Exciting sailing, rain, rain and cold. (4-6 June 2015)
Sailing often means finding a compromise
between favorable winds and “weather”. The westerly airflow is perfect for us
to make good progress northwards, but the weather is very wet, windy and cold.
So we braved the elements and left Kristiansund in driving rain and westerly
winds force 6Bft.
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| Following sea at 25 knots ( 6Bft) |
The sailing has been fantastic! We were
running goose-winged with two reefs and reached a maximum speed of 9.5 kn and
an average for the day of 7.5 kn.
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| So wet and cold |
Very few boats were out there. We didn’t
see any pleasure boat, but the Hurtigrouten ship passed us by and returned our
waving with three friendly hoots. We arrived after around 10 hours in our
anchorage Storfosnavågen (63º38’.7N 9º 24’.7E) just as the wind started to ease
a bit. Just as well, because the entrance was very difficult to make out in the
rain! We were soaked to the bone but happy when we hung our clothes to dry
during a rather too short appearance of the elusive sun.
We had a very peaceful night at anchor. The
bottom was sand and shingles and our trusted anchor was very well dug in.
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| Kjeungskjaeret Lt. |
On the following day (5 June 2015) the wind
was still to come from a westerly direction until the afternoon and easing. The
sun was going to shine in the afternoon. Perfect for us to press on towards
Bessaker (64º14’.9N 10º 19’.2E) and Rørvik, the start of Helgeland supposedly
the most beautiful part of Norway.
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| Bessaker |
We will slow down after Rørvik (says the
skipper…).
Again, the wind was perfect, less wind, but
enough for us to sail most of the day with full sails at a very good speed. It
rained in the morning when we left and progressively the sun came out. The
visibility was very good for the very intricate passage through the many
skerries in the inner lead. Here in Norway you don’t have transit marks like in
Finland, but you have many lighthouses and you have to navigate in the right
sector of the light (even if the light is not on).
The sun was out, the wind dropped finally and
we had to use the engine. These two last days have been the best sailing days
for years but also the wettest and coldest…
The landscape is starting to become very
different since we left the fjords. The high mountains look more like bumps,
rounded and smooth. Their surface looks more like elephant skin, grey, rocky
with very little vegetation.
Bessaker is a funny small harbor on the
mainland surrounded by small islands with only one small pontoon for visitors,
a shop and a small restaurant run by a German couple. It is known for its
fishing festival early July. The Hurtigrouten vessels pass past this very
narrow sound twice a day.
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| Hurtigrouten 'Polarlys' in Bessaker sound |