Last year was the wettest and coldest
summer for 97 years. There wasn’t a day where we didn’t need thermals,
‘fluffies’, gloves, hats and oilskins. So we prepared for the same this year.
Our suitcase was filled with yet more thermals and thick socks. We have been
able to store most of it away now in a plastic crate under our bunk. For this
year the weather has been making up for last year. We haven’t had a bad day
since we left Ulsteinvik. We haven’t needed any foul weather gear at all. The
sky has been blue and even the one ominous sky in Kalvåg didn’t bring any rain
and dissipated in just a few hours.
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| Stabben light, Florø |
The weather forecast is predicting more of
the same until at least the 21st of June, the day Sally is planned
to arrive in Bergen to make the crossing to Shetland with us.
It is the perfect weather for Easy Rider to
visit places that you would not contemplate in bad weather.
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| Krakhellesundet |
From Kalvåg we sailed past the maze of
skerries past Florø and southwards into the fjord country with its imposing
high mountains. We stopped at Askvoll (61º 20’.7N 5º 04’.3E) in the Granesund
(10.6.16). We had a wonderful sail in a fresh northeasterly breeze. Next day, passing
through Vilnesfjord, Krakhellesund and Sognesjøen provided us with a majestic
scenery on our way. The wind became slight and backed to the southwest, which
meant that through the fjords it came straight at us. We had to content
ourselves with motoring.
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| Easy Rider in Hestnesvåg |
With another three days before we plan to reach
Bergen, which as you know is the wettest city in Norway, we chose a very remote
ocean harbour out on the fringes, tucked away on the island of Hille.
Hestnesvåg (60º 59’N 4º 51’.3E) is protected from all winds. We are anchored in
the northeastern corner, right at the end of the inlet in 9m (11-12.6.16). It
is in fact so well tucked away that this inlet was used by the Norwegian
resistance as a hideaway since 1943 until the end of the Second World War.
It took two attempts at anchoring when we
arrived: the first time we dropped the
anchor in 4m, where there was too much kelp. In the middle of the lagoon the holding
is very good. We are staying another day to enjoy this last magnificent
anchorage in Norway.
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| Floating around in the sun |
As expected, we are out on the fringes of
the west coast and our internet connection is not strong enough to send this
posting, even if there is a fish farm on the island opposite Hille.
Tomorrow (13.6.16) we intend to sail to
Vestervåg, Fedje (60º 47’N 4º 42’.4E) at the very top of Fedjefjorden, also on
the fringes of the Norwegian Sea. It is not very far from Bergen, but we would
like to delay the feeling that our stay in this magnificent part of the world
is coming to an end. In Bergen we will spend a week preparing the second leg of
our exciting journey. Shetland and Orkney are magical places too that we wanted
to visit on Easy Rider since we got her 20 years ago.
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| Magical anchorage with half moon |