Dry land and Family!

Family Visit 2014

What fun we had! Flew from Bodo to Oslo on the early AM flight. Noel’s Mum and Sister had been there a few days already so had met the Hyggen side of the family. We got a room same floor same hotel, delivered them to the Fram and Viking Ship museum by ferry boat. Noel and I went walk about dodging rain squalls and people watching made our way up to the Palace but the King wasn’t home so we couldn’t have a visit. We watched the changing of the guard instead  Eventually made our way back to the Hotel. in high humidity prior to the PM thunderstorm. Went for the all you can eat Buffett(Smorgasbord) with Mom and Andrea and then we were joined by Anne and Jane by Ana, Jana and Ruben after dinner and we talked and talked and talked…Anne helped us get dates straight as we had messed them up. Little Hammer the next day and the party started at the train station and never stopped. Hopefully the photos will help as words are not sufficient. The best days of the summer and that is saying lots because what a wonderful summer!

North bound across the Arctic Circle

on

to Bodo.

We are closing in on the end of July waking to a damp and foggy morning. Underway from the anchorage about 8:30 shutting the engine down about 10AM. Beginning to regret not hoisting the dingy back up on deck but that’s life. We had fun racing with Anne Gre that is a similar length boat built of steel , cutter rig. With her stay sail up she gets the legs on us we can out point and accelerate faster. Sailed with the Genoa and one reef then the wind shifted and lightened so we motored across the Arctic Circle. Noel, shortly before this having to enter the dingy and pass up the oars that were working themselves loose. 1350 Kalinka 1 crossed  the circle in cloudy overcast conditions. We tried to anchor in the north part of the island of Rosoeya and found lovely shallows with white sand beach but not sufficient room to swing and so 2 anchors would be needed and no way both boats could fit so…. South bound to Rosoeya  Klokkengarden Guest Harbor.  We tied up alongside and got the dingy on deck and changed down from the genoa to the working jib. Had a fight with the cook stove that Noel eventually cured when he cleared a blockage in the valve near the bottle.Spider got into the vent!  Hot soup was the reward! Then next day the barometer continued to fall and we headed to the Svartisen Glacier. We had decided we would not get ourselves weathered in at the end of the fiord but would circle past to check it out and head to a more sheltered harbour of Halsa. Had fun taking photos of each other’s boats and then under lovely sunny skies motored out the fiordand stopped the boat over a promising shoal and went fishing for an hour No cachee fishee so on to Halsa where we were the 1^st yachts on their new dock assembled earlier in the day and had a lovely welcome. Hot day and in need of cooling down so lickity split leaped over the side and had a nice swim. Not many places in the world whhheeeaaarrr you can go in the wateeerr NNNoorrrtthhh off theAAArccctttic circle wiitthooouuuttt fffffrrrreeeesssiiiing the bejesus out of you But this was one and I was in for about 15 minutes. And really I didn’t see the no swimming sign!  The days run was 34 miles with 3.5 hours under engine.  July 30^th we woke to a lowering barometer and high humidity figuring we would stay till the weather settles. Ronnie,  one of the welcoming  party brought us to his home to sort out airline ticked so Oslo for Flight on Monday Aug 4^th. We were meeting up with Noel’s Mother and sister before heading up to Littlehammer for a flying visit with family. In our absence Ank had organized a pot luck dinner in the club house. Great Fun! We contributed fresh baked bread and salad. Met Yvonne and Dennis who are teachers from England and sail a Drasome 21 about the coast and have been traveling in the summers hiking and sailing for 10+ years. Then Des and Terry with a big Niad and were heading home from having reached Svalvard this summer. What a great evening, the conversation never ceased.

Up and underway by 7:30 the next day. The anchorage that was chosen was not well enough protected for the winds forecast so after a bit of fishing with no luck but the fresh baked bread came out great so we passed ½ a loaf over by landing net. Moored alongside at Krokolmen this is 15 miles from Bodo. On long dock and we were the only boats.   Weathered in the next day enjoyed pancakes with Flip and Ank then some steamed pressure cooker bread that Ank was hoping would last….bad idea to take it out of the pot with a boat full of sailor’s and expect to have any left .It was good too. Then walk around and found a way into the locked building that looked interesting through the windows. Had to climb a ladder to the second floor that had a door open! Was a Fishing warhouse and then a resteraunt and now a closed up playhouse for the locals but still full of old fishing gear and boat parts.

