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Kristiansund to Bergen Friday 20 July - Kristiansund to Sveggesundet, 63N6.05, 7E35.76, 8NM!Made an early start after seeing Eider leave, only to meet her returning as the visibility outside was only ½M, and as the projected passage passes close to hazards, we also returned. It is very difficult to obtain proper weather forecasts in Norway other than by Navtex which has patchy reception here; if you call the VHF radio station they merely tell you there are or are not any near-gale warnings. Today there were two near-gale warnings, well north and south of us. After lunch the fog lifted to become very low cloud, and weary of Kristiansund with its closed museums, we set off west for Sveggesundet, a really beautiful narrow sound when the sun came out. Berthed in a tiny marina (only boat) alongside a former warehouse converted to an attractive restaurant. Saturday 21 July - Sveggesundet to Straumsholmen, 63N0.55, 7E18.74, 11NM With progress like this we shall never be back! Sveggesundet is so sheltered one has no idea of sea conditions so we set two alternative passage plans for Bud, not far from Ålesunde, with a decision point depending on sea state. The first 9NM were well-sheltered but well before our decision point it became uncomfortably rough so we opted for the indreliea (inside islands) route, turning south. The islands are very small however and provide sparse shelter on this leg, so after violent rolling in 2 metre swell we passed under a bridge into the Lauvøyfjorden, south of a row of road-connected islands, where it was blissfully smooth. For this we had no plans and Den Norske Los had no suggestions but we saw small boats a mile to the west where we found a pontoon belonging to a diving facility; there are a lot of WW2 wrecks off shore, mainly German freighters we Brits sunk! There is also another opening to the sea here under a bridge though which a fearful stream was flowing, some 8 knots at Springs (at which we are, with nearly 2m range). Keep well away especially as the headroom is only 10m! Two fishing boats had just returned by our route as it was too rough for them! Tonight the wind has dropped and the sea outside much smoother, inside almost tranquil. We were warned there would be a concert here tonight, 22 to 02, but seem to out of the line of fire. Got another advertiser (making sixteen) for the CA website so "posted" his text to the site; the work of the webmaster continues on our travels! Landscape of the fjords becoming gentler and greener, fells having grass up to 300m or so, and trees on the lower slopes, these mainly being hand-planted. But higher mountains with pockets of snow in distance inland. Nights becoming darker, and shop lighting left on all night, hydro electricity is cheap! All the supermarkets have machines that provide credit for drink bottles (plastic or glass) and cans which is an excellent idea. Tramps (although even the tramps here seem relatively well off!) collect these from the streets or waste bins and try to increase their credit with fruit machines, also in most supermarkets! Sunday 22 July - Straumsholmen to Bud, 62N54.30, 6E54.31, 20NM and onto Molde, 62N43.98, 6E9.12, 16NM Became calm during night. Left under bridge with strong ebb causing rough sea for a while then picked up coastal route SW. Despite very light wind there was a long wavelength 2m swell and it would have been more comfortable to follow the complex indreleia route as most small boats were. The swell was giving dramatic plumes of spray from the islands inshore of us. Used mizzen to reduce roll. Met another even larger house under tow; can you have them delivered ready-built by sea? (later discovered these were for use with fish farms). Turned into Bud (pronounced Bood) harbour. Very attractive and clean fishing/holiday town. There are well-populated artificial ledges on the cliff of former quarry for nesting sea birds. Pretty original 1717 church with onion-domed spire. After an hour left Bud just as rain started! Dramatic mountain scenery. Berthed in new gjestehavn at Molde at 2015 just before the southbound Hurtigruten (Richard With) followed shortly after by the northbound Hurtigruten (Narvik). The new guest harbour is between a huge 15,000 seat glass and concrete football stadium and the Hurtigruten quay. Brief exploration of town. Old town burnt by Germans 1940. Modern town of 25,000 inhabitants with classy shops. Large Domkirke with separate bell tower finished 1983. Very welcome shower in guest facility. Molde's main attribute is the stunning mountain scenery on the south side of the Romsdalsfjorden; chart shows nearest around 820m high but there are higher snow-covered mountains beyond. Returning from our walk we met the 15,000-strong