few years back described it as an hours walk to the glacier. Today its more like two hours.

We set off for the glacier on our bikes before the first ferries arrived and followed the path up to the ice.

The second largest glacier in Norway.
The glacier meltwater looked inviting for a quick dip, but after toeing it, the biggest surprise was that it actually flowed more than the glacier.

Heading south from the glacier the winds pushed us between the islands until they died completely and we parked on the arctic circle for a while. After a pleasant evening motoring, sailing, motor sailing, avoiding ferries and ducking under low power lines, we dropped anchor in a quiet bay for a few hours rest.

The winds decided we should park here for a while before leaving the arctic.
Dropping anchor just before sunset or sunrise or sunlowish.

The potential winds the next day were just that, and we motored to a quiet little spot just north of Forvik. By design this spot was a breakfast distance away from Forvik.

A day full of potential wind.
Another quiet evening on anchor.

The next morning we took the brave step of travelling the 5 miles south to Forvik, before coffee.

We had visited Forvik on the way north. There is one excellent reason to re-visit Forvik and its not to sniff the daisys.
This is why you come to Forvik, for the locally roasted coffee and locally made cake.

We discovered they are now open for dinner too as the season is in full swing. A slightly overcast day with the slight chance of thunderstorms was enough to justify staying in port and sampling the dinner menu.

15 miles south, Brønnøysund was to be Away’s home for the next 10 days. After a short trip we found, with some relief, there were plenty of vacant spots in the harbour. Reversing into a berth in a solid crosswind was worthy of some adventure scars on the hull, but nobody died.

Away parked up, nose sticking out per usual to catch unwary motorboats.
Fi is off for new adventures.
But not before a suitable ‘I’m leaving my husband behind to look after the dog on his birthday’ dinner.
I’m not leaving while that nice lady who feeds me is in that terminal building!

Next time its Fi’s racy adventures and too much sniffing around Brønnøysund.

Adding Colour – The Anchorage

After a month of atmospheric grey days, Norway delivered colour. It was as if a light switch had been flicked on.

We decided to leave Tromsø and motor south. With 24 hour daylight and not much hope of wind we decided not to stop for the night and kept travelling preferring to have longer to relax at our destination.

We managed to spot this passing ship in the middle of the night

The next morning we arrived at a small harbour which promised rock paintings and walking. The docks in the harbour were too small for Away, so our second option was a fjord another hour further on.

We had enjoyed a month of grey freezing conditions and now it looked like there were going to be several days of sunny (even double digit max temperatures!) windless weather so we decided it was worth risking an anchorage surrounded by mountains that can deliver sudden katabatic winds.

When we motored into the bay it looked fantastic and it kept getting better, and better:

View into the anchorage…yep new colours: blue and green!
After we anchor we can hear cascading water and head ashore to find a meltwater stream nearby.
We settle in beside the stream and enjoy the sun.
The wind dies completely and the reflections are magic.
Its quiet in the anchorage at night.
There are some summer houses at the entrance to the bay, but otherwise its only moose, fish and birds living here.
Next day we head to shore for more of an explore.
Mustering our inner norsepersons we enjoy an exhilarating dip. There is a top layer of cold fresh water which is attention grabbing, but the deeper water is just gently numbing.
Granite walls rise 700m above the anchorage.
And reflect
Mussels are abundant in the shallows and make a tasty dinner.
That evening two local moose stroll by. Bernie got a sniff of them from the boat and gave them a good woofing. They did not return.
Anchored amongst mountains.
We went for a walk further up the stream. No tracks here except those left by the local wildlife. There is no happier dog.
View from 500m above the anchorage
If the anchorage is so good maybe we can catch a fish. 20 minutes dragging a lure behind the dinghy and this guy joined us for lunch.
Does anyone know if the reflection of a chemtrail is dangerous too? We were lucky as this one just missed us.
The wind suddenly gusted to 25 knts on our last night to remind us its not always calm here. Shortly afterwards long periods of 0 knts returned.
Its even out of the sun at night making sleeping a little easier.
Sadly it came time to leave. An eagle crossed our path reflecting in the water as we motored out. What an amazing experience.

Our experience of this anchorage ticked many boxes: quiet, scenic, good walking, dog friendly, swimming, wildlife, fishing and foraging. It would have been easy to spend a month here, but we knew the experience would be quite different as the winds returned. It was noted in the guide book that when the clouds came down over the grey granite walls some cruisers had described the experience as being in a grey tupperware container with the lid on.

Travel experiences are based on such a small sliver of time. Other people in this same anchorage could well experience the katabatic winds we were warned of, or perhaps, it is indeed like a tupperware container. But for us, we can imagine no more a perfect moment in time than this place when we were here. Its always like this on this adventure, people warn us about places, and we go and have a great time, or we have a terrible time at place that others have really enjoyed. Travel is all about context and we were lucky enough to have this absolutely perfect couple of days.

A holiday in the sun

We arrived in Tromsø on the Sunday after our pretty exciting trip in (see the last blog for whirlpool fun), and parked up next to the sauna. We had burgers at the local burger joint which is done up (to my delight) in a Nintendo 64 Mario Bros theme.

A view of the local church rom the marina. It catches the light in so many different ways.
Letsa go!
Green pipes and everything! My brother asked me if I ate a mushroom and grew any taller? I said no, that I’d eaten a burger and grown wider.

The next day was Monday, so the shops were open and we explored town a little bit. We also packed our bags! We’re going on a little holiday! We are hoping for sunshine!

This was the Gestapo headquarters. There is a memorial outside to those who died under their violence.

Sometimes its nice to have a little break from sailboat life, and so we had booked the Hurtigruten from Tromsø to Honningsvåg, which is a little further north on the island of Magerøya. Magerøya is connected to the mainland, and to the north of the island is Nordkapp, or North Cape, the northernmost point of Europe accessible by car.

Boarding time came (17:30), and we hopped on the boat with Bernie, and settled into our cabin. The trip was overnight, and the boat was excellent. Breakfast and lunch buffet, and dinner at your leisure at one of their establishments on board. They also have hot tubs, and a sauna so we enjoyed the hot tub on the back of the boat after dinner and watched as the snow capped mountains went past, and enjoyed not being responsible for the trip.

