SV Ostinato: August 2013

NOTE: I thought it was bad when my Blog decided it was British.....I eventually learned to add lots more "u"s to my words....harbour, favourite. But Norwegian, that's a different story. They have letters that aren't even on my keyboard. I have yet to find the magic button that will change it back to English so King has added an automatic translator. I have no idea what this will look like as we move from country to country. Another of life's interesting challenges.

July 31 - Kleppevik, Norway
The jump across the North Sea was without any high drama, for a change. The fog lifted a few hours out as we left the Shetlands on the morning of July 30 and we sailed much of the way. Seas were still confused so I was not in top form to say the least. I was back to my sailing diet plan.....no eating. The nice part of doing the crossing this far north is night is very short. Actually, it didn't seem to ever get completely dark. When I went off watch at 10:00 it was still light and when I came back on at midnight there was a small glimmer of light in the west that slowly traveled around to the north and by 2:00 a.m it was starting to get light again. Whoa. I like this. Of course, while this is great for overnight passages, its the pits for day to day trying to get some sleep....but I digress. I listened to an audio book during my watches so the time passed quickly. I had hoped to take a picture of the GPS as we crossed the Time Meridian but it didn't happen on my watch and I didn't want it bad enough to drag out of bed for the occasion. But Ostinato did once again cross 0.00 East sometime around 3 a.m. We reefed before sunset and ship traffic was very light so King was able to have his sleep time without any disturbing whining from the cockpit. Thirty-three hours later Ostinato arrived in Kleppevik, our first anchorage in Norway.

Crabs galore

We enjoyed a nice introduction to Norway hospitality the next morning when the boat tied up across from us pulled up their crab pots full of beautiful stone crabs and offered us a couple. It was probably my uncontrolled drooling that was the first clue that I really, really wanted some crab. From the sea to the pot in less than 10 minutes. Can't get much fresher than that.

The Steamboat Festival at Bergen

Just before we departed to move on to Bergen, we received a message from Touche sharing they had been gently moved from the docks in Bergen because of a Steamboat Festival. We ended up meeting up with them again in a small marina just outside the city. Good protection from the winds and with all the facilities.
Everything is on the honor system. You put your fees in an envelope to cover the number of days you stayed. This one even includes its washing machine and dryer in the honor system. No running down to the market to get coins. The down side to the washer is that it takes 2 1/2 hours.....those are some really clean clothes when you finally get them out! Wash day could easily turn into wash week.

August 3 - Bergen : Checking in
A bus trip into Bergen to complete check in formalities was on the agenda yesterday but all the official offices were closed by the time we arrived. Thank goodness for Touche. They have made getting around so much easier. Almost everyone speaks English but most signage is in Norwegian and since I'm still not completely sure where we are, the bus would of been a nightmare. Today we thought we were quite smart to take the ferry at the bus transfer station instead of the 2nd bus. It was a lovely fast ride across the fjord to Bergen and our $16 bus tickets were transferable. Have I mentioned how expensive it is here? Anyway, we were quite smug till we arrived at the dock and found we were 45 minutes walk from town center. Oh, and yes, its actually warm here! 90 degrees. Of course, we were still bundled up like Nanook of the North. We finally made our way to the Customs Office and checked Ostinato into Norway. She is now officially out of the EU so we won't have to worry about paying EU VAT (tax) on her for another 18 months. Next stop was the police station to get our passports stamped to get King and me into the Schengan Treaty countries. The Bergen police desk staff decided we were at the wrong place so gave us the number of the station closest to our marina. After some conversation by phone King agreed to meet the police at a bus transfer stop. As we walked off the bus we stepped into the waiting police car and arrived at the station a few minutes later. The guys were sweethearts and took great pains in trying to figure out our passport stamps for Schengen. We apparently had checked into the Azores, our last Schengen country, but they had not checked us out properly. To fix this, our Norway police friends checked us Out of Norway instead of In....I'm still confused but have vowed not to dwell on it. Makes my brain hurt.

First Class Check-in

My dad keeps close track of our location so I called Florida to check in and to let him know the officers had mentioned WWII and the debt Norway owed to US soldiers. Both really pleased him to hear.

Bergen's Surfing Duck

While marina charges in Norway appear to be in line with those in the UK, other prices are not. They will down right make you gasp. King purchase a small box of ibuprofen and the charge was 49.90 krona.....the cash register rounded it up to 50! 50 krona is equals $8.50. King needed the ibuprofen more than ever after that. A typically restaurant meal in Bergen runs about $60....each... so we packed a lunch and ate in a beautiful park just outside Bergen's art galleries. The surfing duck provided free entertainment. What more could you ask for?