crowd leaving the stadium (score 1-1) for buses and cars. Monday 22 July - Molde to Ålesund, 62N28.33, 6E9.22, 35NM Woken by sunshine at 6! Watched the ginormous 187m Club Med 2 with its five towering masts come in to the Hurtigruten quay. First customer in Rimi supermarket at 8 and had to wait while fresh bread unpacked. Rounding the lighthouse we were able to make a 20NM leg direct to next waypoint, the fjord having dramatic mountains to the south and gentler tree-covered hills to the north. We managed to sail for a while until the wind dropped to reappear as a headwind. Then turned SW and through a mile with narrow passage of only 7m depth when we were overtaken by a ship! Finally S to the harbour on the N side of Ålesund which was pretty full but were shortly able to move to an alongside berth. A few Tall Ships remain after the four days of festivities following the race here (including Royal Marines yacht Sarie Marias now lying 9th; they had been 3rd but boats closer inshore got a land breeze from the mountains while they were becalmed), and will be making their way to Bergen for the next leg to Esbjerg. Walked up steep path with 418 steps to German gun fort on hill commanding excellent view of town and fjords. Saw Hurtigruten Nord Norge berth just outside our harbour. A kiosk nearby that dispenses key cards for the excellent amenities block provided our dinner of fish'n'chips English style for only Kr49. Tuesday 23 July - day in Ålesund Glorious hot morning! Cycled 3km East to Sunnmøre Museum where a number of ancient wooden buildings mostly reassembled are open for viewing to show how the folk lived up until the 1900s. Since timber was in short supply many buildings had been adapted to different uses over the ages. Fishermen kept little one-roomed huts to live in when they were fishing too far from home, also to store their smart clothes for church when they had to sail to church, hence their name Fjordmannstova (fishermen's lodging house). Visited a bookshop on return to buy the missing Den Norske Los (pilot) on board. Faced with a quandary! They have kept the 1992 Vol. 3b, which is bilingual, in print, but produced a 2001 Vol. 3 (covering both 3a and 3b areas) in Norwegian only! Opted to have the 2001 edition as our experience with a 1992 Vol. 4 showed there had been many changes, especially in improved facilities for small boats. Although an island, Ålesund is connected to mainland and neighbouring islands by road tunnels which explain the heavy traffic; however motorists are extremely considerate to pedestrians and cyclists using zebra crossings. After a brief rest set off once again to the Atlantic Aquarium 3km West but weather deteriorated rapidly with driving rain in a headwind, so shopped for our evening meal and retreated! The boat in front, Zorro, asked if we had any hot water for their prawns. This we provided and were rewarded by a 1Kg box of frozen prawns! They had come to see the Tall Ships and stayed on for the beer, which they consumed in great quantities! It seems the only people deterred by the high price of beer are the visitors! Wednesday 24 July - Ålesund to Volda, 62N8.65, 6E4.12, 27NM Another glorious almost cloudless start to the day. Waited until 0830 when our German friends (Renata and Bruno Kolb in Moin-Moin) we keep meeting gave us their latest forecast print-out from Hamburg (RTTY 11039kHz at 0638UTC daily). This showed a 5/6 headwind but it should be less in the sheltered indreleia route, and we were anxious to move on despite the lure of the aquarium). Had planned a 45NM passage to Stadvågen, an attractive well sheltered harbour surrounded by steep hills, but it got steadily rougher and our speed fell to 4 knots at revs that normally give 5.5, so we diverted to Volda, an attractive modern town in the Voldsfjorden, with new pontoon and fingers in the former fishing harbour. Shortly before we arrived we were overtaken by Zorro, and they were on the pontoon to welcome us to Volda! We had no idea they kept this boat here! Explored the church with a dramatic 88m² mural behind the altar and magnificent Fürtlangler organ. There had been a church here since C13th, a stave church having been replaced with a wooden one burnt down in 1929. Then walked 1km uphill to see their lake with smart changing room for, bathing, and much new housing including some you can finish off yourself. Thursday 26 July - Volda to Måløy , 61N55.8, 5E6.8, 48NM Made an early start at 0620 partly to enjoy the ebb tide out of the Voldsfjord; most noticeable effect of these tidal streams are the eddies around headlands. Rain in night and just stopping as we left to give way to sunshine spotlighting the green hills. One leg today was exposed to the Atlantic and quite rough despite only force 4 from west. During