Bergen to Ulsteinvik
Rosinis heads to Svalbard
Bob Hendicott
Sat 23 Jun 2018 13:40
We left Bergen as planned on 21 June. Initially we were motoring in
light headwinds, but gradually the wind picked up and we had an easy beat down
Hjeltesfjord towards the island of Fedje where we left the inshore leads
(passages between islands and the mainland) to head into open water. We
knew we faced headwinds for most of this leg, but hadn’t anticipated that we
would be beating into a Force 6 for most of the night and the best part of the
second day. It was a bumpy ride in a rising sea and before long we were
sailing under staysail and double reefed main. To landward the mountains
grew in size with residual snow still evident on the higher ground, despite it
being mid summer. Although we don’t have midnight sun yet we’re already
far enough north for light to never drop below dusk levels at home, so night
sailing is easy, although the nights are very cold.
The prominent headland of Statt is where the Norwegian coastline
turns from north-south towards the north east. The pilot cites it as the
most exposed and dangerous part of the whole Norwegian coastline, so not to be
disregarded particularly in bad weather. At one stage we’d seriously
considered stopping somewhere south of Statt, but the wind eased as we
approached and we decided to continue. In the end we rounded Statt in very
poor visibility and then made our way into the leads, heading in the general
direction of Alesund, our destination. In the evening we decided to stop
in the small town of Ulsteinvik which is less of a diversion from the main route
north and we arrived at 0230 having been at sea for 42 hours, covering around
210nm. We were soaked from torrential rain and had some minor damage to
fix following the heavy weather, but otherwise in great spirits.
We’ve just been invited to a mid-summer’s day party by the locals and,
although we need to keep heading north, it would be rude to decline local
hospitality, so we’ll go partying and then set sail later this evening, bound
for Kristiansund. The photos show us approaching Ulsteinvik at around
0200, and local children in traditional dress and in a traditional boat
celebrating mid-summer. |