Bernie was pretty pumped! Until he remembered he gets stuck in the room on ferries.
This was about the moment he realised that this was a ferry. He hid under the bed.
Can you see Away there in the middle?
Honestly, I didn’t think they’d go under this bridge. But they do, with a few metres clearance on either side and on the top.
You might remember we witnessed 2 Hurtigrutens passing each other and beeping their horns when we were sailing further south. Yes they do this every time they pass another one, and announce it on the loudspeaker.
Yeah spa!

The next morning we arrive in Honningsvåg at about 11am, drop our bags at the hotel and explore town. Honningsvåg is a nice town, fishing as usual is one of the main industries and has been for a long time. The North Cape is about a 35 minute drive, so we source a car for the following day.

Quite a pretty town with the BEST bakery and food we’ve had in Norway.
Norwegian jumper out for my Norwegian holiday!

After a bit of a chill out in our hotel once we got the room keys, we ventured to the restaurant downstairs and enjoyed one of the best meals we’ve had in Norway. I had the cod, and Adrian had reindeer cutlets.

The following day we had a couple of hours before we were picking up our car for our road adventure, so we took the opportunity for a hike up into the hills behind the town. There is a large lake and this is where the drinking water is sourced.

Beautiful views from the hills behind town.
Looking back towards town from the hills, we saw this Hurtigruten expedition boat come into port. It will be going to Svalbard.

Around lunchtime we pick up our car, throw Bernie in the back and we were off to North Cape, arriving in time for lunch and to take Bernie up to the North Cape monument – the most northerly part of mainland Europe that you can reach by car. We can’t believe we’ve managed to take him from Sydney, to Paris, through the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Aland Islands, around to Norway and then all the way to North Cape. And backwards and forwards to the UK in between.

Can you see the reindeer? The white spot in the middle. Don’t worry, we see a lot more!
Bernie’s first look out to see from the top of mainland Europe.
The North Cape monument.
Bernie and I have come a long way from our first meeting in Dural, NSW Australia almost 10 years ago!

We also take the opportunity to quickly visit a couple of the other towns on the island, before dropping the car back, and heading out for another meal.

Yup more reindeer. These ones are mowing the local football pitch.
These ones are mowing the verge.

This far north, the Sami people herd reindeer (amongst other things). They live across northern Europe including Sweden, Finland, Russia as well as Norway. They are different to the Scandinavian’s who primarily inhabited the southern parts of this area until they realised the north was rich in fishing (and now oil and gas resources). They speak a different dialect and rely on the land, fishing and animal herding to live.

No trees this far north.
Dog walking country.

The next morning, at some horrible time of the morning, we were back on the Hurtigruten, and back in our same cabin heading south towards Tromsø. We arrive in Tromsø at midnight, pack up our gear and the dog and we are back on Away. We don’t necessarily feel rested after our little trip, but we had a great time and we enjoyed the break from being the skippers.

The boat stopped in Hammerfest and we look at this little ball that somehow managed to contribute to measuring the size of the globe. Like the globe we live on. There was a lot of maths involved.
The sun is still trying to set. Give it another 6-8 weeks or so.

Don’t worry. In our next blog we do actually see the sun and top up the vitamin D levels.

Water falls in different forms. A lot…

After Ro left, water fell from the sky, in all its different forms… A lot. We stayed in Henningsvær for a while, emerging from the boat to get groceries.

The rain stopped for a while, the wind dropped…
and then we discovered mountains.
and colour.

One day, it was going to be sunny in the afternoon with no wind, and the next was rainy with good sailing wind. We chose sun, and motored east to Svolvær, the main town in Lofoten, planning to wait out the weather and see the town. It is an old fishing town, and the fish are definitely still playing a part in the economy.

Ooo sun shiny day! No wind, but we have the metal sail.
Flat seas, bimini up and just chugging along.

Turns out this was an excellent decision, as the orcas came out to play just as we were turning into the harbour.

There were about 8-10 orcas at the entrance to the harbour.
Here you can see an orca, and also the statue of the Fishermans Wife, looking out to sea.

The next few days were going to be very gusty and unpredictable, so we planned to stay in port. Good plan, as we got snowed on a lot. We did brave the weather and decide to go out for a walk around town to explore, and smell the money (read “drying in the rain” cod – and cod heads). It was really quite an unbelievable aroma.

The fish drying racks as you come into port. Yes you can smell them, although we’re used to it now.
Qunitessential.
Art.
I guess this boat hasn’t moved in a while given the state of the lines.
Solid foundations.
This is where the aroma became a little more pungent.
Cod heads. They are ground up into a nutritious powder. Very very pungent. There was breath holding.

We went to see the Lofoten War Memorial Museum which is purported to have the most extensive collection of uniforms and small artefacts from World War 2. It did not disappoint and you would need hours to read about every artefact they had. We also see the old town on the island opposite the main part of town, and walk out to the Fisherman’s Wife statue, through the fish – whilst holding our breath.

We managed to get out to the point to see the statue without asphyxiating ourselves.
This is the governors house which is now a hotel, but you have to book the entire place – you can’t just book a room, so perhaps it is more like an Airbnb?
The war museum was packed with artefacts and was so interesting.
It has one of the biggest collections of uniforms.

Eventually, we were tired of big city life, and the endless commercial tours going to Trollfjord had inspired us to do our own Trollfjord and bird watching safari. So off we popped on Away, motoring again because the wind was either forecast to blow a gale or be dead calm. We motored again to the beautiful Trollfjord, then up to a nice little anchorage for the evening.

The sky threw down snow the night before we were due to leave, and the dock was still icy in the morning.
Heading out into the grey EARLY morning, this lady waved goodbye to us.
Fresh pow.
Can you see the entrance to Trollfjord? Neither could we. Happy for our charts.
Its very narrow! How the cruise ships get in here and then turn around is anyone’s guess!
Beautiful fjord, but after a quick motor through we are off to our anchorage for the evening.
Anchored up on Brotøy.
Grey with a little colour.
We’d stayed up until 2am watching the snow, and so a 5am start meant that naps were required before anyone was ready to go exploring. Bernie takes the opportunity to steal Adrian’s spot so Adrian has to sleep in the guest berth.