this we met an open rowing boat with a couple fishing, mercifully spotted them in time. Managed 2 hours sailing out of 10½, the rest being too sheltered! Måløy seemed to have had a recent facelift for the Cutty Sark Tall Ships visit. Visitors now have a smart concrete pontoon off the town centre, with two ancient warehouses at its root. One is now used by very noisy seagulls. Friday 27 July, Måløy to Fløra, 61N36.1, 5E1.8, 28N Left soon after the German couple in Moin-Moin and caught them up in the queue for diesel at Fløra; we didn't have to queue! Arrived in time to walk across the island to the Kystmuseet, the best (coast) museum we've come across. In the period when museums first became into being Norway apparently wanted to play down it's fishing and seafaring past, concentrating on agriculture and crafts. This one has a fine collection of open fishing and transport boats; Fløra was formed as a base for herring processing. Barrels of herring were taken to Bergen for export, and exotic purchases like organs and china brought back in the same open boats. A new part of the museum covers the offshore oil industry, specifically the Snorre plastform, a floating deep water held in place by vertical cables anchored to the sea bottom. In a gale the platform can move to and fro 40m with a nasty shock each end of its travel! Norway is the world's third largest exporter after Saudi Arabia and Russia of oil and gas, these accounting for 22% of GNP and 46% of exports. Good washing machine and (free) drier here so Margo got up-to-date with washing. Saturday 28 July, Fløra to Leirvik, 61N8.2, 5E20.8, 45 NM Glorious start to the day, which although clouding with altostratus, remained warm (and rain-free!) all day. Broke the day at Askvolla, a pleasant village, in order to reassess the night's stop, as harbours are few in the Sognefjord area. We are fortunate in that Canon Rosyln Aish bought an almost complete set of Norwegian charts from Bergen to Russia, that these were bought by Barry Woodhouse, who left them for us in Vardø last year; thus we even have the two special charts for the Sognefjord which we now intend to explore. We are cosily moored in the top of the tiny Bøfjorden (a northern branch off the Sognefjord) , round a bend so entirely sheltered. Walked up to a noisy waterfall with a salmon staircase beside it and a tranquil lake above. One other (American) visiting yacht here and only a handful altogether. Later on Saturday evening there was a great party in the motel to celebrate its 50th year with sit-down dinner for 60 and live band. One of the gifts they received was an overawed long-haired rare breed pig! Helped a 65ft motor cruiser to berth. It even had TV screens showing views aft. Norwegians use feet universally for boat lengths (and inches for TVs). Sunday 29 July - Leirvik to Vik (Viksøyri) 61N5.38, 6E35.07, 41NM Awoke to heavy rain and forecast of near gale force winds; a motor-cruiser came in and said it was "ugly" outside. However a short walk showed conditions reasonable having identified four possible destinations set out under genoa and mizzen and were soon doing 5 to 6 knots under genoa and mizzen alone. Photo of Sæle church on Bekkneset headland as we passed. Visibility closed in and sometimes could not see either coast although the fjord is only 2NM wide. At 1700 shortened genoa to 50% and reached 6knots including some tide with force 4 following wind. Sea, fortunately with wind with tide, rose from 1 to 1.5/2m with breaking waves. Became difficult to handle under sail, so motored last few miles. Met a motor cruiser that had just started but soon he overtook us having retired! Turned into Vik on the south side, hardly a fjord being less than a mile long, but offering blissful shelter and berthed on nicely boarded quay beside river mouth. Monday 30 July - Vik (Viksøyri) to Balestrand, 61N12.65, 6E32.23, 7NM Awoke again to pouring rain and a Navtex warning of full gale, but of course in coastal areas, and the rain-pocked fjord was flat. Walked up hill to see first the stone church 1875, not very interesting, then another hill to see the beautiful stave church of 1130. This narrowly avoided being demolished in 1875 when worship was transferred to the light and airy new church, and was restored to original 1130 state. Stave churches are built on a #-shaped base of 18" by 18" into the square of which wooden pillars are set. It was possible to walk right round the outside of this church under the cover of the roof extensions supported by the ends of the # base. Set off 1200 for crossing almost due north under sail to Balestrand where the harbour master told us to berth on smart new (2000) wooden quay just beyond the magnificent and vast Kvikne Hotel. Using a guide did the recommended walk of all