‘Norway and Shetland 2012’ Archive

Improv Cruising

It has been a satisfyingly unplanned sort of trip this year. We had a vague idea we might try and hook up with our Norwegian friends, but initially the winds proved uncooperative. Luckily we didn’t fight them, and this gave us time with our daughter on the East coast and a welcome opportunity to visit […]

Not Waving but …………….

Our trip South from Edinburgh was a real showcase for my belief that a cruising boat must sail well in light airs . Apart from a 6 hour period in the middle , we had a light reaching breeze and flat seas that saw us sliding along at 6 knots, and up to 8 when […]

Edinburgh Rocks!

I am perhaps the only person I know who has never been to Edinburgh and would just like to gently enquire why none of you ever told me what gem of a place it is? It is stunning. Like most cities the place is covered in statues – in this case Adam Smith and co […]

Fringe Benefits?

It is 3 weeks since we arrived in Shetland intending to do little other than pass through, but we have been entranced by the place and its people. It really is one of the nicest destinations for a cruising sailboat we have ever come across , with hundreds of fabulous anchorages all within easy reach […]

Still in Shetland

We have decided to stop here in Shetland and explore properly rather than rush on to the next place. It is a bit of a gamble in case the weather breaks but we think it is worth the risk.  From a distance , the shores look grey and lacking in life, but go ashore in […]

Falling in Love with Shetland

  Our last port of call in Norway was Bulandet , an extraordinary collection of tiny skerries stuck out in the Norwegian sea , mostly interconnected with small bridges and filled with prosperous looking houses. Each one had a deep water mooring outside , often with a large trawler on it. There seemed a much […]

A Tourist Excursion and Viking Dreams

North from Stavanger the Norwegian coast consists of off lying islands sheltering inner leads , and from time to time the mainland is penetrated by deep fjords which have been tourist attractions since the late 19th century ( the Kaiser was on vacation in one at the outbreak of the first world war!) The further […]

Eagles , a Horse and some Fish at last.

With a fresh SE wind and the threat of rain to come , we fled north through ever grander scenery to the little town of Floro to await our friends John and Liv Cooper. Having friends to stay is always a bit of a gamble , especially in the confined space of a boat , […]

Sunshine and Umbrellas

We have enjoyed a spell of pleasant sunny weather for the last few days. This is all the more surprising  as we have spent a couple of days in Bergen , which is reputed to be the wettest place in Europe. To give you an idea of how wet ,  in one of the side […]

Misty Musings

As we make our way slowly North through the marvellous archipelago that cloaks most of Norway’s coast , it is hard not to dwell on how it was in years gone by . The original Norsemen travelled by water because it was by far the quickest way to get anywhere. Their speeds were not very […]

Starting to Explore Norway

Neptune toyed with us on our passage to Norway. He boxed our ears in the shallow waters of the Friesian islands , gave us a welcome kick north as we took the tail of the gale across the German Bight, and then teased us with a light NW that one minute allowed us to hold […]

Oh to be old and foolish again!

One of the most important factors about any port of call is where to find the internet. In the case of Harlingen we found a nice old bar where , for the cost of a beer , or coffee , or apple cake ( or indeed all three!) we could study the weather to our […]

Another Nice City

We were up and off the moment the new calorifier passed its’ installation checks. What bliss! Not only did we have a perfect 12 knots of wind from just aft of the beam ( a moist SE’er giving advanced warning of the blow to come) but the boat was back in one piece. No more […]

Blow the Wind Southerly

It was the wind that did it. For the first time in a month it turned southerly and instead of the sharp cold bite that we have become used to, it enveloped us with a  warm gentle , almost Mediterranean caress and whispered into  our  ears “Take me North , take me North, take me […]

History Repeats Itself

When we first visited Enkhuizen in 1975 , our boat ( Undine , a 32 ft plank on edge racing cutter from 1889) was little changed from vessels which had called there for 300 years. Admittedly we had an engine of sorts , but it seldom worked. There were no electronics and lights were paraffin […]