We explore the anchorage by dinghy, and Bernie relishes his land time by eating poo and anything else he can find on this beautiful white beach. You’d honestly think we were in the Bahamas or somewhere else I haven’t been yet with the colour of the sand and the water, even in the grey. One look at our outfits though and you’d remember it was less than 5 degrees and yes that is a sleet shower coming, or rain, or snow. Something cold.

He LOVES the dinghy and wiggles and cries because he’s so pumped to get to land.
Pretty beaches here. Bernie takes the opportunity to find the leftovers of campers stomachs for a meal.
Turquoise even in the grey!
Away at home.

We did see a moose footprint. Bernie enjoyed a swim, of course… Really it was because he got lost and found himself on the other side of a stream to us, and decided that was the best way to get across, rather than take the longer route around via land. He was soaked, and the weather was coming, so back to the boat for a warm shower, for all of us.

Moose? Reindeer? Elk? Something big.
Bernie solves his own problems. But also creates more in the process. Dog bath time at the boat.

Another anchorage was calling. We needed some anchorages after all the big city life and this one did not disappoint. We anchored, and the wind blowing off the small hill on the windward side of the anchorage decided that it would turn the wind around to the opposite direction to what we were expecting when we anchored so we spent a relaxed evening about 20m away from the shoreline. Fortunately it wasn’t forecast to be more than about 6 knots all night so we didn’t worry. Too much.

The sun came out for a cameo so we sat at the bow and had a beer and soaked in the vitamin D!
Sheltered anchorage with NO high mountains creating katabatic winds… Bliss.
It was a bit wriggly to get into the anchorage.

And wouldn’t you know it! We’re in the arctic! So naturally another gale is forecast and being in our little anchorage tucked up against some rocks, where the wind does the opposite to the forecast didn’t seem like a very safe plan, so we decided to find a nice harbour in a fjord on the island of Senja which promised excellent hiking and views. Unfortunately, we never found the harbour, instead we had one great moment of sailing, and then the wind died and we wobbled around in the washing machine swell before deciding another, closer harbour might be okay for the gale that was coming. It cut about 2 hours off the washing machine cycle so we were happy with our decision.

Coming in things were pretty calm with the occasional gust, but that was all about to change.

We get blown onto the dock in Gryllefjorden, put out all the fenders, because it wasn’t the most gentle docking we’d ever done and 5 minutes after docking we were seeing 25 knots directly on the starboard side pinning us against the dock. Hmmm, the forecast was supposed to be 15 knots from the south, outside the fjord we had no knots from no where, and inside the fjord we had 25 knots from the east. Arctic Norway keeps us guessing. The wind was supposed to turn around to gale force from the west, and after a few hours, yes the forecasted winds filled right in, and we enjoyed being rocked to sleep with 30 knots from the port side, gusting to 40. At least we were being blown off the dock.

The boat is leaning over in the marina because the wind is right on the beam.
Yes, its summer.
This sign is designed to cheer you up. It says: “Hug, Caring, Good summer, Give a smile, Love, Everything will be fine, Good thoughts, You are good enough, Happy in the dark, Gryllefjord, Warm thoughts.”
We have dinner at the local restaurant. This is a whale steak which is quite delicious.
The restaurant also sold fresh seagull eggs. I had to try one.
Boil for 14 minutes, and unsurprisingly it tasted like egg. Delicious with some bacon!
A moment of calm, and some blue.

After a good night of not sleeping, we decided to stay here in this old fishing village for a couple of days and have a look around, waiting for another weather window to head north towards Tromsø. One was coming, but not before Gryllefjorden, that we are now dubbing “the Katabatic Town” gave us one last gift of unscheduled gale force winds from the east again (it was coming from the south, but the mountains mean it shoots down the fjord from the east). We both stay up until 4AM feeling the boat crash into the dock. Literally crash because by this time our fenders had basically given up. Running on no sleep, not helped by the midnight sun through grey clouds, we leave nice and early, hoping for fairer pastures further north.

Rugged north coast of Senja.
Arriving at our destination, more grey but I can see some blue in the water and sky.

Our next stop is full of white beaches, and apparently no wind. So we motor and sailed a little to Sommarøy. Sommarøy is gorgeous old fishing village, even when the weather only has peeks of sunshine.

Parked up in Sommarøy on a tiny wharf made for little fishing runabouts.
I discover the sun! At midnight.

Bernie had a great run on the beach, but another gale is coming, and we want to get to Tromsø, because we have booked ourselves a little holiday.

Getting wet and sandy and chasing sticks. Heaven for this guy.
Little pink shells. White beach, turquoise water.

Onwards to Tromsø and we have a shredding upwind sail, manually helming because it was super fun until our hands went numb. We get stalked by the coastguard for a while who sneakily turned off their AIS for some reason. They were parked in port, with AIS on, and as we passed they turned it off, and headed out towards us. I assume they eventually rang their friends who told them we were not illegal, and to please leave us alone, because it wasn’t long before they changed course away from us to go and stalk other unwary sailors.

This guy hitched a ride with us as we left Sommarøy.

Soon, as it is inevitably true, the wind started being weird, so we packed up the sails for the day to motor the last couple of hours to Tromsø. As we were about an hour out of Tromsø, we we navigating through a tight section of water, and observing the sea state. It was weird. Adrian suddenly realised – thats a whirlpool, and we were heading straight for it. It should be mentioned we had been patting ourselves on the back about 5 minutes earlier for getting the time right for the current as it was pushing us along nicely, but as soon as we saw the state of this straight, we realised the current had other ideas. We went from 8 knots, to 2, in the space of about 5 minutes. The current was absolutely gushing through the straight. Power up on the engine, we fought the 6 knot current for about 30 minutes until finally getting back out into more open water. The tanker behind us called us on the radio wondering what we were doing, telling us they were going to pass us on port, but by the time we had finished our little radio conversation with them, we were suddenly doing 7 knots again, and they had gone from 12 to 6, so we won the race. Eventually they did pass us, but not until we were turning into Tromsø. I guess they didn’t read about the currents there either.

Very strong current.

Once through that, we dock in our first Y berth dock of the year, kind of successfully (nothing broke and no one was hurt), and we were in Tromsø. This is as far north as we have ever been, and as far north as Away will go (for the foreseeable future).

Parked up. Nose sticking out as usual. Grey.
We are the blue dot. There is not much north of us now.

Next time we have plans for a little break away from Away and getting someone else to drive for a few days.

The Most Famous Australian Cruisers in Norway!

