Cruise in South Norway, Part 2
An Account of the cruise by Major-Gen. W. Odling, CB, OBE, MC and his wife in A150 "Salizanda" written by Margaret Odling.
Originally published in "Atalanta Owners Association Bulletin", 1970-71
In the skerries the wind is very flukey as sailing inland (as it seems sometimes) one is sheltered from winds in the fjord or open sea.
Having passed through the Gap we motored along a narrow channel to Torisberg where we watered, bought petrol and did a little sightseeing. It is an old town. At 5 p.m. we returned down the channel and branched off to find the tiny island recommended as a lovely haven for the night. It was our first attempt at picking a course on a chart pitted with rocks and islands. I had the chart and was giving directions It was all right to begin with as we threaded our way between islands and spotted the red and black posts where they should be, but then the wind freshened to Force 6 and it got colder. Cosy islands covered with trees were left behind and we were amongst bare rocks. We seemed to see wave breaking over submerged racks all round is, and I lost my place on the chart. We got cross with the Norwegian: 'Fancy sending us to an area like this. Let's go back.' At last we spotted the island - a bare lump, it looked very inhospitable. We lowered the main and decided to have a glance at the other side before turning back. As we rounded the tip we saw the tiniest bay between one barren rock and another completely sheltered. Two small cabin motor boats were there and there was just room for us. We edged in on the motor, dropped the anchor in 5 feet of water and then happily spent a busy time taking lines to the rocks to secure Sali fore and aft. On the starboard side there was a convenient big boulder to tie to, but the port rock was smooth. We noticed that the skipper of one of the boats, had hammered some pitons into a crack in the rock And secured his line to them. He kindly let us use them too. At the next opportunity Bill bought some outsize nails for future use.
The next morning 27th June, in glorious sun we walked over the little island in our swim suits. One rock had painted on it: 'Port Ami 1902', and we were told some Frenchman had landed there in that year. We had a lovely sail that day and spent the night in a cove near a holiday camp.
The weather broke the next day, and it started to rain after lunch; it poured in torrents. We found a jetty, tied up to it, put the polythene cover over the cockpit, went below and played bridge.
June 29th it was still raining, but it was warm with no wind. We motored to Sandefjord where we found a smart marina. Sandefjord used to be the biggest whaling harbour in the world and is now a prosperous small town. It has an impressive bronze sculpture showing a sailor poised to harpoon a whale which is upending his small boat and crew. We said goodbye to Estelle and Eire, here as they had to return home. It rained on and off ill day. Whenever the rain stopped people came to talk to us.
We woke next morning June 30th to a sunny windy day. At 1.30 p.m. we set sail for Starven where we were to pick up our next crew. At the mouth of the fjord I played out a fishing line we had bought in the the town. It had 8 hooks on it. We are not fishermen, but in two minutes there were SEVEN enormous mackerel on that line, although we never had any success again. With a wind Force 2 - 3 we sailed gently to Starven and tied up in a half-finished marina sited, as we found later, the wrong way. Next to us was a Swedish yacht. We plied the skipper with questions about sailing in Sweden.
After supper the wind began to rise and it started to rain. It turned out to be a very rough night with the wind blowing Force 6 on our quarter. Bill dozed in his clothes and kept putting out more lines to hold us to the jetty. The Swedish yacht came adrift and had to move. A helpful thing about nightwork in Norway is that it is light; it was only dark for 1 ½ hours each night while we were there.
The 1st July was alternately quiet and great gusts of wind and rain. Our new crew Smij and Helen arrived in a rainstorm just before lunch when we had expected them just after. They sat in the cabin, steaming, gladly sharing our small meal. When they were in their sailing clothes they helped move Sali to a mole where she was head to wind. Then we walked to see the impressive Naval War Memorial and the old Naval buildings. At 10 p.m. the wind was Force 6-7.
The next day we wanted to make a long sail out to sea to avoid a bad rocky stretch of the coast. We had trouble getting weather forecasts. Our little wireless told us nothing we could understand and the Norwegians seemed not to bother with them. However the next morning the Swedish skipper told us the forecast was Force 5 dropping to Force 4. So at 10.30 a.m. we set sail and we made a very good passage. Although there are no tides there are currents along the coast, and this day we were swept along by one. After lunch we turned into the leads and were again in beautiful scenery. We had to start the motor rather quickly at one point as we entered a very narrow gorge between two islands with steep high sides which blanketed the wind completely.
