Night Sailing
When the wind blows the wrong way, have another cuppa, and wait. When the wind blows the right way, you sail!
These are not pics of a sunset, they are of early dawn. 01:30 and 02:00 to be precise, on the way from Stavern (58 59.9 / 010 02.5) to Finnøy, Risør, (58 44.0 / 009 13.6). See all the little lights? Somewhere amongst them all are navigation lights. Best to keep out to sea, where one doesn’t need them. Actually nav lights are quite intense, and are, more often than not, flashing in a definite sequence, (on the chart, in a code that one has forgotten, but is in a sticker on the bulkhead), so they can be identified. Binoculars help enormously. Then there are of course the main lighthouses, with unmistakeable flashes, seen at great distances.
This year I have decided that the engine will be used as little as is sensible, hence the waiting.
We set off from Stavern in early afternoon, after the Skagerak rollers had died down a bit, and we had a humpity sail in a direct line to Risør. Forecasts are sometimes wrong, this time with prediction of sea currents. Should have been with, but Neptune would otherwise. Progress was slightly slowed as a result.
When far from the shore, and especially late in the day, there are only a few commercial vessels on their way, as the leisure craft have all tied up somewhere. Very relaxing. With plenty of previously-prepared coffee, teawater, sandwiches, chocolate, nuts, raisons and other goodies, I suffered no pain.
The entrance to Risør from the north is via a very narrow gap in the islands and rocks, but the half-moon shone brightly dead ahead and navigating was easy, almost like day.
Relaxed and slept some extra times next day.
Again the wind changed from contra to hopeful, and we set off after an evening meal and sailed to Lillesand. This time I headed out to sea to find the SW-going current which “is always there”, but it wasn’t. Again against. Neptune did not answer my complaints. Got to Lillesand guest harbour (58 14.9 / 008 22.8) at 03:30. Soon after midnight the wind had gradually died away so we had to motor the last couple of hours, with a gradually increasing diesel-perfume. Oh dear. Inspection later showed a good liter of the smelly stuff in the cradle under the engine together with a little water. Scoop up and bottle. Write diagnostic task on the to-do list.
Lillesand is a charming, mostly white-painted small town, with a large and popular guest harbour, necessary and less-necessary shops, and several restaurants and a pub. But I didn’t investigate, but, equipped with freshly-baked sticky buns, visited old Ballad owner and good friend Svein Tangen, physically somewhat reduced, but always good value. His partner Hilda had also bought sticky buns, so we gorged.
Back on Josin, a forecast of favourable winds competed with finding the diesel leak, and the forecast, confirmed by diverse flags, turned out to be correct, and won. Off again, this time back up the coast. I had planned as an alternative, to sail direct over to Denmark, Hirtshals, if conditions were favourable, but they were not. This time we sailed close inshore, to avoid the current, but here it was, strong on the nose. Never mind, the wind was direct off shore (no waves) and plenty of it, so we made exceptional progress at high speed back to Finnøy. Fantastic sail.
Today the wind is light and unfavourable in direction, so we stay put and enjoy the sunshine.
But later. First, much removal of hoods and dismantling of panels, and emptying of cockpit lockers, to get to things. Mystery. No leaky fuel pipes or hoses. The culprit was the fuel secondary filter. Eversoslightly loose. Tighten. Job done. But, the drips had fallen on a waterhose, which didn’t tolerate diesel and had developed an aneurism. Tape-wrap, string-wrap, epoxy, more tape-wrap. Tested later and leak-free. Wonder how long that will hold. Find hose emporium soon.
And I have enjoyed the sunshine.
Alls well again.
JosinSailorJohn
Josin's 2025 cruise 