Tag: sailing

What to do on a rainy day? Yes, update charts and instruments. Simple, yes? Er, no!

I have a motto, of which some of you already know: “I shall continue sailing until I can’t hoist the mainsail.”.
I now have another, less traumatic, but more frustrating. “I shall continue navigating until I can’t update the Navionic charts”.
I don’t think that Garmin and I understand the same app-language/logic. Each year at about this time, I strive to remember/learn/read/interpretate how to achieve updated status, and start at home with the relatively easy bit; logging on to Garmin world, paying for and downloading updated charts to the Macbook.. Then transfer to boat, couple up to the internet and start the tricky prosess with Garmin’s “Chart installer” app. It involves finding the right menus, in order if you please, feeding a pristine memory card into a miniscule slot, transferring charts to card, removing the card and installing it in the slot in chart plotter, more finger work and if you’re lucky and have done things in the Garmin-and-Raymarine-strict order, then the updated chart appears on the screen.
Suffice it to say that it has taken me from after breakfast to teatime, with regular sustenance of chocolate and coffee and sandwiches to achieve success.
A once-a-year task, exercise for the grey cells, followed by mestring.
Now we can go sailing in navigational safety. (Yes, I still have paper charts on board, but they are not up-to-date. Norway doesn’t move or change very much however).

We took part in the club’s tuesday evening regatta the other day, with Gilbert crewing, hurra, and managed to come fourth out of nine, wow! Solo sailing usually results in last place. Some way to go there.

It is still raining and will be apparently for the next few days, so I think I’ll go back home.

In-marinaJohn.

From Kyrkeholmen to Dingja

Thursday morning, 3rd july. Still chilly and northerly winds, so muffle up and motor.
Unstable weather brings spectacular and unusual clouds, and there were plenty about

Just keep your distance, I don’t want to get wet!

Plenty of rain under that one

As you see, calm waters in amongst the islands away from the North Sea, so it was relaxing.
In a long, narrow, rather wiggly part, requiring much navigating to avoid the solid bits, it was of course then raining and I was huddled under the spray hood trying to see forward. But, I should have paid more attention aft, as remarkably suddenly I was warned by the sound of powerful engines and one of these high speed catamaran ferries came up from behind at full speed and roared past only a boat’s length away. He didn’t acknowledge my “wave”. Josin and I rolled and rocked madly in its wake and spilled the coffee. Hardly had I relaxed again and was counting my lucky stars when another one, even larger, followed, but this time I’d seen him coming and could steer a bit more out of his way.
Lesson learned: At 20 to 25 knots, (ca 50 km/t), it doesn’t take long between seeing them at a respectable distance and them being upon you, so frequent looks-around are mandatory. Whatever the Rules may say, it is best to let them have Right-of-Way!

The yellow line is our track.
The narrow bits opened up into Fensfjord, and the wind strength and angle were such that we enjoyed over an hour of brisk sailing and engine-silence. After another bout of islands, again open water and we sailed to the goal for the day, Dingja, near the entrance to the Sognefjord, which I hoped would give shelter from the weather over the next couple of days.
This is Denja. It has, amongst other attractions, what is called a “Landhandel”, or local store, selling everything, and I mean everything, in small quantities, except maybe for ice cream and fish hooks. Isolation begets mangfold.

Dingja has given shelter, intermittently. Enough to take pics and hurry to the washing facilities. Had to buy OMO. Last packet. It came in a carton, no best-before date, and quite solid. But still effective when hacked into manageable lumps.

Lunch time, and a splash of sunshine.
Alls well.
ShelteringJohn