August 2^nd (Andreas Birthday) Up and underway by 7:30 Tied up in Bodo by10:30 after motor boat run in lumpy seas.  The plan is to leave the boat and fly to Oslo for visit of family… Flight at 7:30am. It’s a great life!.

We caught our flight to Oslo got off the plane and onto the train got off the train at central station which really isn’t central but was close to where Mom an Andrea were staying.  Eventually found the right door out of the blankety  blankety  station and made our way to the Hotel. Phoned my cousin Anne told her we had arrived. She replied Whooppee  see you later  and that was that. Phoned moms room no answer! Knew we shouldn’t have told everyone we were coming! Found them ensconsed (that’s sitting in) the lobby begging! They made enough in the afternoon to pay for the Hotel room! Wish I had thought of that!! More later glass just emptied.

North from Trondheim it's a long way to go or words and music from North to Alaska

North bound from Trondheim,

Underway early and sailed and motor sailed out the Trondheim  fjord. Anchored at Vagsoeya and cooked cod for dinner, all very peaceful. Besssaker was our destination the next day (great name) and when we arrived they had a mountain of rubbish and were busy clearing up. We had missed another music festival they even took away the temporary mini bank machines so we went on as it was a lovely warm sunny day. Confusing to find the anchorage as we got muddled by the many islands and the guide’s description. We anchored and went swimming. Noel with his go pro…kool photos of the keel (we will need new zinc next season). That evening we ate the whale steak and potato salad,(mild, similar to lean beef). Whale is 1/3 the cost of beef yet we feel it is not a sustainable fishery so not keen on encouraging the business.

Rorvik was the next days destination and after some minor electrical issues that needed a total ship shut down to re boot we were back navigating again. Next place with reasonable internet we will down load a 2^nd set of the electronic charts into my Apple tablet as we are dependent on the inverter to run the computer and Noels tablet. It was a little stressful to be in the middle of the skerrie with no wind and all shut down.  In Rorvik we could do laundry at last.  The 1^st place since Dianne and I had last done some things by hand.  The day ended on a high note as Flip and Ank on Anne Gre were rafted alongside.

Maintance day with internet downloading the charts into the 2^nd tablet and leaks  traced. Flip placed his order for a new ham radio. Had an early dinner and late stroll as there was a festival planned for the next day and a fun park or as Flip called it a Luna Park which I think is very descriptive. The street lights were on in town when we went to bed the days are getting noticeably shorter.

Tricky departure backing out of slip past rafted motor boat astern. Fueled land filled the propane bottle and we were off. Sailed and motored saw some Fish Eagles tacked up against the wind and got 23 miles with only 3 hours on the engine.  Arrived at Leka: home of the largest Viking grave and some unique geology from tectonic plate action that had the far side of the island with yellow rock like a cowboy and western movie set.  Flip and Ank offered us their bikes but by then we were tired so opted to go in the AM on what turned out to be very bochety  loaner bicycles… and a dull over cast day. 

Underway by 11:30 to go to Torgaten and see the hole in the rock. We tied up about 3 with Anne Gre alongside and Noel and I headed off on the trek to the hole. Flip and Ank followed by bicycle,  ½ hr. up after ¾ to get to the trail. Had a picnic at the top. Took photos for the other walkers and then on the way down talked a pair of lovely Norwegian ladies into a coffee on the boat if they could drive us back. I was tired by then and this worked out great! They were pals from studying psychology and one was working locally as a child psychologists, the other was going back to university having spent the year working in a book store.  Neither had been on a boat before. Flip and Ank  joined us  and we had a great evening. 

The next day we stopped in at the town of Boynnesund for fresh bread and milk from the Co Op and learned about member and non member price difference.  Destination was an anchorage on the island of Torgatten. What a great place we swam and had sun shower and then put the dingy in the water to visit to AnnaGre for coffee and destination discussions.

Sunday we had a quick visit to Sanderssjoen. The place was away on vacation and all closed up it was hard to purchase an ice cream so we headed on. Fished with no luck and moored in Tjoetta for the night. The scenery is lovely, Norway is having the best summer in years and its hard to keep all the place names right even with the help of the log book.