We had hoped this would point the way back to the wharf

King wanted this for the boat

Of course hiking is free and Bergen has great trails. The signs on the trail were my favorite. I'm quite easily entertained. Actually, I can't really call what King and I did "hiking". We took the tram to the top of the hill overlooking Bergen and walked down. It was a long walk! We passed lots of people struggling up the hill including 2 bankers that specialized in micro loans in Africa, who stopped and chatted; giving us all a bit of a rest. I thought I had known them forever by the time we waved goodbye. We strongly recommended they catch the tram up but they're Norwegians so I'm betting they hiked to the top.

August 8
Sailed up the Hardangerfjord today. The sun was beautiful and, for the first time in a long while, I put on

Glacier at Sundal

sunscreen and a hat. The trip took 2 days to get to our destination of Sundal. We were rewarded with a birth at the dock with a view of the glacier. Granted, you had to know where to look but you didn't even have to squint once pointed in the right direction. The dock was situated right in the middle of a camp ground which gave the whole experience a different feel. Ostinato just became another camper van. We hiked to the bottom of the glacier taking the "easy" route. King refused to go further and I was secretly glad as my sea legs are much better than my mountain legs. Next stop on the agenda is Pulpit Rock. I was immediately put on notice that if I want to go to the top King will be waiting for me on the boat when I return. The man is no fun at all.

Hmmmm, wonder what that says

We stopped in Espevaer (59.35 N 5.9 E) for an overnight. The quay was full but a local man glided by in his boat and pointed us to a spot on the quay that was empty. In front of it there was as sign that although I had no idea what it said, I knew its wasn't "welcome, tie up here!" "No problem...its fine" he said. So we tied up, only to learn from the boat that later rafted to us the sign read "wet paint". Oh well.

Which way to the UFO?

The area is known for its UFO Circle so when King suggested a walk after dinner, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. The island is quite tiny so it was only a brief stroll before we saw a group of signs pointing the way to go to numerous locations, including the UFO! The next sign pointed the direction and informed that the path was marked with red circles along the way. What we didn't realize was 1. the red circles were on rocks and were critical because this was a hike through the woods and over cliffs and 2. that it ended on the opposite side of the island, about 30 minutes away. King of course claims it was HOURS....if only there had been a computer store at the end of the trail...... The yacht that rafted to us that night had two dogs aboard. It made me very thankful that we don't have dogs but also made me miss Ziggy and MK (Monster Kitty). Martha assures both are still torturing the dogs and each other.

Pulpit Rock

Headed for Lysefjord bright and early to sail under Pulpit Rock. Since our UFO outing the night before, King has vowed never to follow me anywhere and underlined that the 2 hour hike to the top to view the fjord from the rock WAS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. We flew the jib but also ran the engines to be able to complete the long run in light air. Arrival was 12 hours later in Vika (58.56 N 006.07 E), an anchorage about 2 miles east of the destination and anchored Ostinato in 30 feet. Shallow for these parts. Dinner was steak on the grill which, because its been so dang cold, is the first time we have been able to do that in almost a year. Mmmmm. We slept in late and didn't pick up the anchor until almost 11:00 but the rock was encased in low clouds when we arrived. After cruising up the fjord another couple of miles we returned and were finally rewarded with spectacular views of the rock and all of those crazy people peering over its edge.

August 11 - 15 : 58.27 N 6.0 E to 59.8 N 8.201 E
We have moved on south through Tanager, to Egersund, Farsund and on to Kristiansand where we are waiting out bad weather. Sad to say our Norway sightseeing is over. You could spend a life time sailing these waters but its time to get Ostinato further south. Good sailing days will quickly become fewer and if we do go back to London for the winter we still have Denmark, a small tip of Germany and the Netherlands to transit. Weather permitting, we sail SE to Skagen, Denmark as early as Saturday.

Handangerfjord: Like mowing the yard isn't bad enough, wouldn't you just hate to have to mow the roof.

First night's stop in the Hadangerfjord

Enjoying the sunshine

Beautiful sunsets

mouth of Lysefjord

The chart plotter showing Ostinato just off Pulpit Rock in Lysefjord

Espervaer - The UFO port

On the walk home from the glacier we found wild raspberries for breakfast

July 20 - 59.30 N 1.39 W -
Winds have calmed down to 20 K this morning with expectations that they will continue to drop throughout the day so we're off to Fair Isle, 70 miles to the North. To time the tides for crossing several areas of races, cast off was way too early. Coffee had yet to penetrate my senses when the engines roared to life. Way too loud for 6 a.m. Boats tied up in front of us were rafted 2 out and the one behind was snuggled up to our stern. Getting off the dock had potential to be interesting but King rigged a spring line on the bow and backed her out quite nicely. The sun is shinning brightly and, per usual, there is a bit of nip in the air. Speaking of which, we had thought it was just us, with our thin Florida blood, that are in a continued state of deep freeze but we met a couple from Norway /Denmark that confirmed that they also live in their long underwear and fleece. They, like us, are amazed at the Brits propensity to don shorts and t-shirts the minute the sun comes out, regardless of the temp.....saying something about "mad dogs and Englishmen".

