SAILING SCHOOLS
Main photo: Getting to grips
with the jib. Above top: The
bar at the mediaeval wine
cellar. Above middle: Sunset
in Stongfjorden, my view from
the Turner House. Above:
Understanding the rules of
the road (ColRegs). Opposite:
Bergen.
TAKEN FROM SAILING TODAY CRUISING SECTION, MARCH 2010
Getting the knowledge
in Norway
To improve her all round sailing knowledge,
Jacqueline Wise takes the Nordic route
and heads north for an RYA Combined Day
Skipper course in beautiful Stongfjorden.
I
’ve been a sailor ever since I can remember.
However, to be honest, there are significant gaps
in my knowledge, especially when it comes to
traditional navigation. For that reason, I wanted
to complete a combined Day Skipper course to
provide me with a better understanding and to
improve my confidence generally.
After a somewhat bumpy flight, I arrived in
Bergen’s small airport eager for bed. However, I
had to find it first. I jumped on the flybussen bus
as instructed and headed to my hotel in the city
centre. Although it was nearly 1am, as a young
woman alone, I felt surprisingly safe as I pulled my
luggage over the cobbled streets.
Not only that, I was also excited to be further
north than the Lake District for the first time, so
I was buzzing – literally as it turned out, because
my electric razor had been set off at the bottom of
my case. The eyebrows of the handsome Viking
(great beard but no helmet) at reception were raised
beyond his hairline. I hurried to my room and
collapsed in a heap.
>>
82 Sailing Today March 2010
All contents © Marine Media Ltd 2009. No part of this publication may be used
NORWAY
Water and weather
Sailing Log
Introduction to boat
and safety briefing.
Sailed to Floro.
Wednesday
21 October
F3 increasing
F4 later
Skorpa
Thursday
22 October
FishingSverslingosen
and sailed
Variable F1-4
Skorpefjorden
to Heggoy.
Friday
23 October
Sailed toYtteroyane
Bulandet
Saturday
24 October
Sailed to
Eidesfjorden
F5-6 REKSTAFJORDEN
Sunday
25 October
Sailing back
to Stongfjorden
F2-3
F4
Kinn
BRANDSOY
Eidet
SOLEIMSFJORDEN
FLORO
The west coast of Norway
enjoys the Gulf Stream, which
provides a warmer clime than
the latitude would suggest.
After the spring equinox, the
days become lighter with a
pleasant temperature. The
coast is littered with islands
and rocky outcrops making
navigation and pilotage
somewhat interesting. These
Islands, which cover a great
deal of the west coast, also
provide sheltered waters.
Outside the island chain you
are in the North Sea/Norwegian
Sea or, basically, the Atlantic,
while inside you are sheltered.
Safe harbours and
anchorages abound, many
more than in the UK. The
weather is much the same as
the UK, but recent summers
have been better with high
pressure building and staying
put.The weather forecasting
is excellent with forecasts
available on the internet on an
hourly basis.
VASSRESET
Reksta
STAVOYA
Costs
Bute Sail’s nine day combined
Day Skipper Theory and
Practical Course costs £945.
This includes accommodation
at the Turner House during the
theory section and on board for
the practical course, berthing,
fuel, breakfast, lunch and
dinner. Bute Sail covers all other
RYA sailing courses and Aquilo
is also available for charter.
BRUFJORDEN
Askrova
Svanoy
SVANOYA
NORWAY
Stavfjorden
STAVFJORDEN
North
Sea
UK
FRANCE
Staveness
Bute
Sail
Strongfjorden
Blana
Eidsfjorden
www.visitnorway.com
www.lofoten-info.no
Eide
Bute Sail
The Turner House
Stongfjorden 6984
Norway
Tel: +47 57730109
Tel: +44 7779800737
Raudoya
Ryggsteinosen
Hœrland
ATLOYA
5 day RYA course £475
9 day RYA Day Skipper
Combined Course £950
Lofotens course/cruises
£495-£795
Askvo
Granesundet
Hellestranda
Alden
Hastainosen
Vœroy
d without written permission. Please call 01489 585 224 for more information.
Vilnes
ALDEN FJORDEN
Raudoya
Aralden
VILNES FJORDEN
READER OFFER
Bute Sail are kindly offering
a 10 per cent discount
to ST readers who quote
this article on making their
booking
www.butesail.com
March 2010 Sailing Today 83
SAILING SCHOOLS
The Crew
Ray: Originally from
Preston, Ray ran Bute
Sailing School in Bute,
Scotland. After meeting
Charlotte they moved
to Norway where they
are now married and
have a beautiful daughter,
Marni May. Ray has sailed
since he was young,
including racing.
Arild: Runs a welding
business and owns his
own 34ft yacht. He is
Norwegian and lives in
Stongfjorden, where he
keeps his boat in the tiny
harbour alongside Aquilo.
Anthony: Hails from Bristol
and runs a large plumbing
business. He used to
own his own boat, but has
had a break from sailing for
a little while and wanted to
recap on his skills.
