Sunday August 14th – Skeld – Larry’s wonderful winter mooring

passing Sumburgh Head

En route for Skeld - Sumburgh head in the distance

Skeld Marina

Larry in her winter morring

Having arrived in Lerwick in the early hours of Thursday morning we were planning to spend 2 or 3 days there and move to Skeld over the weekend. However, when we spoke to Jim Scott, the fisherman who owns Skeld marina, on Thursday evening, he said that if we did not leave on Friday we might not be able to get round until next Wednesday so, having done our sums ,we left Lerwick about 10 am on Friday.

The wind had gone round to the south east so we motored down to Sumburgh Head and got there just after the tide had turned, which, since we were on springs, was important. We swept round both Sumburgh Head and Fitful Head doing up to 9.9 knots across the ground. We then had a clear run down wind so put up the jib and had a wonderful sail across the bay with the wind gradually increasing.

Jim could see us approaching from his living room window and was on hand with his son to take ropes as we came alongside.

This is a perfect little marina and Larry has the most protected position as was clear in the gale and heavy rain which we were treated to on Friday evening and Saturday.  It is said to be warmer and drier here over winter than further south and Jim is confident that he can keep Larry secure through winter gales that can reach force 12.

We have been rapidly welcomed into the community with our first visitors calling within an hour of arrival. The Shetland caravan club is having a rally here this weekend and last night we were invited to their ‘country’ gig and were introduced to the local dialect.

The marina has electrical hook-ups, water, showers, washing machine etc but is true country in that the only possible mobile phone reception is at the top of a neighbouring hill. Internet connection is a bit of a problem but there is a local cheese-maker – an escaped Grant Thornton accountant - who runs a small shop and has said we can use his connection.

The views in all directions are fantastic and we are woken by the sound of sheep baa-ing in the nearby field -  we hope to pay several visits to Larry this winter. Meanwhile this is the final blog from Larry for this year.

August 4th – August 11th – Lofotens to Lerwick – downwind with the Vikings

Final view of the Lofotens

Aries in action

stormy sea

Reduced staysail

He came to have 'a wee look'

substitute staysail

Larry in Lerwick

We left Rost about 2 pm on Thursday August 4^th with a reasonable forecast of strongish NE winds for the next few days and sunny weather. As usual we had been unable to obtain a Norwegian maritime forecast for as far ahead as the trip would take.

We hoisted the main as well as staysail and jib and tacked downwind until we were clear of the last rocks of the Lafotens; delighted to be under full sail we were aiming to take our time and have a quiet geriatric trip without time pressures....  In the end we had an exciting high speed downwind run which reminded us that Robert once referred to us as ‘hair shirt’ sailors

The views behind us of the Lofoten Wall were magnificent and it was warm and sunny. As we came out from the Lofotens the wind increased in strength and the sea became more lumpy so we took down main and jib and ran downwind on the staysail.

When I came on watch at 1 am on Friday morning C had got Aries, the self steering gear, working and  set up so that we could operate it from the doghouse with the doors closed – which was fantastic because with a NE wind blowing down our backs it was potentially very cold. From then until 9 am on Wednesday morning Larry was sailed entirely by Aries going for hours without any adjustment and we seldom went out of the doghouse.

When we finally got a Norwegian forecast it gave no indication of sea state and suggested that the wind would increase and then become more  gentle in a fairly standard pattern. By the next day we were getting both Navtex forecasts and weatherfaxes which enabled Christopher to track very accurately what was going to happen.

The wind was never less than Force 5, was mostly 6 or 7 and for about 24 hours was Force 8. The sea was quite the roughest we have encountered including in the Atlantic with waves from all over the place and even at the 6/7 level had the characteristics of a gale. After a couple of days of sun it was overcast and we had a few heavy rain showers.

We made good speed achieving a new record for us and Larry of 120 miles in 24hours. We had thought we might get to Lerwick on Wednesday but on Tuesday morning the wind went NW for 24 hours and the seas took a long time to recede so we only did 52 miles that day.  

The staysail did fantastically well but several of the hanks which attach it to the forestay became detached and eventually the sail tore - amazingly Aries continued to work just as well on the reduced staysail. We must, however, have looked a little strange and as we were passing through the Viking oilfield one of the oil rig guard boats came over as he put it ‘to have a wee look’!

Also while in the oil rig area we encountered an oil rig supply ship – we were quietly passing astern of him when he came on the radio to say we had to alter course at once as he was towing cables 4 nautical miles long! And what’s more in 15 mins he was going to turn and come back towards us! C immediately went into the cockpit, started the engine and drove in the direction required for half an hour until we were called again to be told we could resume our course.

By 9 am on Wednesday the wind was Force 4 northerly and the seas had subsided. We took down the remains of the staysail and hoisted the main, the jib and the spare small jib and set off on a broad reach still heading directly for Lerwick. We had a lovely sunny day with excellent sailing and reached Lerwick at 3 am on Thursday morning after a very fast passage.