That evening we arrived at Kragero, the first of the 'white' towns. The houses are mostly white, of clapboard construction and the towns are a tourist attraction. But even so, to us, they were not overcrowded. Kragero had a very goad fish shop near the quay where we could buy fresh salmon, smoked eel and, of course, mackerel.
On 3rd July we spent the morning on make-do-and-mend. After lunch we made a short sail up a steep-sided-bay for 11/2 hours to a small village called Kil at the head of the narrow gorge. It
was idyllic. A gang of children, obviously on holiday with nothing to do, helped us with our mooring lines, practiced their English on us and told us the best path to take for an evening walk.
The next day we had an easy sail to Risor, a beautiful town. Next to us in the town harbour was a motor boat called Druen. We passed the time of day with the owner and his wife and young son, Thomas.
The 5th July was sunny and windy. After launching in a very pretty inlet near Risor we made passage for Lyngor. We had to go out to the open sea again and were surprised to find the wind Force 5 - 7 and the sea tremendous. We had the sun in our eyes and found it very difficult to sight the particular beacons and markings we needed for our entry into the leads again. When we were sure; we had the right ones we entered the leads and immediately were in calm waters and an archipelago.
Approaching Lyngor was like motoring up a high street. The channel was straight and the two or three tiny narrow islands either side were crowded with houses. We anchored off Udden Island and our next door neighbours were Druen and a sea plane. We invited the skipper and crew of Druen aboard.
The next day was grey with some rain. It improved by the evening when after some sailing and some motoring we arrived at Tuedestrand. There was a long quay and who should be waiting to catch our line but the skipper of Druen. That evening they gave us coffee.
We had a very pleasant sail on 7th July entering a big bay in the evening. At the far end was a very small village called Naresto with a very small quay. Half of it was owned by a retired sea captain who made us very welcome. He showed us his boathouse and his house and we sat on the quayside listening to his war stories. We were joined by our friends from Druen who had walked from a nearby fjord to join us. It was a particularly happy evening.
An Account of the cruise by Major-Gen. W. Odling, CB, OBE, MC and his wife in A150 "Salizanda" written by Margaret Odling.
Originally published in "Atalanta Owners Association Bulletin", 1970-71
In the skerries the wind is very flukey as sailing inland (as it seems sometimes) one is sheltered from winds in the fjord or open sea.
Having passed through the Gap we motored along a narrow channel to Torisberg where we watered, bought petrol and did a little sightseeing. It is an old town. At 5 p.m. we returned down the channel and branched off to find the tiny island recommended as a lovely haven for the night. It was our first attempt at picking a course on a chart pitted with rocks and islands. I had the chart and was giving directions It was all right to begin with as we threaded our way between islands and spotted the red and black posts where they should be, but then the wind freshened to Force 6 and it got colder. Cosy islands covered with trees were left behind and we were amongst bare rocks. We seemed to see wave breaking over submerged racks all round is, and I lost my place on the chart. We got cross with the Norwegian: 'Fancy sending us to an area like this. Let's go back.' At last we spotted the island - a bare lump, it looked very inhospitable. We lowered the main and decided to have a glance at the other side before turning back. As we rounded the tip we saw the tiniest bay between one barren rock and another completely sheltered. Two small cabin motor boats were there and there was just room for us. We edged in on the motor, dropped the anchor in 5 feet of water and then happily spent a busy time taking lines to the rocks to secure Sali fore and aft. On the starboard side there was a convenient big boulder to tie to, but the port rock was smooth. We noticed that the skipper of one of the boats, had hammered some pitons into a crack in the rock And secured his line to them. He kindly let us use them too. At the next opportunity Bill bought some outsize nails for future use.
The next morning 27th June, in glorious sun we walked over the little island in our swim suits. One rock had painted on it: 'Port Ami 1902', and we were told some Frenchman had landed there in that year. We had a lovely sail that day and spent the night in a cove near a holiday camp.
The weather broke the next day, and it started to rain after lunch; it poured in torrents. We found a jetty, tied up to it, put the polythene cover over the cockpit, went below and played bridge.
