Month: August 2023

Back to home harbour, Åsgårdstrand.

Lots of sailing from Risør back to base. South westerly winds of varying strength meant that there was no waiting for favourable conditions, and a good sail every day

Lillesand to Risør to Stråholmen to Tallakshavn to Åsgårdstrand.

Lillesand to Risør was a long one, nearly 50 nautical miles, but as the wind continued to blow, quite hard, I didn’t want to stop, although the seas were quite rough and I had to hand steer a lot of the time as the autopilot couldn’t cope adequately. Difficult, with the wind dead aft and conflicting wave patterns pushing the stern from side to side. Josin coped as always, safe and sure and almost dry, (she occasionally shipped som spray over the stern and gave me a shower).

Risør til Stråholmen was gentle by comparison, only 10 to 12 knots wind, still aft, but those waves still running from yesterday meant wallowing rather than sailing comfortably, but the sun shone brightly and the coffee didn’t spill.

Stråholmen til Tallakshavn started with very little wind and slow progress, until the wind came in after a frustrating hour or so. Course was sufficiently eastward that the still southwesterly wind was no longer aft, but genaker-able, and up the sail went and dragged us at a more than respectable speed, all the way until we had to gybe onto a northerly course to Tallakshavn. Gybing the genaker is not for solosailors, as it needs at least three hands for all the ropes, (been there, done troubled/chaotic that), so it is safer to roll in the genaker and roll out the genoa on the other tack.
Tallakshavn was empty, and a blue buoy beckoned. A quiet night and peaceful early morning, until again the wind came in late morning, with strength.

Tallakshavn to Åsgårdstrand was probably the most exciting sail of the cruise, appropriate finish what?!
Hard on the wind, 15 to 20 knots, on starboard tack, south east to beyond “Verdens Ende” the most southerly end to land in this local part of Norway.
Wave-bashing gave plenty of motion, both pitching and rolling. Evidence afterward showed by many things dislodged and deposited onto the floor, including the drawer of cutlery. Must secure things better before next such sailing.
Plenty of navigating too. With the waves that were running, even the under-shallow-lying rocks were clearly marked with their spray, so easy to avoid. Round the corner, and again the wind direct aft, all the way to home to Åsgårdstrand.

Altogether an interesting summer cruise.
Very warm to start with, very variable weather for the rest.
Too many days lurking in harbours waiting for the wind to blow itself out.
Interesting places and things to see.
Known places and new places.
Interesting people to meet.
Many good sailing days.
Some frustrating days.
NO accidents.
Few problems.
Few bruises.
Short list of things to fix.
Thank you Josin!

HomeagainJohn

More powerful beans.

The hawkeye among my devoted followers sorted out the decimals.
I thought it was wrong, but turns out I had misread the tiny print on the label. Sorry!

One can of Heinz Baked Beans can now power that moter for about one second.

Still makes me grieve.

CorrectedJohn

A Baked Beans update.

The motor on the runabout next door boasts 600 HP from a V12.
While as a motor man I am very impressed with the incredibly compact packaging of all that power, I cannot but help but to do a little calculating.

The label lists 1400 KJ of energy contained in the tin of beans.
If I have stacked the decimals correctly, that amount of energy would power that motor at full blast for just about one millisecond.

Makes you think. And grieve.

NB: Beans consumed, so no more compass problems.

Its raining and blowing. An inside and wait day. Promising tomorrow.

Alls well.

CalculatingJohn

Heinz Baked Beans. (??)

From Stråholmen, with rather less wind than forecast, we motorsailed to Risør, (58 43.2 / 009 14.4), a compact little town with a long maritime tradition. Every year they have a “Wooden Boat Festival”, which attracts every sort and size of wooden boat afloat. A most impressive display of shining varnish and hemp ropes. Pity I’d missed it, but according to reports, there wouldn’t have been space or a slot for an unacceptable plastic veteran intruder. Lots of sad evidence of stalls having sold things and informing of activities, and now an army of yellow-jacketed people with wheely bins collecting rubbish. Place and shops seemed empty, except for the coffee-and-buns shops doing a good trade, including the baker, with sourdough bread, yum.

