We’ve had a great month of good weather, sailing across the North Sea, and exploring Bergen, Norway and Hardangerfjord.
North Sea Crossing
Bergen, Norway is about 200 miles due east of Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. We (friends Curt and Meg with us) waited several days for favorable winds, picking our “weather window.” We motored with no wind for about the first 8 hours, and then north and northwesterly winds filled in. We had great sailing for many hours, and then we received a call from a ship that was pulling long cables. He asked us to decrease our speed, to alter course to the north, and to maintain a distance of at least 3 miles in front of him, 3 miles to the side, and 5 miles behind him. He was moving slowly as he dragged his long, heavy cables, so we were delayed 3-4 hours on our way to Bergen 🙁 It was frustrating to have to slow down so much and sail off course on a really uncomfortable point of sail, because we had been sailing really fast (7 knots+) and smoothly. Otherwise, it was a pretty night and never really got totally dark because we are so far north. We kept a rotating watch schedule with two people on watch so that everyone got a little bit of sleep throughout the night. It took us 38 hours from Lerwick to Bergen. Instead of docking in the city center of Bergen where it gets crowded and boats usually have to raft up, we went to a small marina south of Bergen in the town of Hjellestad. Hjellestad was an easy 1-hour bus ride to the city and a great launching point for going to Hardangerfjord– an area that we were keen to explore before heading south to Stavanger and on our way to Sweden and the Baltic.
Meg and Curt at the helm as we departed Lerwick.
This is our plot-charter showing the ship, Ramford Victory, pulling long lengths of cables. The ship was accompanied by a pilot boat, tugboat, 7-Waves. The little green diamonds behind the ship show the parameters of where the cables were. After the ship and cables passed us, we saw two rows of really bright white lights on the water that were probably marking the cables.
Bergen
Bergen is our first “big” city this season since we were in Glasgow in May. It was fun to explore this maritime center. We were, however, shocked by the price of groceries and restaurants in Norway compared to Scotland. Two sandwiches at a casual restaurant typically cost about $50 USD.
We rode a funicular to an overlook of Bergen and Bergen Harbor.
Cruising friends, Cosima and Ralf on s/v Triton met us for coffee and ice cream in Bergen. They were in a marina just down the road from us.
Checking out the landmarks of Bergen. Adam found that crabby guy in the Bergen Fish Market.
Hardangerfjord
Just south of Bergen is a very large fjord that we spent several days exploring. We started at the mouth of the fjord in a town called Leirvik on the island of Stord. From there we went to Germundshamn, Sunndal, and Norheimsund, on our way to one of the heads of the fjord, Ulvik. As we headed back out of the fjord from Ulvik, we stopped at Jondal, Rosendal, and then went back to Leirvik. We had zero-to-light winds and lots of sunshine and warm days most of our time in the fjord. The deeper we got into the fjord, the more dramatic the scenery became.
We took far too many photos of the majestic scenery of Hardangerfjord; here are a few highlights.
First views of Hardangerfjord.
Gjermundshavn was a small and beautiful fishing harbor. We were the only visiting boat.
We said farewell to Meg and Curt in Gjermundshavn. It was really fun having them along for 3 1/2 weeks, from Stromness in the Orkney Islands to Hardangerfjord in Norway!
Sunndal is in the Maurangsfjord, an arm of the Hardanger fjord. In the distance we could see the Folgefonna glacier.
There were only a few places for us to dock in Sunndal, and we actually had to move because we were afraid we’d hit bottom at low tide. The picture on the right was the dock we moved to. We were able to spend the night here safely.
Norheimsund was a quaint and busy tourist town. It has a spectacular view of the Folgefonna Glacier.
We rendezvoused in Norheimsund with German cruising friends that we met last season in Scotland on a 35-year old Hallberg-Rassy, Triton. Cosima, on Triton, took this lovely photo of the sister ships.
Ulvik was stunning!
The morning greeted us with heavy cloud cover and glassy water. The clouds slowly cleared and breath-taking views of Ulvik emerged.
We’ve sailed under bridges a few times, and it never fails to frighten me. Even when I know what the clearance is, it looks like we aren’t going to make it! In this case, the bridge was 55 meters. Our air draft (distance between our water line and the top of our mast) is 20 meters.
It was raining most of the way to Rosendal, and that only meant more numerous waterfalls and very green landscapes.
While we were exploring the fjord, a strong low-pressure system developed west of Scotland and hit northern Scotland with storm-force and even hurricane-force winds. From Scotland, the storm headed to Norway. Leirvik has a very well-protected marina deep inside their harbor. To secure a good spot in the marina, we arrived in Leirvik late morning on the day before the strong winds were expected. The marina experienced wind gusts over 40 mph and some very heavy rain. The wind rocked the boat and our fenders and lines moaned and groaned, but the water was quite flat. We rode out the winds and rain just fine. Next stop: Haugesund!