the "sites", main one being the Anglican St. Olaf's church built 1897 and based on a stave church but with big windows, which holds weekly services with visiting preachers during the summer; we missed this by one day. Also walked through the gracious and spacious lounges of the Kvikne Hotel to see how the other half live! Went for a cycle ride around the Esefjord and got soaked on our return. Fortunately our fan heater dries clothes quickly! Evening weather alternated between fog with rain, and sunshine! Met a Scot with Norwegian wife who had just moved to live near here; his three girls 9, 10 and 11 had come over a year in advance and were already fluent in Norwegian, though presumably taught it when young by their mother. Plans must take account of the weather but have been recommended Flåm, which would be our furthest point inland before returning to continue southward. Tuesday 31 July - Balestrand to Flåm (Aurlandsfjord), 60N51.70, 7E7.13, 31NM Brighter morning, but on looking back on Balestrand soon after leaving saw it was raining there! P&O Cruise Ship Royal Princess overtook us and was berthed in Flåm on arrival, dwarfing the quay. Fjord has orchards. Overhead cables with remarkabe span of 2½NM (4½Km) cross fjord. Turned south into Aurlands Fjord, much of this with cliffs plunging 100m vertically into the fjord. Two other cruise ships, Switzerland and Palmari at anchor with jolly boats going back and forth. Moored alongside north-facing quay. Provisioned at Coop then had good walk steeply up meadow finding wild cherries, raspberries and strawberries. Returned across railway as a train returned, and to a brass band playing for the benefit of the returning trainload. Wednesday 1 August - Flåm to Hermansverk, 61N10.66, 6E51.52, 22NM Caught 0840 train to Mirdal with fantastic views and special stop to get out to see Jjosfossen waterfall. One foss had a 416ft free fall. Rather than risk bridging rivers they either tunnelled under or diverted the river through a tunnel. Voltage is 15,000 at 16.66Hz (why?), generated by its own hydro station. Mirdal station on Bergen/Oslo railway was almost in cloud so after a coffee walked back 10.5km to Berekvam station on zigzag path overtaken by mountain bikes to await train down remaining 9.7km to Flåm. The walk was the highlight of the day although we subsequently discovered how out of training we were! Left Flåm at 1340 to motor north back up Aurlandfjord against headwind and across the Sognefjord to Hermansverk on the north side. Berthed in a private marina (the only suitable place for small boats) and were told the berth we'd chosen was not in use and my offer to pay rejected. Walked into the apparently newish and spacious town on the slopes with orchards below mountains. Laberg orchard had Amanlis pears ("Money pears" since good croppers) but Norwegians seem to prefer fruit imported by the supermarkets and the orchards have become neglected. There are plantations of grapes but it is hard to see they can get enough sun, or at least Norge 2001 will not be a good year. Thursday 1 August - Hermansverk to Mandal (Fjærladsfjorden), 61N24.31, 6E44.41, 22NM Beautiful morning at last, night N wind! Left our little small boat harbour at 0630 to return westward towards Balestrand before turning north up Fjærladsfjorden, berthing on a nice wooden quay behind the shop in Mandal at the head of the fjord, charged only NOK30 with electricity. Cycled 10km and 150m uphill to the Boyabreen (breen=glacier). This is one of several glaciers leaving the Jostedalsbreen, Europes largest glacier of 487km² (188mile²), 57km long. The Boyabreen advances 2m a day and 2 million tons break off each year, but little fell while we picnicked there. Apparently the Norwegian glaciers are growing again following winters with higher than average snowfall. The ice skyline we could see, and Margo painted, was 1200m above. Mandal turned out to be Norway's Book Town, following the lead of Hay on Wye, and has 12 second hand bookshops of varying size. Margo traded in 8 books from Babaji and got three hardbacks and NOK20 in return, so we have eased shelf space on board and got fresh reading matter! Until a few years ago Mandal could only be reached by fjord, now thanks (?) to two 6km road tunnels it is virtually on a motorway. In the evening made another bicycle sortie up a road into the alps where we again feasted on wild raspberries and watched cows being milked. A very good day, and once back from the glacier warm at 23ºC. Come to Norway, Land of the Rain-Powered Waterfalls! Friday 2 August - Mundal (Fjærladsfjorden) to Vadheim, 61N12.51, 5E49.28, 43NM Short cycle ride down road alongside fjord; we see these roads all the time, getting the motorists view gives a different perspective. Left Mundal in rain at 