Next day, wednesday, the wind was again less than forecast, but in a sailing direction, and we headed out several n miles offshore to catch the SW-going current. It delivered, and helped us along with over 2 knots. This current is part of a gyre, an enormous anti-clockwise circulation in the Skagerakk. Basically the Baltic Sea empties into the space going north between Sweden and Denmark, continues up the Swedish coast, meets Norway and turns left and continues down the SW coast, partially turning back left again before reaching the North Sea, to continue along the north Danish coast to meet the Baltic eflluent again. This current is very useful if you are going the same way, and a significant drag if you are going against it. It kicks up its own waves which can complete very uncomfortably with rollers coming in from the North Sea and other wind-blow waves in other directions. Never a dull moment.
We tied up at the Arendal Sailing Club’s facility on an island (58 26.0 / 008 47.6).
Woke next morning to bright sunshine and an increasing NE wind, which was just the thing. It blew us to Lillesand (58 14,9 / 008 22.8) in no time, helped again by the strong current, but over a very unruly sea. Plenty of exercise for the back muscles!

I had had increasing worries about the electronic compass which fed the autopilot. Wasn’t steering a reasonably straight course either. Re-calibrating it according to the process defined in the book-of-words produced less than satisfactory results with a screen message saying “excessive deviation”. Effect was to indicate that the boat was heading in a very different direction than that sailed. Mystery!
It was after I’d been food-shopping in Risør that the problem got worse. Then the penny dropped. I had stowed the tin of Heinz Baked Beans in the drawer where all the other dry foods live, and this was of course closest to the electronic compass. How stupid. Everyone knows that metal near to a compass is a no-no. So, remove the tin, along with the other tins, of Coop Baked Beans, sardines, tomato puree and the like, and everything with a metal lid.
A re-calibration resulted in everything back to normal.
You live and learn, especially over your own stupid mistakes.

Visit this evening and dinner with friend and earlier Ballad owner, Svein Tangen. Always good company.

Alls well.

CompassedJohn.

From Tønsberg to Stråholmen.

It was a lovely evening after a convivial afternoon with Kari and Gilbert, So I decided to set off rather than listen to Tønsberg folk enjoying themselves.
A gentle breeze was unfortunately on the nose, so we motored out the Tønsberg fjord toward the open sea.
After only an hour the lovely evening turned dark with lowering clouds and then rain, and then much more wind, still on the nose. Should have checked the weather forecast! Never mind. On with more protective clothing and huddle under the sprayhood, and in to sheltered Tallkshavn, (59 04.6 / 010 18.4), where there were several other boats anchored, and, surprise, a mooring buoy available. Thank you! A quiet night, even though the wind blew.
Next morning a much brighter and slightly calmer day, and a sailing wind, almost in the right direction. So, we sailed, close hauled into a 15 to 20 knot wind and choppy seas. Several long stretches later, strangely much less boat movement on port tack than starboard, we rushed into the fjord past Malm island south east of Larvik and dropped anchor in a small, sheltered bay called Skutebukta, (59 01.0 / 010 06.3). Two other boats anchored, unfortunately one of which had a powerful sound system. Having hoped and waited a while, I re-anchored as far away as the small bay would allow, and was early to bed.
Flat calm early next morning and bright sunshine, and with the morning routine hastily complete, we motored out round Malm island and headed south west out to sea. It remained windless, well almost, and we waited patiently while the engine did its usual excellent job and took us to Stråholmen (the Straw Island), (58 54.2 / 009 38.9). A place with a long history and for many years a harbour for the local pilot boats. Most informative notices:

Relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine for the rest of the day, the only visiting boat:
The community consists now only of summer residents, many of whom are descended from earlier inhabitants. In the evening, (sunday), almost all took off at high speed in their small boats, and a taxiboat, back to the mainland as it was now past holiday time. (Pic taken this morning)

Today, monday, started with intermittent sun peeping through low clouds blown by a southwesterly, so I decided to explore. Houses are well-kept and obviously enjoyed, with small garden plots and interesting sculptures: Light not good for pics today.

If the sunflowers grow taller they might get blown away. This island is very exposed.
Old boats never die, they get used as flowerbeds.
“And swords shall be ’til plowshares” and maybe then to sculptures!

Much of the arable land is now fallow, but there is a large flock of wild sheep who graze all the year round. Much of the outskirts of the island is designated National Park, with seals and countless birds, including an enormous flock of Canada geese, cackling loudly at my distant intrusion.
Quite a place!

Seep rain this evening and a dying wind. Forecast predicts a suitable wind direction (more southerly) tomorrow, which will hopefully waft us southwest further down the coast.

Alls well.

SolitaryJohn.

Here we go again!

