From Kristiansund (63º 07’N 7º 44’E)
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| Kristiansund, last rays of sunshine |
we now had to pass again the
notorious stretch of water called Hustadvika. Even when there is little wind
from the north, the confused waves of over 1-1.5m are astonishing. An area not
to be caught in bad weather.
Håholmen (63º 01’.7N 7º 23’.7E) is a longstanding fishing settlement
which came to prominence in the early 'klip
fisk' (stock fish) rush, where the
richest person in Norway made his riches in the stock fish trade exporting
mostly to Portugal and Spain (bacalao).
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| Håholmen |
The island was developed as a holiday
resort by the famous and intrepid adventurer, the Norwegian 'viking' Ragnar
Thorseth who set out to demonstrate in the 1980’s that Norwegian sailors were
the first to reach North America in their trading ships, the knarrs.
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| 'Saga Siglar' replica, now a water taxi |
Three true replicas of these
open decked ships were built, the Saga
Siglar, which sailed around the world in the mid eighties, Gaia and Oseberg. These ships were to demonstrate the Viking (Norwegian)
maritime heritage and advocate the preservation of the seas. Saga Siglar
successfully circumnavigated the world the first time around, but unfortunately
she together with the Oseberg were
lost during a storm in the Bay of Biscay in 1992 without loss of life. The
museum on Håholmen exhibits parts of the retrieved wreckage of Saga Siglar as a moving witness of its
voyages. Ragnar Thorseth, now almost 70 years old, who owned this island inherited
from his grandfather sold it ten years ago to a hotel chain Classic Norway but
still visits the island from time to time and lectures on his voyages.
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| Bud harbour, from the fort |
From Håholmen the skipper decided to try the inner, inner route of
Hustadvika, trough a labyrinth of skerries and isolated danger marks - but
rewarded with a calmer although more exciting passage. Just turning around the
last light house into the approach to Bud created a completely calm entrance
despite around 12kn of northerly wind.
The harbour of Bud may not necessarily be called a beauty - the
walks and the countryside around Bud however are stunning and worth exploring.
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| Coastal orchid |
In
1533 during the last gathering of all legislating nobility and clergy Bud
seemed to be the capital of Norway - a fact which is still very much in the
people's mind, so we have been told.
Bud has been of some strategic importance during the war and the
remnants of the Ergan fort have been well kept and restored and give a picture of the
lives of soldiers and prisoners having worked, lived and died in Bud. In order
to have a better sight for the weaponry, the old church was not simply destroyed by
the occupying forces but the turret was removed and carefully stored in a barn, to be
reinstated after the war. Also, before the German forces left Bud at the end of
the war, they dismantled all the mines planted around the fort.
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| log entry: 'rain, grey' |
To bore you again with the weather, it is not looking as if it will
improve in the next few days. We are glad to be near Ulsteinvik now. We ditched
our plans to visit a few anchorages on the way and we are not even sure that we
will visit Molde either. We have missed the famous jazz festival in Molde
anyway.
Probably we will go straight to Ålesund and maybe rent a car and go
to the Geiranger Fjord. That road is one of the most scenic roads in this part
of Norway.
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| View of Hustadvika from the 17.5 m high hill of Håholmen |