We need to move from here to Skeld, where Larry, is to overwinter and are waiting for a good day.

August 2nd to 4th- Rost

August 2nd

We left Sorvagen around noon. The wind was SW but very gentle so we motorsailed to Rost (67⁰30.4N 12⁰04.4E) making good speed because the sea was very flat and arrived about 6 pm. When we passed the maelstrom area we were aware of strong currents and some turbulence in the water but we were deliberately east of the main area although we were there at the point of the tide when there is greatest turbulence.

We passed quite close to Vaeroy which looked very industrial and picked our way cautiously into Rost by the SE entrance. The tide was falling and there are literally hundreds of rocks islets etc – all very low-lying. It had been sunny earlier in the day but it was cloudy and rather gloomy when we arrived. There were several wharves but all looked rather shallow and it was not clear where to go . However we suddenly saw someone waving from the shore and indicating we should continue to the end of the harbour. He came round and met us on the pontoon which was a little dilapidated but had a power cable. He assured us the depth would be OK although it looked a bit dodgy. In fact we were on high springs and the depth went down to 8.8 ft (we draw 6.10ft) but we established the bottom was mud and anyway we didn’t touch.

3^rd August

Rost is entirely different from everywhere else we have been. It is very flat – highest point is 11m above sea level, very marshy with lots of houses and very commercial. 80% of the dried cod which is exported from Norway goes from Rost. We felt ourselves to be very much part of a thriving community.

We started by going shopping and to our surprise found the largest and best stocked supermarket we have encountered about 15 mins walk from Larry. We then walked into the centre to try to find the police to register that we are leaving Norway. Despite a notice saying police there are no police on Rost so we had to phone the man on Vaeroy.  After lunch the harbour master appeared full of admiration for Larry – while we were out he had taken some photos for his 2012 brochure! He was very keen to take us on a tour of the island and to see the church and museum. So we spent the early afternoon getting the boat ready for the passage to Shetland. We managed to store the old rubber dinghy and the tinker tramp under Little Larry which gives more space below. The harbour master called at 5pm and drove us to the church where another very friendly local with excellent English showed us round the church and the house which the local historical society are turning into a museum and in general told us a lot about the local history and community. The fishing in the spring is hard work but can be very profitable. After supper we went to a nearby small cafe/pub run by the harbour master and met more of the community – all very friendly – and that plus some very welcome sun changed our view of Rost completely!

4^th August

We now have a NE wind forecast force 4/5 for the next 2 or 3 days and promise of sun although it is currently overcast so we are doing the passage planning and aim to leave early afternoon.

There seems to be a problem with our Wifi connection so I probably won’t be able to publish this before we leave.

25th July - 1st August

Zac comes aboard for the first time

Have just received a message from Vodafone to say we are reaching our monthly limit!! so must send blog without pictures. Pictures will follow when we get back to the UK.

H, J, S, J, & Z arrived on time yesterday evening. Fortunately the scheduled rain had not yet started so we walked to Larry from the airport. It rained quite a lot in the night but by morning it was intermittent drizzle and we set off after breakfast with the weather clearing up although no wind. We motored to Bliksvaer and had a good time with the dinghies. Sam rowed to the island opposite the pontoon and he, John and Joe climbed up the hill. We also visited a sandy beach and climbed/scrambled up another series of hills.

We all had supper together and set off about 8 pm for Stromoy on the Lofotens. We had a lovely evening with calm seas and a light breeze for once not quite on the nose so we were able to sail for the first couple of hours and then motorsail across. The boys went to bed soon after we left and woke as we dropped anchor in Stromoy (68⁰03.7N 13⁰23.7E) There were clouds ahead of us for much of the way but in the early hours it cleared and we came into this lovely little anchorage in beautiful sunlight.

exploring Bliksvaer

Sam rowing the Tinker Tramp

Grandpa  & Joe

26th July - Stromoy

The day was spent sailing and motoring in the dinghies and exploring one of the surrounding hills and one of the beaches. There were several houses around the shore and to go to the beach we were able to use one of the private pontoons which was useful. In the early part of the evening the wind rose and we had quite a windy night but the anchor was well dug in to good sand so there were no problems.

Stromoy

the lifeboat putting on a display of their fire-power!

We saw two eagles – one on its own and one being chased by 2 herring gulls.