We blogged about our trip from Bodø out the Lofoton Islands but we neglected so say that we are now the most famous Australian cruisers in Norway!

We picked up Ro in Bodø and sailed off the coast to a tiny island that was home to a few summer houses. When we arrived Ro and Adrian braved the inclement conditions and headed ashore for an explore. We headed over boggy ground along a sort of path that led uncomfortably through the ‘garden’ of the first house we came to. Its not really summer enough for summer houses in this part of the world, so we were surprised when a jovial woman in a Norwegian jumper appeared from the house and started speaking Norwegian to us.

Perfect day for a walk.

We exchanged the usual ‘we don’t speak Norwegian’ and ‘I only speak English a little’. We explained we were Australians from the boat anchored in the bay and not too sure if we were on the correct track. She said she knew we had come from Australia and picked the boat up in France and sailed to Norway as she had read about us in the paper (note she still assumed we spoke Norwegian). She had been expecting a beautiful woman and neurotic spaniel, so we explained that Ro was visiting from Australia and Fi and Bernie had stayed on the boat. It seems that the news article written about us in Risør has been published more widely than we thought. We are now recognised in even in the remotest corners of Norway.

In Norway, every town has a claim to fame: ‘the gateway to the arctic’, ‘the western most full time inhabited town’, ‘the southern most partially inhabited town in the north of the southern most district in arctic Norway’. To fit in we have, with some justification, decided that we are ‘The most famous Australians cruising Norway’.

Famous.

New autopilot with adventurous tendencies – Lofoten Adventure

By Fi

Our heater had broken, so the whole way from somewhere where it broke (can’t remember but it was out for over a week) to Bodø we had to either be plugged into power, or run the generator each afternoon. We really wanted our diesel heater back. Thinking Bodø would be a great place to do this, we spent our first day there wandering from boat service place to boat service place asking if they did Webasto. No, everyone has an Eberspaecher here, but try the car service place. And sure enough, a quick phone call and our part was ordered. One problem solved, now we needed to install it.

But not before picking up our brand new autopilot (read crew) – Adrian’s brother Rohan!

Bienvenue Ro!

Excited to share our journey, we first up take him straight from his overnight train from Oslo, to the car servicing place to pick up our heater part, then spend the next 6 hours stuck in the depths of the stern trying to figure out how to get all the pieces of the broken part out of the heater. Ro was relaxed about it all, and took the opportunity to unpack and take the edge off the jetlag from his big trip from Brisbane in Australia.

The sensor in the heater had basically disintegrated, but also welded itself inside the heater. Ro and Fi take time out to provision while Adrian swears at the heater for a while. After a few more hours, and some, shall we say, encouragement, the bits and pieces of the broken sensor finally let go, and we can fit the new sensor and hold our breath as the heater starts, and makes all the right noises again. Right, we can go. Whilst its late Spring here in north Norway, its cold.

No prizes for guessing which is the broken sensor…

The next day, we do some tidying up and secure the boat ready for sailing. We only planned to go 5 miles to an island called Landegode. Due to the light winds, we potter along at 3 knots and it takes us a couple of hours. Its a good light intro to sailing Away, and we anchor up for the night, to enjoy the katabatic winds in the anchorage.

Yes it looks lovely and calm, but this was in between the 25 knot katabatic blasts.

Ro and Adrian brave the weather and go for an explore onshore after we anchor. Fi takes the opportunity for a quick and much needed nap after all that sailing.

Adventures.
Happy adventurers.

The next day, Fi and Adrian plan for a more lively sail, aiming for Røst at the very south of the Lofoten Islands. Alas, the winds had other plans, and after some bumpy upwind sailing, we decide that perhaps Å, a little further north would be nice, plus the sailing would get more comfortable.

Ro is bright and ready!
Then… not so much.
Fi and Adrian hold the fort while our newest crew member gets his sea legs.
Bernie of course needs to sit on Fi.

The winds are good, and we have 1 reef in the main and the full genoa out most of the time, except when it really picked up and the staysail came out.

A bit more lively than the previous day.

Usually, you can see the islands already, however the day is grey and cloudy.

As the day passes by, we keep thinking we see glimpses of something peeking through the low clouds. Eventually, the snowcapped mountains of Lofoten show their faces and welcome us in.

The snowcapped mountains of Lofoten emerge through the clouds as we get closer.
Ro and Adrian take some time to enjoy the views.

Eventually, the small fishing village of Å comes into view.
Unfortunately, when we arrive, we see that the guest pier has been removed, and there was no where for Away to go, so a quick replan results in a short trip around the corner to Sørvågen.

Å looked like a really sweet place. But with only buoys marking where the guest pier had sunk, we changed our minds quickly.
We motored the 2 miles around to Sørvågen.

This is the first of many encounters with the drying stockfish here in Lofoten. They are not salted or cured, rather the fish are cleaned and hung up to dry and the climate takes care of the rest. The perfect temperatures, bit of snow, sun, rain and wind make for perfectly dried fish.

Errr what?
Drying cod! AKA stockfish. They smell about how you think they do, but one does get used to the aroma quickly.

We decide the next day to take a hike.
We walk past some puppies (sorry no photos) and up to the first lake, where we take some trail head, and then another trail head, up through some bush bashing to eventually get to the actual trail head and trail up to the next lake, and the next, and then a hill.

Nice day for a stroll. Layers on!
Picnic?
Wow.
Water is everywhere.
Again wow. Snow is still around.
So intrepid.
Yeah snow!
This area provides the local town with their water source and so there is no camping or swimming.

What a stunning walk. However as with all these adventures, we need to move on. We plan that evening a trip a few miles east to a town called Reine.
We leave the next morning at a reasonable time.

New autopilot in training.

Adrian predicted that once the Arctic circle was entered, the waters would be teeming with life, and sure enough, we see seals, orcas and whales as we sail to Reine.

Orca. They stayed near us for around an hour as the wind dropped and we didn’t care because, orcas!

Reine has been a trading village since 1793 and about 300 people currently live here. We can see the popular mountain of Reinebringen as we sail towards the coastline. We dock Away at Reine, and begin to plan our next adventures which will of course involve a good hike up Reinebringen.

A really beautiful spot. A lot of tourists come here to hike Reinebringen.

