Month: May 2016

Forgot to say where we are, for those who want to know:

North end of Ivarsøy, pos:  59 55,17 / 005 14,03.

Sun up wakeup, now clouding over. Maybe not a morning dip after all. Too cold.

After a relaxing and very successful drying out day at Skarvøy, the sun climbing over the hilltop woke me up at a reasonably early hour, and we managed therefore to get away reasonably early on thursday morning. The sun shone all day, but the wind was again contrary so it was a motoring day all the way to Egersund. The YR.no website has an amazing amount of information on it, including predictions of sea currents. It is a bit unstable, but by experience, the predictions checked. Up to two knots, where the current was predicted strongest, and that was conservative, as we experienced 7,5 to 8 knots on the GPS when speed through the water was 5,5, so progress was impressive.

Egersund was quiet, but the Peking House restaurant provided crispy Peking duck. Good. Next morning was a more normal-time start, again in beautiful weather, but no wind. Surprise at the diesel pump, only Kr 8,80 per liter! It pays to fill up at a fishing harbour. Out via the northern route round Egerøy we headed north up the Jær coast, which is not very hospitable, but looked benign in this weather. After a while we were in a weather hole. Clouds building up from the south, and a fog bank approaching from the north, eventually enveloping us but with the sun still shining through the hole, quite remarkable!   When the fog cleared, a breeze crept in from the north west, with sufficient strength to enable proper sailing. What a joy after all those motoring hours. Plan A was Tananger, but we creamed past there in fine style, and plan B too, Skudeneshavn, so plan C, Haugesund, 72 nm, rather late, but contented, to a chokka-full quayside. Friday evening in the outside bars. Snek us into a free slot in the motorboat marina on the other side of the sound. No-one came to hoosh us out luckily. Dinner and instant sleep.

Today a drab day by contrast, lowering clouds which drizzled occasionally and absolutely flat calm. Goal was Bekkjarvik, and the special-quality hamburger there by a Boucluse d’Or- winning chef, but tiredness crept in and so we anchored up in an idyllic bay instead.  Two old farms, and three summer cottages. Very peaceful. Maybe hamburger for lunch tomorrow.

Strusshamn, outside Bergen next.  All’s well.

After the very wet ride from Jomfruland to Lillesand, everything inside the boat was either wet or damp, and the weather the next morning was still foggy and wet, so no good trying to dry things out.

Spent a very pleasant morning with Ballad friend Svein Tangen and his partner Linda, originally for a late breakfast, which turned into a leisurely brunch. Ballad things were discussed and ideas exchanged. Svein has copied some of my safety features, and will probably do more. He is a little handicapped due to a hip operation which was not entirely successful, leaving him with a weak thigh. But he is fully intent on continuing sailing. We spent an amusing session trying to get his new hand-held VHF radio to behave, with the helpful encouragement of the watch-keeper at Tjøme Radio.

Linda has the interesting task, in Kystverket, of looking after all the lighthouses around the coast, mainly ensuring that those who run the facilities, not the lights themselves, are doing the right thing, so she knows the Norwegian coast very well.

One casualty of the wetness was that no signal was apparently transmitted from my newly installed AIS unit, after passing Risør. So next priority was to seek help, in Kristiansand. Up early, another motoring/sailing day, not quite so boisterous luckily, and arrival early enough in K to contact Raymarine Service there. One man, Øyvind, who could help, but “he’s very busy, best you send him an SMS with the problem”. So suggested, so done. Plan B was however put into action, using a dedicated aerial, which needed to be purchased, and lo!, who should ring but Svein, who was in K, and asked if I needed to be driven anywhere. Marvellous. K’s shopping center, east of the city, is enormous, and we drove from shop to shop! Armed with the necessary bits and pieces, got back to the boat and a message from Gilbert that he “followed” Josin in to K. Oh? Mystery! so things must have dried out enough that the system woke up again. Ah well, spares are stowed away. But find the fault? Not yet! Message to Øyvind, thanks, but no help needed.

Nice sunny day next, with a little wind occasionally to help the engine, all the way to Skarvøy, east of Farsund. Been there several times, this time no other boats, but two cuckoo birds calling to each other. Spring is definitely here. Forecast was for more sunshine, higher temperatures, and little or no wind, so we stayed today too. It has been a perfect drying-out day, with everything moveable spread out on the wooden jetty. I will attach a picture or two, if I can find out how to do it.