While superstorm Hans has caused havoc and suffering elsewhere in mid Norway, back home in Kongsberg, where I had scuttled to avoid it, winds were balmy and rain not much more than a drizzle. Josin, with its extra mooring ropes in home harbour Åsgårdstrand, had apparently not experienced anything unusual either, so this second sailing-pause was a bit of an anticlimax, thankfully.
Anyway, the pause has meant that almost all the problems had been sorted out, and we can now continue the cruise with the reassurance that everything works again.
The car has shuttled to and fro between boat and workshop, quite contrary to my original intention of not using it at all during the summer, but is now being looked after by Gilbert. Much more convenient for me than leaving it at home and taking bus/train back to Åsgårdstrand.
So yesterday, thursday 10 august, all was ready in the early evening, and with a light and almost-favourable breeze, we set off again, and motor-sailed south the short distance to a quiet anchorage in the Bolærne islands, (59 13.0 / 010 32.4).
No, not everything is working as it should. Bother! Repairs to the anchor-roller have resulted in a slight clearance conflict, and the anchor needs a sharp kick to encourage it to deploy. (Note to self: At least one thick-soled shoe).
Later this morning we shall sail gently NW to Tønsberg guest harbour, and spend an afternoon with Kari and Gilbert, before setting off on the rest of the summer cruise, to points south-west in general down the Norwegian coast, and see where wind and weather take us.

Alls well

LatesummerJohn

From Skärhavn to Åsgårdstrand.

After a very enjoyable and extended lunch with Robert and Agnete, we left Skärhavn in mid afternoon and sailed northward the short distance to the fine anchorage at Slubbersholm, (58 03.8 / 011 27.0) and anchored amongst several boats in 8 meters of water, (rather more than I prefer) with good holding and just enough swinging space.
A gusty, windy night gradually turned into a splendid sailing day next day with 15 to 20 knots of wind from the WSW, and we were going north. Seas were moderate, rather surprisingly, so conditions were at last suitable for steering by the wind vane. Experimenting with settings finally resulted in a steady course and both Josin and I smiled! Confidence in the wind vane much improved.
33 nautical miles and five and a half hours to Gluppö, (54 34.8 / 011 13.0), a large natural harbour, and very popular. Again found an anchoring spot with enough swinging space. Looking at the chart, this harbour should be sheltered from this wind direction, but reality was rather different. A good case for the anchor-sail, a double triangle hung in the back-stay as a weathervane, and after a bit of a struggle to set it up, reduced the weather-cocking to and fro, which is otherwise normal for sailboats with a rolled-up foresail which catches the wind. One other sailboat had an anchor sail, a very large, bright orange one.
Just to confuse me while this settling-in process was at its busiest, the phone rang, insistingly. Whadderuknow! Ivar, another Ballad sailor from Åsgårdstrand, warmly welcomed us and offered a tie-up alongside him if my anchor didn’t hold. He wasn’t in his own boat, but was crewing his daughter and family in something rather larger, and tied up to the side of a large rock. I decided not to take up his offer, as things seemed to be safely under control. I puttered over next morning on my way out, and it was good to meet up with him in foreign parts.

The wind had died almost completely during the night, so departure was delayed with another cuppa or two while waiting for the predicted wind to fill in. It never did really, and trying to sail with little wind in yesterday’s seas proved frustrating, with sails thrashing back and forth, even with help for the engine, so after a while the genoa was rolled in and the main sheeted in mid-ships to reduce the rolling, we motored for the rest of the day all the way to home port. Plan A had been to stop over at my favourite spot on South Koster island but the forecast for the next day was for again little wind, so I decided to motor past. A rather boring ten hours, lightened by reading and listening to the radio. Back securely tied up in Josin’s home berth, a knocking on the hull just as I was preparing a late meal and there was Otto and Inger Book to welcome us back. Excellent.

Recently Josin had developed several problems which had encouraged me to go for home port instead of continuing the cruise. None of which were serious but the sum was a bit restricting, particularly with the anchor-roller in the baug. My home workshop has much better fixing facilities than on board. So, back to Kongsberg on busses, arriving just at the end of a normal tuesday lunch in the group. Another welcome! But my lunch had to wait until I had been to buy some food.

What with one thing and another, it has taken several days to get things organised and fixed, so here we are on saturday evening, all ready to sail away again. But….
Monday and tuesday are predicted to be extremely wet and windy, so I think we will have a gentle potter-sail in the fjord here tomorrow, and then lock down the hatches until more favourable sailing conditions, hopefully wednesday afternoon, then off again, points south and west.

Strange summer this. Cruising in fits and starts. Maybe smoother later.

Alls well,

StationaryJohn