The next day we pack up the backpacks, and the dog, and begin the ascent up Reinebringen. Sherpas have built these stairs to make it easier and safer for hikers as there were a few accidents with rock falls previously. It is good money for the Sherpas, and Norway gets good stairs. 1,978 in this case to be precise.

We begin. Bernie is pumped and runs off to the length of the lead to catch up with the boys.
Close to the top.

We reach what appears to be almost the top, and Adrian taps out. No more exposure for him. Ro asks Fi – further up? Fi says “YES!” so off we go, unempathetically leaving Adrian to his heights issues.

“Keep going?” – Ro asks Fi. ABSOLUTELY!
“Nope” – says Adrian, settling in to a safe spot.
#worthit
Marvelling at the mountains coming out of the sea.
Away is there somewhere.
Hi Away!
Happy to have made the extra scramble to the top for the views.
Even Bernie loved it. So much he almost threw himself off the cliff after a scent. He was on lead.
Its all very steep and exposed. The sherpa stairs were excellent.
We find Adrian waiting somewhere close to the end. Happy!
Phew we did it! All 1978 steps.

We wander back into town, and find more drying stockfish and reflect on our journey up the mountain. We also have a delicious meal at the local restaurant of whale ceviche and cod tongues.

It stays light basically all the time these days.

The next day, we plan to head off to an anchorage and hoping for less katabatic winds this time. We find one anchorage, but there were 2 boats already anchored and therefore = FULL. So we motor around to our second choice which was empty and we drop anchor in Straumøya.

The sun comes out for a cameo.

It was a beautiful spot to stop and Adrian and Ro take the opportunity to go for another walk in the hills before dinner (which was roast chicken and potatoes – on anchor – thank you massive battery bank and induction cooking).

Away looking at home.
Happy bros in the hills.
Take the good (albeit breezy) weather for hiking when you can.
Discussions on how to make the best gravy for the roast.

But after a good sleep, we knew that more adventures could be had, so Fi weighed anchor, pulling off 10kgs of kelp as she went, and we headed out to a town called Ballstad. If there was going to be no wind, perhaps we could camp somewhere?

Bye kelp.

Absolutely there could be camping! But not before we make our newest crew member do the docking in Ballstad.

Safely docked, and Away’s deepest cupboards raided for the camping gear, we loaded up and headed out for a hike and some sleeping in the hills. Fi laments not having purchased the doggy backpack so Bernie could be of use.

Smiling now… Wait till we start the hill climb.
Oh, still smiling. Only the first 15 minutes up and Fi was delayering however.
Up up up. Bernie is living his best life.
Still going up!
We drop our bags off at a proposed camping spot, and hike to the top of the peak to check out the views.
Yup – there are some views.
Just as good as the views at Reine.
Fi has no issues with heights. That’s why its her job to go up the mast when needed, and Adrian does the swimming underneath Away when needed. Fi doesn’t like swimming underneath or around man made objects in water. Especially 16 tonne aluminium boats.
Still a bit of snow up here. So wild.

At our beautiful spot for the evening, it was a little windy, but not so bad, but it did bring the chill with it. We collect snow for water and spend some time filtering it, before cooking our soup and freeze dried meals. We’re super happy to have such a comfortable and spectacular spot.

We set up camp and get to cooking. Fi is off collecting snow.
Warming snow, and filtering it to rehydrate our camp meals – which are actually pretty good!
Bernie – best life.
Happy campers. Wearing every single layer.

The next morning, Bernie asks politely for Fi to get up so that we can eat, and then go for another hike down the hill to town. It is Norwegian National Day so there are celebrations to watch including a parade, and children throwing things at cans.

Mum – get up.
Mmm freshly ground coffee even when camping.
Down down down we go.
And straight into the dinghy to find the National Day celebrations in town.
Where are they? We can hear them.

We get to town, and walk and walk trying to catch up to the parade who seemed to be getting further and further in front of us. No matter, we eventually found them at the local school and admired the traditional dress of the area, and ate a hot dog and cake.

National Day or Constitution Day celebrates the signing of the constitution on the 17th of May 1814, declaring Norway to be an independent kingdom. It is typically centred around the children, and the local school will organise a march and music and food. This day also represents an opportunity for people to wear the traditional dress of the area in Norway where they live.

This is at the school where the parade ended and you can see some traditional dress here.
Loads of flags everywhere.
Fishing is everywhere here in Lofoten. We spot these vessels on the way back to Away in the dinghy.

Back to the boat, we needed to “decamp” ourselves, so showers were had, unpacking and drying gear was done, a cup of tea and a bit of a sit and chat.
And planning, there is always planning. The next day we would brave the wobbly waves for Henningsvær, another cute fishing village.

Little bit washing machine-y.

Off we go! 20-25 knots on a broad reach and we get 9 knots of speed, averaging about 7. We hand steer as the waves keep spinning us as the autopilot can’t keep up. We do this for a few hours, before bravely dropping sail in the swell, and turning into port.

Hand steering as the waves were pushing the boat around so much it was uncomfortable with the autopilot on (the actual autopilot, as opposed to Ro). Some reconfiguration is required. Another job to the list!
We are all still smiling, so it wasn’t all bad.
Some cool art coming into harbour.

Tied up safely at the dock, we take a breath as it was pretty rolly out there. Our neighbour asks how it was, and agreed that it would have been rolly. The harbour is surrounded by old fisherman’s cabins come restaurants, shops and galleries. It is also home to an interesting football field right on the water.

Safe and sound. There are actually mountains here, but the cloud is so low, nothing appears.
Famous football field.

Fi manages to find a nice restaurant and sauna, so we partake in both. Finally, we are VIKINGS as we brave the less than 5 degree celsius water to cool off during the hot hot sauna. After sauna, its a fish dinner and a great sleep. So Viking. As an addendum to this, we replace our transducer and it is telling us the water is -1 degree celcius – hmmmm.

Its called the ocean sauna. We took a dip in the cold water a few times to cool off!

After a breakfast of the best cinnamon buns in Lofoten, it is here that Ro is no longer Away. He heads off into the grey gloom for more adventures traveling home to Brisbane. Away is now just the 3 of us, planning for some more adventures and hoping for some more wild camping. Having Ro on board has inspired us!

Henningsvær is a gorgeous old town and we enjoy the shopping and food. Hopefully the mountains will appear soon.

