Røstøya 63:26.300N 008:55.220E

Pelagia
Frans & Sarah Toonen
Mon 15 Jun 2015 20:52
Monday 15th June 2015. W5 and 6. Very wet and very cold, 8C with windchill. 65nm in 10.5 hours. 2.3 engine hours. 

We motored out from our berth and had to decide whether to continue outside Averøy in the rain with W6 on the beam (rolly in the swell no doubt) or wimp out and go through the bridge and dodge the katabatic winds around the towering peaks of Korstad and Kvernesfjords.             We chose the latter as at least we’d have something to look at in the rain even adding 10 miles to our day. 

In Ålesund we had taken the precaution of going native and got Frans a new hat to wear at the helm in downpours. These had been modelled by our fellow Norwegian sailors and Frans had felt envy as icy water ran down his neck again.  Sarah had purchased 5 pairs of hand warmers and despite Frans’s tutting he was very glad of a pair today and he defrosted his hands one by one at the helm.

Hot food again today. There is no way our usual summer cruising menu of cereal for breakfast and salad/sandwiches for lunch will do. Porridge and cup-a-soup are stocked aplenty now and Sarah has perfected the fried sandwich which like all our food has to be eaten indoors  or it becomes cold food in moments. Making tea takes about 5 minutes, drinking tea about 5 seconds. 

As we left Kristiansund behind us we entered outside into the skerries again and were delighted to see a pair of eagles playing nearby. Golden Eagles and Sea Eagles both live on this coastline and with the similar characteristics of the juveniles it is difficult to tell them apart. Whatever they are they seem to like the barren flat rocky islands and we had several sightings.

The rain abated and we found a calm anchor spot where wrapped in blankets we fancied a beverage. We decided to make ghulwein (without any spices) and so in the pot went our oh so pricy organic La Vialla red wine and the last of the Lerwick Tesco orange juice. Delicious in pre-warmed mugs. There is a non-alcoholic version too which is boiled cranberry juice. The air is very alpine which enhances the flavour. We are not boiling beer - Frans is making an exception for that. 

The good ol’ sou'wester.

Pretty anchorage to go with the glue-whine.