The Cathedral part of Anchors, Forts and?

Another day  passes  and we’re closer to our destination. Which is still a mystery. I left off by going to bed cause it was late so I’ll start this early.

So to pickup where  I left off. Sally’s birthday party. Diane. Ank and Flip and of course Sally and yours truly. A good time was had by all and we all went off to bed as an early start in the morning. We also split away from Anne Gre as we were going to Trondheim and they wer’nt.

0500 July 16/14 eye’s are open body a little slow responding think giant Sloth. No leaping out of bed for this guy. Managed the v berth shuffle without disturbing the birthday girl too much and didn’t disturb the crew at all! Put the kettle on made tea and we were underway by 0600 and of course motoring again. Saw some dolphins and stupendous scenery and in the goodness of time we arrived at Brekstad. Where we found an empty pontoon and made ourselves at home. Went walk about stretched the old legs and generally took life easy did some shopping and went to the vinmonopol  or The Gov. booze store! The cheapest bootle of rot gut was $100.00! Canadian. Now I know some of you think that’s Ok but us consumers of the elixir of youth DON’T!!!! so we didn’t buy anything BOOHOO!

July 17 everyone pretty slow on the arising part of a sailor/cruisers life and the two girls went off to do some shopping  and get some breakfast stuff. They returned to the boat with some frozen  focatia bread that we promptly baked up and had it for breakfast with Hovartie cheese. (not losing any weight on this trip) Finally able to get moving by 1100 and we left the pontoon  and motored and tacked up the fjord towards Trondheim. Dine had a snooze We arrived at the sailing centre at 1630 found an open pontoon and made ourselves at home. Had a meal of fresh shrimps and fresh home made bread! Then walk about to stretch the legs and find the train station. Which we did by the way.

July 18/14 0730 up busy day planned. Girls paid the 25 Kroner entry fee to the shower and washroom  and then the 10 kroner fee for a shower. I shaved and stayed stinky but I’m not cheap!! Then we went walk about some more and took a 2 hour bus tour of the city and up to the fort which was used by the Germans as a place of execution for resistance fighters. Not a happy place!! But tit for tat the Norwegians put the Germans up against the same wall when we won. After the tour I being the nice guy that I am sprung for lunch.  I was then in dire need of some alone time so we split up. I went off to the Cathedral and visited the Bishops museum and the crown jewels and got kicked out of the Army museum as he wanted to go home. Go figure. We all met up later for the 6 o’clock service which lasted a total of 20 minutes and then 10 min. of organ music. Good thing it was free. The Girls found me and we all returned to the boat as Diane had to pack for her early departure in the morning.

July 19/14 Early early upsirizes Walked Diane to the bus station said our good bys and then Sally and I back to the Cathedral to climb up to the tower tour. Which we did All the way up 9,000 stone steps around and around and around(description of a spiral stair case just in case you couldn’t figure it out) Then we had to repeat it but in reverse down around and around and around and around and around took longer as we went to the crypts (The cellar not the LA gang) After all this exercise we went back to the Army museum and spent a leasurly 2 hours. Then back to the boat and stopping on the way at the fish market to purchase some fish and a whale steak! When we got back to the boat we were told to move as we were on a private slip and the visitors had too go over there! A wave and point in the general direction of South America. We didn’t go that far but we did go over to the fuel dock and stayed there for the night here endeth the chapter.

Kristiansund

So here we are in Kristiansund.  We arrived at 1015 after a 5 hour MB ride. Tied up on the main pontoon and Anne Gre came in behind us.We all got squared away (Anyone know where that term came from?) Went walk about. Everything is up hill! Walked past a Restaurant and Whale was the main dish on the menue! Was tempted to have some but too early in the day. Went off to the tourist office and found out we could rent bikes pretty cheap for the day and that we could take them on a bus. We all decided that it would be a lot of fun to bike the Atlantic Highway! Only problem all the bikes were out! Reserved 3 for the 14^th the next day at noon.