Pushing North to the Arctic

We had enjoyed some time in the fjords, but now we needed to push north to Bodø where we were meeting our new crew member.

We left Geiranger and were soon scooting north inside the skerries trying our best to dodge the snow and sleet showers.

The first rule of maritime engagement: two vessels shall always meet at the narrowest navigable point.
This fishing boat was out adding colour to the landscape.

Our favourite Norwegian website that showed detailed information about expected wave heights, promised more boisterous conditions between the skerries and a little cross wave excitement before getting into our next harbour. We weren’t disappointed, and in increasingly uncomfortable wave conditions we altered course and scurried in behind some skerries for protection. There was no protection for the last short open water dash to the harbour at Bud, but the waves were more comfortable all being from one direction.

Conditions getting a little perky with squally winds, snow and bigger swells between the skerries.
There was plenty of room on the visitor dock, but 20 knots blowing off the dock and a sleet shower made docking a suitable final challenge for the day. This was taken the next day.
The next morning we inspected the gun emplacements above the harbour
For some reason there is a spare bow thruster propellor above the harbour. After some consideration we decided it was not going to fit Away and left it for other cruisers.

We left Bud and wriggled through some skerries before heading out to open water and sailing up the coast passing the active port of Kristiansund and arriving at our quiet island anchorage.

Sometimes anchoring is magic.
Away from the crowds tonight.
We went ashore, picked up some rubbish, sniffed the beach and took a drone perspective.
‘This anchorage is so perfect I shall pose for a sunset portrait’ – Bernie.

The next day we motor sailed north until the wind filled in. A luxury cruise boat heading for the Russian border passed by, and then all of a sudden a ferry popped out of a nearby harbour, the captain set a collision course with us and then went below for a nice cup of tea.

Great sailing!

We passed a coast guard vessel loitering in a bay reminiscent of the highway patrol cars we see in Australia beside the road waiting for speeding motorists. We were doing 8 knots but hadn’t seen any speed restrictions so we were surprised when it pulled out and followed us. It eventually caught and passed us and gave us a friendly wave.

A short distance ahead the Coast Guard vessel stopped, turned side on and Fi joked that they were going to board us. Sure enough, out came the RIB and a friendly young man requested to board us. As well as giving Bernie a scratch he had also asked to look at our passports. He noted he was out of his depth as he had never seen an Australian passport or temporary residency card before, but Bernie was chuffed to have a visitor mid passage and took the opportunity to do a massive poo and 2 wee wees at the bow.

It took a few phone calls to local authorities until we found the right person to confirm our legal status in Norway.

We found a sheltered little harbour called Revsnes which seemed ideal to sit out some stronger winds. The presence of a selection of large cruising boats showed it was a popular wintering location for cruisers. The next day we rested, chatted to our neighbouring Amel Super Maramu, and sniffed around the dock for bits of crab and fresh seagull poop.

Some hail reminded us it is still pre-season up here.
All the appropriate layers of clothing were needed to head out into a cold grey slightly sleety morning.

The wind gods were on our side again and we had an easy sail north to the tiny harbour of Vingsand. About 9pm we were surprised to see another yacht entering the harbour which, apart from the mad Australians, was home to a small fleet of fishing and pleasure craft. Even more surprising we recognised the yacht as one that had arrived in Geiranger as we were leaving. A little snooping uncovered it was a Polish yacht named ‘Freyr’ that offered passages onboard.

Vingsand harbour with Freyr parked in front of Away.

When we left the next morning we noted Freyr were half an hour behind us, so it was clearly a race. Today we squeezed out from the wave protection of the skerries and into oceans swells. It was a little unnerving at first as the swells pilled up on the shelving sea bed near the skerries, and then equally delightful as Away stretched out on a long reach up the coast with constant wind speed and direction for a change.

Approaching Rørvik the channel narrowed and the shipping obeyed the first law of maritime engagement: a tanker approached from behind, a cargo vessel altered course to collide with us, and a tug decided to overtake all three vessels as a large fishing boat came the other way.

A light sprinkling of the white stuff.

Rørvik was an ideal overnight stop and the next morning we were Away. Freyr, who had arrived later in the previous evening, were a little late to the start. We headed out to sea to get a reaching angle up the coast and we soon travelling over 7 knots in a one sided contest. A navy frigate passed going in the other direction but seemed to have got the message about our passports being ok.

Snow showers threatened, lingered, but managed to miss us.

We were headed for the famous mountain with a hole in it: Torghatten.

The view of Torghatten as we approached. If you look carefully you wont see anything but the snow shower determined to envelope us.
A few minutes later the snow had cleared and we were gliding over the 2.3m deep approach to the dock.

The next day Freyr arrived as we booted up and headed for the famous hole.

In search of holy mountains and fresh rabbit poo.
Oh deer, will Bernie notice?
One of the most impressive mountain holes we have seen and well worth the pilgrimage.
Happy hole in mountain faces.
Looking north. Not missing any sailing this morning.

We leave with Freyr and head north. They stop for the night at the bright lights of Brønnøysund and the hardened Away team tack north in a freshening evening breeze towards Forvik.

We turn off the autopilot. Away is beautifully balanced and light to steer upwind
The daylight is stretching into the evening as we head north.
Forvik has freshly roasted coffee… Just what a sailor needs before venturing out on the high seas.

The next day had motoring winds and puttered north on dead calm seas passing the seven sisters.

The seven sisters were once troll maidens, caught by the daylight, whilst being pursued by randy trolls from Lofoton.
Hmmm yes motoring winds.

The day ended at the little marina at Herøy.

Away trying to blend in with the motor boats at Herøy.

Herøy had a flower shop on the other side of the island. The mighty Bromptons were pressed into service for a lovely ride to the most eclectic ‘flower shop’ we have ever visited. Inside little staircases led to balconies with arm chairs, or down to a grotto filled with candles passing sculptures, wall hangings, plants and ornaments.

The ‘flower’ shop.
One of many nooks.

With little wind we left Herøy and motored another 20 miles north to Tomma for the night. We later read the entry in our second cruising guide which warned of somewhat limited draft next to the floating dock. Bemused fisher folk watched in wide eyed bemusement as 17 tons of black post modern aluminium silently crossed the bay, navigated the perilously shallow water and tied up to the dock. For some reason they didn’t help us dock.