0930 with idea of getting right out of the Sognefjord. With a freshening N wind we touched 8 knots over the ground with some help from the ebb tide. But this would have meant leaving the trickier navigation until late evening so decided to put into Vadheim at the head of a 2.5NM fjord on the north side of the Sognefjord. We had a choice between a jetty with a crane stacking crushed cars, a very spindly jetty or the old ferry quay, choosing the latter. Arriving at low water (and in heavy rain) we were below the line of huge tyres and rigged a third line to the old ferry ramp head to hold us off. Margo had great difficulty getting off so after tying up and a visit to a little shop did not go ashore again. I made an exploratory sortie into this pleasant town, with a fine 1914 house, in the rain. Beginning to feel that Norway's tourist brochures, with people stripped to the waist or skiing in bathing costumes are misleading marketing! Saturday 3 August - Vadheim to Eivindvik, 60N58.78,5E4.61, 34NM Awoke to black tyres one side and a white-out the other, plus heavy rain, and S wind blowing us against the tyres! Delayed start to 1015 with visibility of 2NM although this later fell to ½NM. The wind in the Sognefjord was now from the west and against us, but fortunately declined before the tide turned to give wind against tide. For a while thought of stopping off yet again, but then it got brighter in the west and by 1325 the log reports SUN SHINING! soon we were leaving the gloom of Sognefjord, turning south into sunshine to take a narrow sound between Hisarøy and the mainland, then east into a very narrow sound with Eivindvik on its north side. Very nice town with church with a 10th century cross carved by English or Irish monks. There are also four huge silver fir trees growing into each other. A young lad who had been helping with forrestation in 1870 was given these and planted them temporarily in the vicarage garden, but forgot to take them home! Had very welcome showers and used a huge washing machine and drier. Sunday 4 August - Eivindvik to Bergen, 60N23.78, 5E19.39, 44NM Glorious morning but clouding over as we left 0730, intending to berth short of Bergen, following a tortuous route until joining the sound between Mjømna and Sandøy. Fortunately the bridge not shown on our 1982 chart was at 30m. Then crossed the W-E wide sound leading from the sea to the Fensfjorden with large tankers going to the Mongstad oil refinery, to Keiløy island which is bounded by two long and narrow NW-SE sounds. Bakøysund has a bridge with 25m headroom and the wider Monslaup Sund 15m. One sees the latter first and a British yacht with the Tall Ships Race inadvertently took this last week; too late they saw the strong flood tide under the bridge and lost their mast. We too passed through on the peak flood and found this fast passage a bit nerve-racking! Both routes then combine to pass through the Radsundet. We found a shop/refuelling station/pontoons open at Festaa (Sunday) and having refuelled stopped an hour for lunch. We were tempted to stay in this delightful spot. The owner suggested over-nighting behind Flatøy where there is a well sheltered bay, or Bakarvåggen. Not seeing much there we crossed the main fjord to Salhus, whose photo in DNL made it look large, to find it very small and crowded with no visitors berths. We carried on down the Byfjorden to enter Bakarvåggen, which had a smart 14-berth visitors marina entirely empty! We learnt later that it and the hotel there were a commercial failure. Since we had used all our money on diesel and there was nothing here (except a GRP boat factory) let alone a minibank, we decided to go on to Bergen. Armitage and Brackenbury ridiculously recommend that one stays in Kviturspollen as Bergen's Vågen is "uncomfortable and noisy"; but half the fun Bergen is being in the centre of the city. Arriving on a Sunday it was busy and we laid alongside a 60ft German ketch that said it was going to Cowes for "Cowes Week"; it left on Monday but Cowes had already begun by ten! Monday 6 August - Bergen Went up the funicular railway and had a good 3mi circular walk, mainly in forest without view. Luckily took pictures of Bergen from aloft before this as when we returned it was raining again! In the afternoon went to the aquarium again as recommended by A & B but although it has been recently revamped it is not a parch on London's or even Trondheim. We found an umbrella slot machine that took Visa or "Umbrellacards" in Bergen! .In the evening visited the Castle grounds where Margo did a water-colour from the edge of a football pitch, thanking the captain later for keeping the ball clear from her! ©Raymond Glaister 2001 October 2001 Typo 14/1/03 |
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