With all that business out of the way we went off for a wander and lost Diane or she wandered off and got lost not sure which but the result was the same. We were alone sooo yup we just went walking around and over to the wooden boat yard museum kind of place lots of wood boats in different stages of disrepair  or repair depending on how you looked at it. Construction is kind of backward on the fishing boats. Hulls are wood and the super structcher  lots of marine railways etc etc. An interesting place. Got back to the boat and found a Collin Archer rafted up to us. Big! No sweat had a pretty crew.  Ooops ment to say pretty good crew really I did. Back on board and there was Diane no worse for wear after her ordeal. Had a nice home cooked  or in this case boat cooked which really is home cooked as the boat Kalinka 1 is and has been our away from real home,home meal.

Now it’s July 14 2014 a momentus day in Sally’s long life. 50!! So we celebrated with three rentals and two owned bicycles that we loaded onto a local bus and off we went o the Atlantic Highway. First though we had to travel through a 7 kilometre long tunnel. Dark scary Saw the sun again and the driver kicked us off the bus. I was good honest! We started to ride.  We rode and we rode and we rode some more then we stopped and tried to figure out how far we had to go. after much consultation and head scratching we figured out that we had 30 K to go before we hit the highway!   Some one came up with the idea that we should keep going until another bus came along. I pointed out that we were all ready at a bus stop and it might be more sensible to wait right there. Voted down sooo we mounted up and a bus went wizzing by. Well not really wizzing and it stopped when Phillip also know as flip jumped out in front of it! We highjaked it and forced the driver to take us to the highway. She tried to point out that we were in fact on the highway. But you couldn’t fool us or at least not all of us wasn’t sure about a couple of the others. The nice driver drove us to the next depot where another bus waited for us and it took us to the Highway. Which we all managed to bicycle across. Then caught a return bus back to Kristiansund where we celebrated with cake and ice cream. Oh did I mention Sally turned 50 yup 50 really 50 on the 14^th which is today well not really today as I’m writing  this in August but today as in the day she turned 50 yup 50 and we went for the bike ride. Hooly Geeze it’s almost midnight. Good night

Anchors, Forts and Cathedrals

So we're finally underway motoring of course. We thread our way through a narrows into the city Harbour proper just to have a look. We couldn't go all the way in because it was just chalkafull of boats Big ones little ones, regular ones. Old ones,new ones,Sailboats, motor boats, Steamboats, wood boats, aluminium ones. Steel one and plastic one. After all it was a boat festival. We drooled a little bit and then left heading North.
After motoring for 5 hours and oohing and awwwing over the ever changing scenery of one mountain after another we finally came to our destination. Hellenhamn. Named of course after Dorothy. My trusty crew made ready the anchor and upon my command dropped it in the precise spot where it would hold. Man I'm good. We settled down to happy hour woke the other 1/3 of the crew up . We had a very nice meal then toodled off to bed.
0800 can't see a thing. Then I took the cover off my head and still couldn't see anything! No I didn't go blind Just Heavy fog. How heavy you might ask and even if you didn't I'm going to tell you anyway. It was so heavy that Kalinka 1 was 6 inches down on her lines, It was so heavy I had to cut my way through it with a razor knife. It was so heavy that we cut chunks off and had them for breakfast with our tea or in Diannes case coffee. It was so heavy that the seagulls were walking on it and 747's could land on it! We raised the anchor by the brail method turned on the gps,ais rds dis sos and the radar and got underway. the second obstacle to our journey was no wind bah!! Motor boat ride again. turned on the sss pointed the boat in the right direction and off we went across another fjord and through another dozen islands and by another 113 florecent pink or orange mooring bouys used for fishing gear markers and then we arrived in Bud.
Now Bud pronounced Boood not Bud as in bud the spud from PEI is a very nice small town that at one time was a central hub for coastal trade and controlled the route between Trondheim and points South. So of course it was thought to be very important by the Germans. Who built a massive underground Fort inside the main town hill. And put a couple of really really big guns on the top. then they knocked down a bunch of the houses in the neighborhood. Now the place is a museum and tourist attraction. We spent the night here and then early the next morning.
0500!! I'm daft what the heck(being polite here) am I doing getting up at this time of the day? We're underway through more islands narrow intricate passages in and out of rock and fishing gear until we come to Kristiansund not Kristiansand Sund is Sound not the noise but a passage between land forms and Sand is well sand for lack of a better term. We eventually arrived at our destination at 1040. got a spot on the main pontoon. Anne Gre followed us in and also got  spot.