Approaching Tomma.

Leaving Tomma we knew that a good following wind and almost unlimited daylight meant Bodø was an achievable target for the day. But first we made a special detour to pass the stunning Arctic circle monument. Reaching the arctic circle had crept on us. It was never a goal, but it seems if you keep raising the sails and pointing north you will eventually pass this imaginary line.

Leaving Tomma we spotted a tiny dolphin (which you won’t find in this picture).
All the islands were wearing hats as we left Tomma.
The wind direction varied a little as we traversed the islands!
Two of the coastal ferries pass each other and honk their horns like two mature maritime professionals that pass each other every few days.
That’s it. We reached the arctic! As we approached we noticed Freyr on the AIS. In a sneaky move they had got up early and reached the arctic circle just 30 minutes before we got there.
We posed for a social media ‘We reached the arctic and its cold’ shot. Bernie didn’t quite get the excitement. Also, it was really freezing.
I knew it would be like this when we reached the arctic.
All set up for a long downwind run into Bodø.

The freshening wind was behind us and the daylight showing no signs of decline so we pushed on toward Bodø. Two hours from Bodø the wind jumps from 20-25 knots to 35 knots and a little reefing was required to keep things under control. We almost make it into Bodø when the wind dropped off and we motored the last hour into the dock.

Almost there…

At Bodø we recover from the long trip north, search for parts for the heater and keep an eye out for our new crew member.

Is our new crew member here yet?

Sunny Days in Geiranger Fjord

Geiranger, the UNSECO protected, waterfall adorned, cruise ship visited fjord was calling.

We left the lovely island of Sandsøyaon a still morning, and motored into the Storfjorden, and onward towards Geiranger Fjord. An overnight stop at Ikornnes promised hot tubs and cafes, but delivered neither. The mad Australians were on the first cruising boat of the year and the soon-to-become-familiar older chap appeared and moved a water hose onto the dock and checked there was still power available for us. Hot tubs and cafes would remain a luxury to look forward to in the much anticipated ‘season’.

The next day we motored into a crisp windless morning, that became a troll breathing howling head wind and promptly returned to a windless meander. We noted that Stranda was the last real supply center before entering Geiranger. We made a slow pass of the dock and Fi took a giant leap for the Away crew onto the dock and completed a quick restock before we started the final leg into Geiranger.

The fjord became gradually narrower the further we went.
No sailing today.
A quick reprovisioning stop where Fi launched from the deck onto the dock and ran into the nearby shops.

After motoring all day, with one failed attempt at sailing, we arrived in Geiranger in the evening. Marveling at the massive cruise ship buoys, we were hoping, given how close they were to the dock, that the ships wouldn’t be visiting anytime soon.

The windless day became more windless and the reflections more spectacular.
The water caught the sunlight creating rainbow waterfalls.
A high speed ferry approached appearing to float over the fjord.
The drone was launched to capture the magnitude of the landscape.
We even managed to retrieve it.

With perfect weather in Geiranger, we decided to stay for a few days, and enjoy the local hikes.

First stop, we sample the local ‘best fish soup in the world’.

First activity was a hike to a waterfall where you can walk behind the falling water, after ascending the steps built by Sherpas from Nepal. We found out that a lot of steps had been placed in Norway by Sherpas with their amazing ability to traverse heights, and carry incredibly heavy things. Being employed in Norway provides the Sherpas with a much higher income than in Nepal, and Norway get safer hikes for their tourists. Win, win. So up the stairs we climb, until we inevitably arrive at the snow line.

Sherpa’s know how to build steps.
Spaniels know how to pose.
How many steps did they make?
The path is getting harder to follow.
Bernie usually likes the snow, but his paws kept falling into this snow.

The waterfall, much like the waterfall in Flam, didn’t have a lot of water falling this time of year, so we sat and enjoyed some snacks, and made the trek back down. Oh and back to the little cafe with the yummy pizzas and soup.

At least there was falling water at this elevation, with a beautiful collar of ice.
Behind the ice and falling water.

After a day of relaxing, cleaning and doing boat jobs, we decided to tackle another of the famous hikes in the area. It involved us getting in the dingy with the big engine on, and blurting around the corner of the fjord to a small dock cut into the rock. From here it was a basically vertical hike up to the farm perched on the side of the fjord called Skageflå. Its a beautiful farm, and used to be the most profitable in the area. Now it has been restored to reflect its hey day.

We passed this training boat that had anchored near Geiranger.
The path to the farm was short, but steep.
Not a bad view from the garden.
But the garden path is a little steep.
Restored farm buildings.
Dunny with a view.
The dinghy is right below us. It is reputed that the farmer removed a couple of ladders on the route up at tax time and the tax collector never arrived to collect the tax. Believable.

Navigating down carefully with Bernie, we get back to our dingy and check out this waterfall of course.

Bernie loved the waterfall, and fell asleep in the dinghy.

We’d heard from one of our followers that we should be careful of the rock falls around Geiranger. Upon further investigation, we discovered that the worlds most monitored mountain face is in the fjord, as it is threatening to collapse, fall into the fjord and create a devasting 80m tsunami that would obliterate the local towns, including Geiranger where we were ‘safely’ tied up. This last happened in 1934 when a rock fall caused a 60m high wave that killed 40 people. So naturally, we decided to watch the Norwegian disaster movie called “The Wave” that dramatised a future rock fall event, just to freak ourselves out.

An innocuous looking mountain side that will slip into the fjord one day.

The next day, we chose to leave the fjord, and went past the threatening mountain face of Åkerneset and marveled at the number of monitoring stations on the side.

Our overnight stop, Stordal, famous for its furniture industry was closed in preparation for the forthcoming Easter break. Google claimed the residents were all at their ski lodges reading mystery novels, so after a quiet evening we headed on to Ålesund.

Away squeezed into Stordal harbour for the night.

Arriving in Ålesund in the evening, after the odd sleet storm, we were excited to explore this beautiful city.

The next blanket of snow approaching the marina.

The place was burned down in the early 1900s and has been rebuilt in Art Deco style and it shows. Its a lovely town and we enjoyed a walk up the local hill with two million people from a couple of cruise ships in port to get some spectacular views across the sea.

