Kristiansund to Rorvik;

Rosinis heads to Svalbard
Bob Hendicott
Wed 27 Jun 2018 06:15
Before we left Kristiansund we had another wander around to see what it was like when it was open, to re-provision, and to visit a working museum/boatyard.  The town was a little more alive than the previous evening and the boatyard was amazing – well worth a visit just to see how traditional vessels were made and are still being maintained using traditional techniques.  We were given a bespoke  tour by the enthusiastic staff there.
 
We then set sail, heading out of the eastern entrance of the cross shaped, land-locked harbour and worked our way through the inner leads, now in much better weather.  This was much more the sailing we’d come for, with rocks and islands close by and careful pilotage needed as we made our way north at 7 knots just under the full genoa.  Shortly after our departure we spotted a sea eagle.  After an hour or so we made our way out into Edoyfjord which eventually leads up towards Trondheim and had 5-6 hours of more open water sailing, but still protected by offshore islands.  Towards the end of this part of the passage we picked up a VHF message reporting an elk swimming in the sea close to a ferry route: not a frequent story on the south coast of UK!
 
There is now little difference between day and night, particularly as they daytime weather is so dull, and we continued to wind our way through yet more islands and narrow passages amongst incredible scenery, now just about visible below the slightly higher cloud base.  Then finally we saw what we’d all been waiting for – rarer then sea eagles and more elusive then swimming elks – we finally spotted the sun and the occasional patch of blue sky............at last!  And it was dry!  We recorded sunset at 2352 local time, which is 2252 local standard time, so we still have a bit to go to see midnight sun, but we’re getting there.  Already we’re well north of the latitude of the Faroe Islands.
 
Our final approach into Rorvik crossed several miles of more open water where the wind picked up to F7 but soon we were alongside in the fishing harbour.  We hadn’t been sure what to expect, but Rorvik is very much a working port and not particularly picturesque.  Our next planned stop is Bodo, 180nm further north, and we’ve decided we’ll try to find a small pretty harbour before we get there instead and use that as a  springboard from which to sail across to the Lofoten Islands, rather than continue using major ports.  From then on we aim to slow down slightly and cruise through the Lofotens and onwards to Tromso.  We’ve deliberately pushed the pace so far, simply to get north as quickly as possible (it’s only 3 weeks since I left Marchwood), and we’re all feeling quite tired, but hopefully we can rectify that in the next few days.  If what’s ahead matches the past couple of days, and the sun stays out and the rain stays away it should be amazing.
 
The attached photos show the Kristiansund boatyard museum, various views of our passage up through the leads between rocks and islands, and Julian enjoying some sustenance while helming.

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