Woke to overcast and drizzle, so dallied and read a chapter or two before leaving Sjøvik, on Leka. No wind to speak of so more use of diesel. Nearing Rørvik we met the tidal current, going north and against of course. The narrower the fairway, the stronger the current, and when it increased to well over two knots, I took action and sought the shallows, where it wasn’t so strong. Our track is revealing: Followed mostly the 5 meter depth contour on the wonderful electronic chart. No surprises luckily.
Rørvik was wet, drizzly and foggy, so we stayed a day, did some shopping, read some more, and tried to get the bilge pump to work. Dismantling revealed sufficient crud and corrosion that the flap-valves didn’t seat properly, therefore no suck and blow. A good cleanup restored some functionality. Really need a new one. But the boat-things shop has moved to the other side of the island, several Km away, not promising for a bicycle ride in this weather, and the friendly voice on the phone couldn’t help.
Left Rørvik early, the forecast was for winds against, increasing later. Check, but we got to Villa, motoring, before that happened. Villa is where the very first lighthouse was built in Norway, 1839, coal fired, and I’d hoped to make it a visit. But it wasn’t on the top of the hill next to the harbour, but a good long way away. Having negotiated the rather uneven “path” thither for a few hundred meters, and a conference with my knees, we decided to return to boat. Mission unaccomplished. Pottered about instead. The harbour is one of the least-inviting I have seen, but the visitors pontoon is luckily more friendly. Harbour building perched on the steep side of a very narrow channel. Nice view though.
The ravages of time create art. Who would have guessed that the blacksmith’s hammering which forged this utilitarian maritime necessity would turn out so artistic? And nature finds a way amongst the cast-offs.
Left Villa with the promise of a day of calmish winds and sunshine, and it happened! Initial motoring, but after a while the clouds dissolved and the breeze blew gently and we genakker-sailed for most of the rest of the day, and got sunburned shoulders. Goals, and alternative goals for the day, disappeared aft one by one. Why stop? Incredible. Finally stopped i Djupfest, (known), in late evening, weary but content.
Next morning was strange. Absolutely calm and silent, due to very low cloud, almost fog. Even the gulls remained quiet. However, we set off in the forecast hope of improvement. It was eerie. Cloudbase was very variable, apparently just over mast-height occasionally, and visibility about a mile. A landmark (or should that be seamark?), lighthouse came and went, clear on approach, foggy on departure: Weird!
Then an intermittent but gradual clearing, and some sailing wind, mainly aft, which carried us fitfully towards Trondheim. Wind direction was not constant, and after getting into and out of, a chinese gybe, learned how not to do it. (Chinese gybe is when the sail is an hour-glass , with the top of the sail filled one way and the bottom is filled the opposite way). Tricky, preferably needing rather more than one pair of hands to unravel! Arrived in Trondheim just before the weather clamped down and rained again.
Grey, wet and drizzly today. Take it easy. Alls snug and well.
Josin's 2025 cruise 