We met the amazing team from “In The Same Boat”, a wonderful organisation that clears rubbish from the coast line of Norway (https://www.inthesameboat.eco/). You can volunteer on their sailboats and help to clear the worlds oceans of plastic. We were inspired, and at our first stop out of Ålesund we picked up a bunch of plastic, and notified them of the littered beach so they can go there with their team and do a more thorough job than we had time to do.

Our last night in Ålesund, we went out for a lovely dinner at one of the local hotels and watched the snow dump down from the roof top restaurant, and then clear to reveal the beautiful coast.

Next time we start the push north towards Bodø, the arctic, and our new crew member.

Railways and Prayers

Flåm is famous for its railway. Its one of the most picturesque train trips in the world, according to someone. They were right! It effortlessly climbed through steep mountain scenery, did a U turn inside a mountain and arrived on time to meet the Oslo-Bergen train at the top. You can return to the bottom by foot, mountain bike, skis or as we did, ride the train back down.

It doesn’t look like train country.
Pretending to read Norwegian
There is a stop to take pictures of a waterfall, although there was not much water falling today
Plenty of snow at the top and lots of skiers in the ski lodges
Picturesque train trip… tick

The next day some people turned up in a boat even bigger than ours. We decided to leave our new neighbours to the quay and walked up the valley to the Flåm church.

Impressive runabout
Flåm church, built a long time ago
Looking down the valley towards Flåm
A fitting end to our walk… a man talking too much

The next day the forecast suggested the trolls would be blowing a hooley down the fjord. It was overcast when we left and the trolls were still sleeping.

Moody morning in the fjord

We didn’t have to wait too long before they woke and we soon had winds gusting the ususal 8 to 25+ knots. Later in the day we even saw an instant 130 degree wind shift just to keep the sailing fun. We made it over 70 miles almost to the mouth of the fjord by evening.

Sometimes the chart plotter shows a depth of only a few meters when the charted depth is unfathomable. This is not a reason to worry and is caused by layers water confusing the depth sounder, pods of orcas or stray Russian submarines.

Out of the fjord and heading north, our next stop was the busy centre of Florø.

Some people build their houses on the smallest islands. This one had a light on top so ships don’t run into it
Florø was a bustling port with ferries coming and going every few minutes and fishing industry boats. We even saw some locals trying to persuade a goat onto a small boat for a trip it didn’t seem keen to make.

Florø was still emerging from its winter season into the sunshine, so after a two night stop we were off again. We did take the opportunity to walk up the hill and around the island.

More solid doors than Away! German gun emplacements were on top of the hill overlooking the coast.

Our next stop was Kalvåg, because several people had mentioned a nice restaurant there, and that it was the most popular spot on the west coast for cruisers. I guess the cruisers hadn’t yet emerged from winter as we were the only people there. As we came in, a fisherman in a run about (really) came near us shouting in Norwegian and gesturing to the harbour berths near the restaurant. After shouting “Australian”, English was engaged, and we were advised that we could park in the marina at the side of the restaurant. The wonderful fellow (who we would later learn owns the place) helped us with our lines, told us about the restaurant and where the local facilities were, and we were in! Ready for some seafood.

The fantastic hotel and restaurant right in the harbour

Entering the restaurant, we were met by the fisherman, now hotel owner, and enjoyed some food and wine. He introduced us to the chief of Norway Football who was in Sydney when Norway won soccer Olympic gold. The next night an Everest climber and reality TV star was giving a talk… it was that sort of place. We were told about the history. It started as a fishing village with up to 12,000 fishermen coming and going, and 6 women (poor ladies). The owner purchased the land from his brother, and built up the restaurant, hotel and other houses to turn it into a tourist mecca. It was delightful and we were treated to breakfast the next morning on the house. We’d love to come back. The hospitality here was second to none and everyone was so friendly. We understand why it is so popular. And the food was delicious.

What do we think about breakfast off the boat and a little civilization time?

However, the notorious Stad was calling us. Stadlandet is a headland on the west coast that sticks out into the North Sea and there is no choice but to head out into the cross currents, washing machine waves and shallower waters to get around it. Some sailors say they would prefer to round Cape Horn than Stad, so we were feeling a bit apprehensive about our crossing. It is so bad, that Norway are planning to build a tunnel for ships, yachts and other boats through the headland so that people don’t have to go around. A massive undertaking and speaks to how bad of a reputation the crossing has.

Red ship posing in front of mountains on the way to Selja

Our Stad jump off was to be a small island called Selja. It has an ancient monastery in honour of Norway’s only female Saint “Saint Sunniva”. She is the patron saint of Bergen, and it is believed that her remains were found in the cave above the monastery, and she was basically completely preserved. She was hiding there from some attackers, and it is said that “the heavens” caused a rock fall, trapping her and her companions inside the cave, but safe from the attackers. But then they were trapped anyway and died. But her body was preserved – therefore, saint. The monastery was established around 1060.

The monastery, and where the brick structure is up the hill is where the cave is
Monks have a keen eye for great real estate
Dramatic sunset on the evening prior to notorious Stad crossing.
Red sky at night, sailors calm crossing of Stad headland the next day.

As the sun went down we said an appropriate number of prayers for safe passage the next day. The gods must have been listening as we were blessed with calm seas, or perhaps it was the hours of analysing weather, wave and current data, researching peoples blogs and talking to locals to ensure the best conditions to make the passage.

We searched the horizon for signs of wave activity, but the anticlimax was overwhelming.

We motored most of the day, and found a great harbour just north of the headland, protected from the non existed swells to tie up for the evening. The island of Sandsøya was to be our home for the next 2 evenings as we pondered what to do after tackling this horrendous crossing. We had been so focused on the crossing that we had neglected to properly plan the coming days, but that’s easily solved with our charts, guide books and 30 minutes.

We headed off to find a treasure cave. Adrian contrived a route to climb over a mountain to get there.

At the top with the dolls in all directions
The blue line shows the ‘path’ down to the beach. Hiking in Norway is so adventurous.
The treasure cave is in that headland
There is treasure down there, but we left it for others to find
Outside the cave was the remains of a goat still waiting for his owner to return from the cave
The never-tired spaniel took the opportunity for a nap whilst we reviewed the map to find a flatter path home
The notorious Stad headland
Our walk returned on the flat past the inevitable white church

Next morning we headed off in search of another fjord.

This little chap came to say goodbye
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