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
Josin's 2025 cruise 