Norway to Ireland

58 - 53 deg N -- Norway to Ireland -- 26 Aug – 9 Sept

Weather: from calm, warm, blue skies to ‘icicle’ freezing winds (thank you Keith for insisting I bring some Antarctic gear; it’s getting well worn!)
A 24 hr sail from Skagen in Denmark to Norway found us in the picturesque village of Farsound on the south coast. Being able to berth Olydia amid other yachts on a little pier in the middle of town, was most convenient, especially as we arrived in time for a music festival. Just finished Saturday lunch and we hear the skirl of the bagpipes – so the Capt and I headed off in search of the source, deserting our boat cleaning duties. I was soon dancing ‘Strip the Willow’ in the town centre, to an excellent Fiddle and Bagpipe group over from Scotland. The Capt reneged on this opportunity for healthy exercise (probably wise with his lanky Viking build!) We had a great afternoon, with folk groups from different neighbouring countries performing (all for free) at different venues around town. This was topped off with a great night in a Norwegian pub, with more entertainment.

I broke out the fishing gear in Norway in a vain attempt to catch a mackeral; ably assisted by a couple of locals; one of whom even gave me Norwegian mackerel lures. At least the locals weren’t catching any either. It was fun to set up my fishing gear and have a go with the locals; who cracked up when they saw my lures for the deep blue.

After a couple of delightful days, and with a favourable weather forecast, we set off to tackle the infamous North Sea. We spent the morning of 28th motoring along the magnificent Norwegian coast in very calm conditions; with a brief stop for a plunge into the icy North Sea by the brave among us, with Viking blood. Then, hoisting the sails, we were off, into an increasing breeze. The crossing took us 50 hours, with winds getting up to 40kts and big rolling swells to 4m; fairly gentle for the North Sea. The wind dropped each night and we had a beautiful starry sky for night watches. Day 2 found us amid the oil rigs which looked like towns at night – not hard to see! Tuesday morning and ‘Land Ho” – Scotland on the horizon. So on we sailed to my brother Albert, playing his bagpipes (copied onto my IPod for such an occasion) – enjoyed by all (I think!) At least the Capt enjoys the pipes.
Landfall was made at Peterhead; a lovely little village, in time for a late lunch and wee dram of Scotch to celebrate our successful crossing. Despite a full dental check just prior to leaving Aus’, a large filling came out of my tooth in my first Scotish lunch! So, into the dingy and off to toon in the hope of finding a dentist. The friendly locals directed me to the local dental surgery, where of course I was met with the usual ‘no appointments available for 3 weeks’. Fortunately, it was late in the day, and a delightful young lady dentist took pity on a poor Aussie sailor and filled my tooth for me; she was most enthusiastic about our voyage and keen to follow us on our web site.

Tooth filled; washing done, by midday the next day we were headed north , in calm, sunny conditions. A stop at Fraserburgh to reprovision, then an overnight gentle sail across the north coast to Inverness trolling a variety of lures for hours, in vain. We arrived at the beginning of the long, narrow, shallow, windy entry to Inverness too early; so the Capt and I had a hectic couple of hours navigating the channel in the dark, to reach the town bridge – will we fit under it??? NO!!! Back off (bow thrusters are wonderful). No clearance written on the bridge; nothing on the chart; ...... eventually we find a documented bridge height somewhere, which indicates we should fit (it’s high tide) – deep breath (my eyes closed tight) and under we go! YES, we still have our mast!

After a brief ‘recovery’ sleep; reprovisioning again (we eat and drink well); into our first lock we headed. The ‘Lochie’ was a delightful Scotsman who assured us we would be expert at this by Lock 27! And, he was right! We soon became expert ‘mules’! For 4 days we worked our way up (hard work) and then down again, through the Caledonian Canal. Heaving on lines to hold 20 tonnes with 2.5m keel steady; then pulling Olydia on to the next lock. This was interspersed with absolutely glorious sailing or motoring down the series of lochs; starting with Loch Ness on a perfect, calm, blue day. Not to be outdone by the Vikings among us, I joined them and dived into the 15 deg waters of Loch Ness – a VERY quick swim; and thankful for the hot shower on the duckboard. After our beautiful day traversing Loch Ness, we had a great Scottish meal in a pub in Fort Augusta – with haggis for the adventurous (it was very nice!). I even served up haggis for dinner on board one night! Our sail down Loch Linnhe was exhilarating; with the calm water protected by the Highlands towering above us, and a good breeze with some powerful gusts, Olydia loved it, and ‘flew’. This certainly is a fantastic way to see the Scottish Highlands, with some superb early morning views of Ben Nevis, until the top became clouded out. Unfortunately we were not able to stop in Fort William as hoped, as there was no suitable pier. Barbro, one of Swedish crew, left us to return home from Fort William. She will join us again in a month or so; and we all miss her.

After sheltering overnight in a marina near Oban, we decided to make a dash down to Islay while we had favourable winds (gale) in the right direction, racing against an incoming cold front from the Irish Sea. Unfortunately we had incredible tides against us, and finally reached Port Ellen on Islay after an 11hr sail in ever increasing winds with the onset of the cold front. Fortunately Olydia loves gale-force winds, as does the Capt, who is a brilliant sailor!

Port Ellen was everything you expect a Scottish coastal village to be; (plus 7 whisky distilleries and 6 pubs!) and the small marina was quickly filled with other yachts and yachties of many nationalities – who prudently sailed down the next day in calmer conditions (their boats being much lighter than Olydia). The highlight of our stay was the 3km walk to Laphroaig Distillery along a particularly picturesque coastline; eating wild blackberries as we went. The distillery tour and sampling was interesting and fun; our group comprised mainly of yachties. Of note – I actually found a very nice Marlborough Sav’ Blanc in the tiny Pt Ellen supermarket, so was able to enhance the crew’s education. (We had finished our several casks of a nice Chile Sav’ Blanc)

Our planned ‘short’ overnight sail to Northern Ireland, was again fraught by the amazing tides and currents, which always seemed to be against us (yes, we do have the complex tide charts). Another ‘recovery’ sleep, this time in Ballycastle, and we set sail down the coastline of Northern Island, with a waterfall and spectacular high, rocky headland to start. It was a rather emotional day for me; sailing along David’s homeland shores; but so lovely to do it, and I’m sure he was with me and enjoying the sail. We tucked into a nice marina in Hourglass Harbour for the night.
Yesterday we left Northern Ireland and had a lovely sail down to ‘Dublin’s fair city’; this time with kinder tides. Along the way Goran and Olydia clocked up their 15,000 nm milestone, which was of course a cause for celebration. We toasted their past 15,000 and our next 15,000 with delicious vintage French Champagne – of course! Olydia is a classy lady!

Entering Dublin’s busy port in the dark was exciting; dodging huge ferries and cargo ships in the long, narrow channel. It was great to dock in the marina, even if it meant running around in the cold rain. So; this morning our Capt has left Olydia and we girls on our own to hit the heights of Dublin. He’s flying back to Sweden for a couple of days to his 65th birthday ‘surprise’, which his daughters have organised. We crew are looking forward to a few days ashore; and hopefully an opportunity for me to post this very overdue blog entry!

I must apologise for taking so long to post a blog; but as you’ll see above, there hasn’t been much time to sit down and write one; let alone find somewhere with internet to post it. We’ve not had much luck with getting internet connections along the way.

In a nutshell – I’m just loving my new life afloat; the crew have bonded well, we have lots of fun; and the Capt and Olydia are amazing. Next entry, from where the tide takes us (and I have time to write!).

Love to all
Ros the Bosun