All’s well

Saturday started pleasant, but deteriorated.

Mostly sunny, gentle breeze from the south west, (where I wanted to go), and calm-ish sea.

Jomfruland harbour consists of two floating jetties sticking at right angles out into the wide channel. Therefore affected by ocean and other waves, particularly the ferry which disturbed the peace several times a day. One broken glass the unprepared first time.

Motored off into the wind at a leisurely ten o’clock, with Risør the first of possible goals. Really the game plan was to see how far we could get in the day. Headed out into the Skagerakk to find the south-west going current, and there it was, though weaker than hoped, and a slightly sailing wind. Progress was good, but the wind was fickle in both direction and strength, so the engine was running a lot of the time. The clouds thickened and lowered, and.then it rained, first intermittently, then continually, the seas became rougher, but progress was still good. So we continued.

What with spray and rain, things got somewhat wet. Seeped into the cabin via undiscoverable ways, but not through my many layers of clothing. I kept nice and warm thankyou, not least from the constant motion as I rolled and pitched in tune with the boat.  Lunch was a tin of makarel in tomato sauce, helped down with crispbread and coffee, and chocolate. Tea was a near-repeat, but with sardines instead, and of course, tea. These tins have been onboard a long time, for occasions just as these, and i consumed the contents before daring to look for the best-by date. The older was from 2010, but was still quite OK, if you like such things.

Onward in the changing conditions, no point in stopping,and the forecast was for improvement, which checked, so the plans B, C and D were allowed to slide by in the mist. We arrived in Lillesand, ( pos: 58 14,83 / 008 22,75 ) in the late evening, still misty daylight of course, (it is only four weeks to midsummer), and tied up in a berth closest to a power outlet. Connected up and turned on the fan heater at full blast, to start the drying process. Seeking leakage paths will have to wait until I have found out why the AIS stopped working. Probably something to do with the aerial connections.

Quick, late, nourishing meal in the friendly Chinese, and weary to bed, (damp at the foot end).

Today it is still misty and wet, and forecast is rain, so a visit to Ballad-owning friend Svein Tangen is on the schedule, together with reading and nipping tea. Onward tomorrow.

All’s well

First post on this site was in Norwegian, so, sorry to those who couldn’t read it.

I now have two sites, this one, josinjohn.com, and one in Norwegian, josinjohnnorsk.com., on which I have just posted.

I shall try very hard not to mix things in future.

19th May turned out to be not too bad, but the wind was still against and rather too much. However, progress is better than none and after a bouncy ride for three hours with the engine doing it’s thing, and a short period of sailing over the Larvik fjord, where we had to do a pirouette to satisfy a large and insistent freighter that we were not really in his way, we arrived in Stavern. Tied up behind the highish stone jetty, out of the wind, which was blowing uncomfortably over the guest-jetty.

Friend Sven Rønne came to meet me and kindly drove me in to Larvik to do some forgotten-things shopping. Spent a pleasant evening with him, eating home-made pizza.

The forecast was for a weather window early today, so the alarm was set for 5 o’clock. Correct, and by 6 we were off in calm conditions. The wind gradually increased and sailable and we rushed across the Langesund fjord and in behind the long island of Jomfruland, just, as predicted, it started to rain. Up with the cockpit canopy. ‘After  breakfast’s second half, and a catch-up on sleep, we will remain here until the weather improves.

Took pics, but cannot succeed in attaching one yet. Must read the instructions.

All’s well

 

 

18. May. 

Kl 10. Endelig. Vinket avgårde av Gilbert. Flott vær, men ingen vind. Motor. 

Dagens mål: Tallakshavn. Via Vrengen. Ank 14:45. Økende vind underveis, opp til 20 kt, og selvfølgelig imot. Litt seiling gjennom Vrengen med halv-vind. 

Oslo Friluftsråds bøyer, to stk, begge ledig. Pos: 59 04,60 / 010 18,43. Trygg havn. 

Opp med ny ankerseil i akterstaget. Den demper værhan-svingning, men kunne gjerne vært større. Neste utgave må vente til neste år. 

Ugunstig værmelding for imorgen, kanskje vi blir her en dag.