From Stokksund (64 02.4N / 010 3.7E), to Gutvik (65 05.1N / 010 49.8E).
5th July, must have been friday, dawned grey and wet, so I decided to stay put and read, or listen, or update data, or snooze, until nearly teatime, when things dried up and the sun peeped through.
Used the opportunity to update all the instrumentation on board. And there befell the nasty fate, of which I now relate. (Sorry Belloc).
Updating data can go wrong, particularly if you hit the wrong button or something. Maybe I did. However, after a long and otherwise successful session, there remained one item which had crashed, and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get the echo-lodd (depth measuring), to wake up again. Oh dear. Contact experts. Mostly on holiday. Write a missive to the Manufacturer, Customer Assistance. “We much appreciate your contact and will reply latest within three working days”. And a weekend. But surprise!, got a reply next day, (from the US), asking for more info. Customer service had to refer the problem to the technical department, so I wait. Grrrr.
So, I now must navigate the shallower waters by avoiding the coloured areas, which are less than ten meters deep at low tide. Yes, there are tides here, getting bigger the further north we get.
The weather clearance brought with it a gentle breeze too, though a bit contrary. Nevertheless, we set off for motor and found a sailing wind out to sea. It held until very late in the evening, and we docked at Småvær, (64 26.3N / 010 32.9E), at 21:40.
Visited Småvær before, but in the interim there had been a serious bush fire, which had spread to and taken most of the buildings, so the place looked quite different and new. Asleep though. No one around to pay the harbour fee, and no instructive notice, so I couldn’t pay. Sorry.
Latish start next morning, grey but dry, but the sun melted the clouds away and we enjoyed the warmth and calm seas to Rørvik, (64 51.6N / 011 13.9E), where I had hoped to get some expert advice. Ignore next day, sunday, it rained, but I did get a few odd jobs done.
Monday morning, this morning, 9 o’clock, I phoned all three help-possibilities there were in or around Rørvik, but got the same answer. No technical personell available, all on holiday. Grrrr again!
So, a trip to the supermarket for a few things, and a bit of sight-seeing exercise before setting off again. An interesting sight was birds, lots of, Kittiwakes, a sort of gull, who nest on narrow ledges. Here there has been an attempt to reduce the building of nests on houses by erecting a sort of block of flats for them. See it? Between the red and the ocher building. But the birds have enjoyed their new home so much that they have multiplied and built on houses again as well.
Left Rørvik late morning when a nice southerly breeze came in and we have been wafted at a gentle pace to Gutvik in time for tea. The pontoon here is right next to the ferry terminal and I was a bit worried that we would bet bumped, or disturbed by propeller wash, but no. Relax. It is always an interesting sight to see how good these ferry-captains are at manouvering in tight spaces.
It is now late evening, still very light in spite of a lowering sky and the water level has dropped considerably, The ramp down to the pontoon is now at an angle close to being a ladder, but no worries, the water is remarkably clear, I can see the bottom and I can’t reach it with the longest thing on board. We are still afloat!
Sleep soon!
Alls well,
John
Josin's 2025 cruise 