The winds died just off the Orkney's and what began as a nice sail turned into a motor slog to Fair Isle. The anchorage in Fair Isle is tiny with only room for 2 boats at the dock and they were already stacked 2 deep when we arrived. I have no doubt the British crew that was sitting in their cockpit enjoying their cocktails were saying quietly...."please don't let them come here...pleeeeeze". But they were jolly good sports when I asked if we could tie on to them. We quickly changed to our "street clothes" and scrambled over the two boats to reach the dock. Destination: The Fair Island Bird Observatory that was just up the hill. Besides having great views, there is a small hotel that caters to bird watchers. We stopped in and had a very expensive beer and while we nosed around the facility discovered there was a Puffin walk later at 7:30....all invited! Woohoo! During this time, Touché the Norway/Danish boat we had met in Kirkwall had arrived and tied up on the outside of Ostinato....now there were four.

Four deep raft up in Fair Isle.

News of the bird walk spread quickly across the raft up. Besides the group leader, there was only one actual "birder" in the group. Apparently the fog had been so bad over the last few weeks all flights to and from the tiny island had been canceled. But tonight was crystal clear! Were there Puffins? Oh my, there were hundreds of Puffins! We watched the funny little bird until our bodies were frozen to the core and then reluctantly made our way back down the hillside, dodging the sheep poo, to the boats.

After we had settled into bed, we heard someone tiptoe across our boat. We thought maybe our neighbours had decided to go back up the hill to get another Puffins fix....but no. In the morning we found another boat had tied up to the raft that was now extending halfway out into the bay......and now there were five.

The raft up was disassembled around 10:00 and Ostinato departed Fair Isle in the kind of thick fog my mom used to call "Pea Soup". The Brit yacht followed us out of the anchorage so I decided to take a picture of her but in the minute it took me to picked up my camera, she had been swallowed by the fog. Again, no wind. The entire trip to Lerwick was done in fog. Radar and AIS thank you. We have been surprised by the number of times that commercial boats have not had AIS operating so without the radar the crossing would of been a lot less happy.

July 21 - 27 60.09N 01.08 W

Ostinato tied up at Victoria Harbour - Lerwick, Shetland Islands

Always look both ways at the plane crossing!

Ostinato arrived in Victoria Harbour in Lerwick, the largest town in the Shetland Islands, to find boats rafted 2 and 3 deep. We opted to tie up on the ferry side for the first night but moved back around early the next morning as boats began to vacate their spots. By the end of the day everyone was rafted 3 deep again. We have enjoyed a great week of pretty decent weather that included one full day of glorious sunshine. Ostinato joined in with crews from Touché and China Moon, a yacht from Canada, to rent a very large van (actually, I think bus is a better description) to tour the island. King still has no license (and won't until we get back to the states) but thankfully the guys were kind enough not to make me take a turn at driving so there are no legal disputes pending. Anyway, we found more Puffins, Fulmars and a Golden Eagle's nest. One of the more interesting sites was driving on the road that crossed the airport runway. When a plane departs or lands a little man zips down the runway in his car and closes gates on each side to halt traffic. Kinda like a train....but different.

The end of the week we had a great surprise, the family from Inverness, who's son helped us pull Ostinato from the lock, knocked on the boat to say "hello". They are visiting relatives in Lerwick and saw us sail in....says something about the number of catamarans there are in these waters.

July 29

It looks like the weather window has finally opened long enough for the jump across the North Sea to our next destination Bergen, Norway. We spent the day doing last minute shopping to prepare. While the UK has been a bit more expensive than expected, the word is that we will gasp at the prices in Norway so a provisioning run is on the agenda. What appears to be the big item to take back by Norwegian yachts is beer/wine. Both can apparently cost as much as your main course if having dinner out.....which you can't afford to do either over there. In between grocery shopping and putting on fuel, we stopped by the local Heath Center to check out a large red rash that had appeared on my arm about a week ago and refused to depart. With the help of "Dr. Google", I had diagnosed it as a spider bite . King was not so easily convinced and decided that communicating with a doctor in English, even in Scotland, would be easier than in Norwegian....so off we went. After waiting 1 1/2 hours I sat in front of the Doc displaying for him the inflamed itchy arm and gave him my diagnosis. He agreed "yes, may be a spider bite...looks like its getting better...nothing to worry about....and charged me £50. Ouch. The Marina fees ended up being only £11 a nigh, including power, so that took a bit of the sting out of the Health Clinic visit.

July 30

Off the dock at 8:00 a.m. The fog is hanging over the harbour and everything is dripping wet so we donned fowl weather gear and boots. Since we got fuel yesterday we are on the outside of the raft up so departure is easy. Exodus, the Norwegian boat we are tied to, help with our lines and have invited us to visit them in southern Norway. John on China Moon with coffee cup in hand also popped out onto the dock to see us off. They are heading to Scotland. Touché left for Bergen yesterday so we may yet catch up with them again. We always have mixed emotions when leaving a place, hating to say goodbye to new friends but excited about the next adventure.