Following a wonderful time exploring Bergen and Hardangerfjord, it was time to make our way south. Except for a short period of time between Hardangerfjord and Stavanger, most of our time along the SW shore of Norway is in the North Sea. Westerlies are the prevailing winds in the North Sea during the summer, and this can make for large, rolly swells and uncomfortable sailing. We had a rough time last year as we headed north along this coast, so we were a little more cautious this year and bided our time for favorable weather.
We had some free days as we waited for good weather to sail south, so we took a bus to Haugesund to scope out the waterfront docks and the town. We figured since we’d get a full day exploring Haugesund with our bus trip, we might then spend only one night there, and keep moving south as the weather permitted. The bus trip to Haugesund was very scenic and included an 8 km tunnel beneath the water. Once in Haugesund, we learned that if we stayed at the guest harbor (the waterfront dock), we’d have to pay $40 per person/per day for a jazz festival that was starting that night. With that information, we decided to make the most of our day in Haugesund and skip it by boat. We selected another harbor, Kopervik, about 10 miles beyond Haugesund on our route to Stavanger. Kopervik was much smaller and less touristed than Haugesund. We enjoyed a quiet night there.
Haugesund & Kopervik
We spent a delightful day exploring Haugesund! We especially like the traditional designs of the homes.
Tananger & Stavanger
Stavanger, and its suburban neighbor, Tananger (location of our marina), were our last stops in Norway last year before we headed across the North Sea to Scotland. We enjoyed the area and found Stavanger to be a lovely, busy, and interesting town.
We hadn’t really had an anniversary dinner (Aug. 8)–we were busy with something or other–so we found a nice little Italian restaurant, Casa Gio, in Stavanger where we had an outstanding meal. Stavanger was a great place to be able to visit a second time.
On our passage from Kopervik to Tananger, we saw s/v Malcholm Miller under full sail. Later, in Stavanger, we talked to a friend of the owner who was sailing aboard.
Lots of swans in this part of the world — even at the grocery store.
Typical residential street in Stavanger
It’s getting darker earlier now (11 p.m. sunset when we first arrived in Norway; 9:00 p.m. sunset now), so we are beginning to see pretty evening light.
Egersund
Last year when we arrived in Egersund, we felt a bit “beat up” from a long, difficult passage in the pouring rain. We noticed the waterway into the protected harbor was quite beautiful, but I don’t think we really got to appreciate it the way we did this year.
Egersund is on a river and tucked in behind a large horseshoe-shaped island. The waterways from the south and north are both flanked by hilly, rocky, evergreen-covered shores. We found it to be stunningly beautiful.
Farsund
Last year we heard really good things about Farsund, but were unable to visit because we were trying to keep to our schedule for meeting up with friends in Stavanger. This year, we made sure to stop in Farsund. We found it to be a pretty little town, but like in all of the harbors these past few weeks, it is nearing the end of the season and things are quieting down.
Mandal
Mandal is our final stop in Norway. We will cross the Skagerak Strait, the large body of water between Norway and Sweden (with Denmark to the south), as we sail 24 hours (146 nm) to Gothenberg, Sweden. Mandal has several grocery stores and is a well-protected marina. It’s a good spot to provision, fill our water and fuel tanks, and wait for a weather window for crossing the Skagerak.
It’s fun being docked along one of the main streets of Mandal.
As you could see from our Fair Isle and Shetland posts, we really enjoyed searching out and watching the puffins. We found this piece of art in a little cafe in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, and thought it would be an appropriate addition to Hokukea.