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. |