62:52N, 006:33E
Seafeverofcrinan
Sun 22 Jul 2018 23:10
Much water has passed under the keel since our last report.The departure from Kuringan was done stealthily at 0600 in early morning mist so on engine yet again. Despite the calm weather the deep water seems to always have a long wavelength swell. There were occasional sightings of porpoise and sea birds, as well as an interesting coastline and navigation between marks. However, once we had passed the entrance to Trondheimsleia the wind rose, funnelled between the banks of the strait which was reminiscent of the sound of Mull. As a result, we enjoyed an excellent couple of hours tacking and seeing how our VMG compared with our speed under engine! Eventually it dropped and the fun ended so we had supper in the calm water and enjoyed the lovely evening as the moon rose and we neared our destination. There is almost proper darkness now we are further south and the navigation lights helped locate our position. Mary steered us in under the bridge and down the narrow and shallow channels to the inner harbour of Kristiansund where after a perusal of options we rafted up alongside another yacht and enjoyed a drink at 0120! We slept well and had a relaxed start then after meeting the neighbours, some very friendly norwegians from ÅLESUND, we decided to follow their recommendation and head out for Ona, a remote island with an eye of the world feel. So, we had a quick walk around the town and visited the ship building museum with its lovely old boats then left around 1415. As we headed out the swell became more noticeable than before and the forecast was for more wind. For about three or four hours we flopped along with an increasingly unpleasant swell and boat motion, with some quite challenging small channels to follow between the reefs. At one point, we were overtaken by the Hurtigruten boat which had to execute some nifty manoeuvres to get by in the restricted space. Then the wind got stronger. Fortunately, Philippe rose to the challenge and under guidance from navigators held a good course to the island through gusts of just under 30 knots and a rough sea. Meanwhile, Peter E was wrestling with the world’s worst tin opener tying to open the Fray Bentos tins. Once in the shelter of the little harbour, Peter Y moored the boat onto a fender board alongside one of the fishing piers in strong onshore winds, no mean feat. Some careful consideration of tides and line lengths was then done before scoffing pies with ‘neaps and tatties’ washed down with gin! Ona is a lovely spot and has a style of its own which is a sort of mix of Hebrides and Cornish and in the strong winds currently moaning in the rigging feels remote. Hopefully, the predicted moderation in the winds will enable a good sail to alesund tomorrow.
From Peter and via his phone.