27^th July - Nusfjord

Nusfjord

We set off after breakfast under stay sail and jib. The boys are getting very good at helping to put the sails up and tidy up ropes and fenders. We had a lovely sail down the coast with a light northerly and were intending to go to Sund but decided to have a quick look at Nusfjord (68⁰01.8N 13⁰21.5E) and motored in. It was absolutely stunning and probably because 2 sailing boats had just gone out we were able to moor up to a rather short pontoon right in the centre of the harbour. It was perfect with hook-ups and water plus a little shop selling milk etc as well as lots of tourist items. The village is a working fishing village with a world heritage preservation order- it is stunningly beautiful and not nearly as ‘twee’ and bijou as we had expected. We went ashore and had a wonderful walk round the bay and out over rocks to the lighthouse. Amazingly the not very high cliff adjacent to our pontoon was home to a colony of kittiwakes – so the harbour was far from quiet but it was a spectacular site to see the nests and feeding going on so close to us.

July 28th - Reine

leaving Nusfjord

moored in Reine

We left after breakfast in very calm conditions but with a light northerly so the boys helped to put up the main as well as the 2 foresails. We sailed for a bit and then motorsailed to Sund (68⁰N 13⁰12.4E) about 5 miles down the coast where we stopped for lunch and a walk ashore. It is another working fishing village with a very sheltered harbour.

We then went onto Reine (67⁰56.2N 13⁰05E) – and once again were lucky in finding a pontoon where we rafted up to a very friendly Frenchman. On the way we had had sight of the bridge which we hope to go under first thing tomorrow morning.

The bridge has a height of 18m and the height of our mast is 17m so we are going under (we hope)at low tide.

29^th  Kirkefjord

We got up at 6.30 and left by 7am to reach the bridge by 7.30 it appeared very tight but we made it probably with a metre or more to spare! This whole area which features in a lot of Lofotens publicity is amazingly beautiful and we have got the perfect weather. Once under the bridge one is in a large fjord with several ‘arms’ off it. We had a quick look at Vindstad and then went up Kirkefjord where we anchored at the end (67⁰59.5N 13⁰00.9E). We are in quite shallow water down to 11.9m at low tide and so clear that we can easily see the anchor which is well settled in sand and amid some rocks not far from the small pontoon where a high speed ferry comes in to drop hikers from time to time.

We got together a picnic lunch and ‘iron rations’ and Hermione and John set off with the boys to scramble up the path to the col and have a look at the beach some distance down on the other side. They decided it was too far to go to the beach so John took Sam and Joe on a side diversion across a challenging boulder field and then a traverse across smooth rock and finally back to join Hermione and Zac at the bottom.

 The weather was mostly overcast with occasional mist/cloud descending on the mountains and with a light breeze which was good for walking and evening sailing in the Tinker Tramp

30^th Vindstad  

Zac exploring the galley

 

After breakfast at Kirkefjord we spent several minutes watching the fin of a small dolphin, who appeared to be fishing near us. We then went round to Vindstad (67⁰57.4N 13⁰00.3E)where we were able to tie up to a small pontoon. We again made a packed lunch and this time C and I took the boys off on an expedition. Nearby there was another col leading over to a beach. Fortunately the walk was shorter and the col less steep so we were able to get over and down the other side to a huge sandy beach with surfing type rollers coming in. The boys all had a great time playing on the beach.

When we returned Hermione and Christopher took Sam and Joe in the Tinker using the engine to explore a nearby small islet.

The weather again was mostly cloudy with a light breeze but no really low cloud.

31^st July Sorvagen

Zac taking a nap

We left about 8.15 am in order to be at the bridge at low tide. This time we were nearer springs so we had a few more inches to spare. A lovely sunny day and we motored round to Sorvagen (67⁰53.4N 13⁰01.7) yet another pretty fishing village with a resident colony of kittiwakes and space on a very convenient pontoon with electrical hook-ups and water.

After rock cakes and coffee we set forth with the usual supplies for another expedition up a marked track this time we followed a stream and a series of wonderful waterfalls up to a series of lakes. We got to the second lake and it was clear there were at least two more. It was a lovely sunny day and we had great views in all directions.

1^st August Sorvagen.

After breakfast C took Sam and Joe exploring round this little harbour using the Tinker Tramp as a rowing boat while Hermione and John packed up.

The engine was then put into the Tinker and H,J, S & J +C went off in the Tinker to Moskenes which is in the adjacent bay and is the ferry port from which Hermione had fixed for them to hire a car for the rest of their holiday. Hermione, john and Joe returned after about an hour in their car to be followed shortly by Christopher who had been driven back in the Tinker by Sam.

They departed shortly afterwards and we spent the rest of the day doing a bit of shopping, catching  up on this blog and planning the final bit of our trip. Predictably the wind went south west this afternoon and is forecast to stay that way until at least Wednesday evening. Tomorrow we plan to go to Rost (67⁰30.4N 12⁰04.4E) which is about 50 miles away and is the most southerly island and wait there for a good wind to leave.  If there is no Wifi in Rost then this will be the last blog for a bit.

Meanwhile a neighbouring Austrian couple who came into the pontoon earlier today have just come round to give us a cod – he went out in his dinghy just outside the harbour earlier this afternoon and apparently caught too much!