June 29th it was still raining, but it was warm with no wind. We motored to Sandefjord where we found a smart marina. Sandefjord used to be the biggest whaling harbour in the world and is now a prosperous small town. It has an impressive bronze sculpture showing a sailor poised to harpoon a whale which is upending his small boat and crew. We said goodbye to Estelle and Eire, here as they had to return home. It rained on and off ill day. Whenever the rain stopped people came to talk to us.
We woke next morning June 30th to a sunny windy day. At 1.30 p.m. we set sail for Starven where we were to pick up our next crew. At the mouth of the fjord I played out a fishing line we had bought in the the town. It had 8 hooks on it. We are not fishermen, but in two minutes there were SEVEN enormous mackerel on that line, although we never had any success again. With a wind Force 2 - 3 we sailed gently to Starven and tied up in a half-finished marina sited, as we found later, the wrong way. Next to us was a Swedish yacht. We plied the skipper with questions about sailing in Sweden.
After supper the wind began to rise and it started to rain. It turned out to be a very rough night with the wind blowing Force 6 on our quarter. Bill dozed in his clothes and kept putting out more lines to hold us to the jetty. The Swedish yacht came adrift and had to move. A helpful thing about nightwork in Norway is that it is light; it was only dark for 1 ½ hours each night while we were there.
The 1st July was alternately quiet and great gusts of wind and rain. Our new crew Smij and Helen arrived in a rainstorm just before lunch when we had expected them just after. They sat in the cabin, steaming, gladly sharing our small meal. When they were in their sailing clothes they helped move Sali to a mole where she was head to wind. Then we walked to see the impressive Naval War Memorial and the old Naval buildings. At 10 p.m. the wind was Force 6-7.
The next day we wanted to make a long sail out to sea to avoid a bad rocky stretch of the coast. We had trouble getting weather forecasts. Our little wireless told us nothing we could understand and the Norwegians seemed not to bother with them. However the next morning the Swedish skipper told us the forecast was Force 5 dropping to Force 4. So at 10.30 a.m. we set sail and we made a very good passage. Although there are no tides there are currents along the coast, and this day we were swept along by one. After lunch we turned into the leads and were again in beautiful scenery. We had to start the motor rather quickly at one point as we entered a very narrow gorge between two islands with steep high sides which blanketed the wind completely.
That evening we arrived at Kragero, the first of the 'white' towns. The houses are mostly white, of clapboard construction and the towns are a tourist attraction. But even so, to us, they were not overcrowded. Kragero had a very goad fish shop near the quay where we could buy fresh salmon, smoked eel and, of course, mackerel.
On 3rd July we spent the morning on make-do-and-mend. After lunch we made a short sail up a steep-sided-bay for 11/2 hours to a small village called Kil at the head of the narrow gorge. It
was idyllic. A gang of children, obviously on holiday with nothing to do, helped us with our mooring lines, practiced their English on us and told us the best path to take for an evening walk.
The next day we had an easy sail to Risor, a beautiful town. Next to us in the town harbour was a motor boat called Druen. We passed the time of day with the owner and his wife and young son, Thomas.
The 5th July was sunny and windy. After launching in a very pretty inlet near Risor we made passage for Lyngor. We had to go out to the open sea again and were surprised to find the wind Force 5 - 7 and the sea tremendous. We had the sun in our eyes and found it very difficult to sight the particular beacons and markings we needed for our entry into the leads again. When we were sure; we had the right ones we entered the leads and immediately were in calm waters and an archipelago.
Approaching Lyngor was like motoring up a high street. The channel was straight and the two or three tiny narrow islands either side were crowded with houses. We anchored off Udden Island and our next door neighbours were Druen and a sea plane. We invited the skipper and crew of Druen aboard.
The next day was grey with some rain. It improved by the evening when after some sailing and some motoring we arrived at Tuedestrand. There was a long quay and who should be waiting to catch our line but the skipper of Druen. That evening they gave us coffee.
We had a very pleasant sail on 7th July entering a big bay in the evening. At the far end was a very small village called Naresto with a very small quay. Half of it was owned by a retired sea captain who made us very welcome. He showed us his boathouse and his house and we sat on the quayside listening to his war stories. We were joined by our friends from Druen who had walked from a nearby fjord to join us. It was a particularly happy evening.
Hello. I was the guy in the boat to the left in the picture from PortAmi in Norway. Discovered this site when scanning som old dias to jpg. If you want I kan send my picture to you. My mail is reidarjm@gmail.com Yours Reidar J. Mathisen, Norway.
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