INTO THE CITY
I was up early and eager to explore Bergen,
until I looked out of my window and saw it
was raining. While I finished off a delicious
traditional Norwegian breakfast, the rain passed
and the sun beamed down creating a soonto-be-familiar strikingly pure light. I bought
my ticket for the ferry and followed my nose
to the fish market where I sampled a little bit
of everything, including whale, thanks to the
insistent fishermen. Bergen is a beautiful and
fascinating city with many historic buildings.
The outstanding Romanesque St Mary’s Church
was particularly impressive. The ferry (a
fast cat), which left Bergen at 1630 provided
stunning views of the fjords all around and
brought us to Askvoll just after 1900, where Ray,
my instructor, was already waiting.
Main photo: A stroll in
Stongfjorden. Upper left:
Exploring Heggoy. Lower
left: Bergen harbour. Above
upper: One of many stuffed
furry friends in the wine cellar.
Above: Synne and Einer, our
medieval hosts.
TRADITIONAL LIVING
For the duration of the theory course, I stayed
in the delightful, five bedroomed, traditional
Norwegian ‘Turner House’ in the small,
sleepy village of Stongfjorden. I dropped
my stuff off and followed Ray to his own
house, just five minutes’ walk away, where I
enjoyed a delicious meal while we swapped
sailing stories. Ray and his wife Charlotte
were engaging hosts and really made me feel
at home, but I returned alone to the Turner
House with a little trepidation and didn’t sleep
easily. However, the view I awoke to was
breathtaking. Even though it was October,
it wasn’t that cold. I took a wander and
drew long breaths of the cool morning air.
Stongfjorden has a real charm to it and I was
eager to meet some of its inhabitants.
NOW FOR THE ALL
IMPORTANT THEORY
Although I was fairly confident about my
practical sailing knowledge and using a chart
plotter, I was anxious about the theory course,
because I knew my understanding of traditional
navigation was inadequate. I needn’t have
worried; Ray is an excellent instructor.
With a roaring fire in the corner, Arild and I
battled with dead reckoning, estimated positions
and a host of other navigational challenges.
As you might expect, I felt a huge sense of
achievement after passing the three hour exam
on the final day of the theory course.
All contents © Marine Media Ltd 2009. No part of this publication may be used
NORWAY
Photo ANTHONY GREEN
Getting There
Evenings and
Entertainment
Norway is probably the most welcoming place
I’ve ever been to. It was incredibly refreshing to
find such polite and genuine people. I enjoyed
dinner with Ray and Charlotte on some evenings
and was welcomed at Arild’s cousins for even
more delicious traditional food. I was also lucky
enough to be invited to an evening at a mediaeval
wine cellar, owned by Einer and Synne Alsaker,
friends of Ray and Charlotte. Synne prepared
a traditional Viking feast that included wood
pigeon, spelt, venison, elk and wild boar. Each
dish had its own drink, ranging from sherry,
cinnamon beer and wine to a variety of flavoured
schnapps, all in beautiful handmade glasses. It
was fantastic. The attention to detail was amazing
too; it was like travelling back in time. I had an
unforgettable night.
GETTING PRACTICAL
Ray argues that you can learn better when you’re
enjoying yourself. I was soon to find out that this
was absolutely true. Although we covered all the
necessary aspects of the course, it wasn’t in a
boring or regimented fashion. Ray was more than
d without written permission. Please call 01489 585 224 for more information.
happy to adapt his plans around an hour’s fishing,
for example. This relaxed approach meant I didn’t
feel under pressure or stress at any point, so my
knowledge and confidence improved steadily.
ON THE WATER
It was bright, clear and sunny when we boarded
Aquilo, Ray’s Scanyacht 391. After days of theory
inside, I was eager to get out afloat. Anthony
joined Ray, Arild and me and, after being
allocated berths, listened to Ray’s safety briefing.
After we’d been familiarised with the boat and
completed the necessary engine checks we formed
a passage plan from Stongfjorden to Florø.
The scenery was absolutely stunning. Coloured
wooden houses dotted the coast, while snowcapped mountains framed the horizon. We
completed the man overboard exercise with
surprising dexterity and navigated using charts
only, which put our theory into practice. With
Ray’s gentle guidance and the aid of a pleasant
Force 3-4, Aquilo easily averaged 7.5kn and got
us into the harbour in time for a beer and a trip
to the shops. Florø has a comfortable marina and
good facilities.
After tasty spaghetti bolognese, courtesy of >>
Flights to Bergen are
relatively inexpensive; a
return was around £100
flying from Gatwick and it
took under 2 hours.
The Flybussen bus
will take you to the city
centre for around £8;
accommodation is then in
easy walking distance.
Bute Sail can book you
a reasonably priced room in
advance at the comfortable
Hordaheimen Hotel.
The ferry terminal is close
by, but it’s advisable to buy
your ticket in the morning to
avoid any queues.
Alternatively, you can fly to
Oslo and catch a domestic
flight (www.widero.no) to
Ferde, from where Ray can
collect you – this is perhaps
the more scenic route. Or
you could fly to Bergen then
return from Oslo.
Currency
We got roughly 10 Kroner to
the pound. Prices are a little
on the high side and at £5
for a pint of beer, you may
wish to stock up at the duty
free if you think you’ll fancy
a tipple.
Customs and
Immigration
Norway is not part of the
EU, so Customs regulations
do apply.
There’s no requirement
for a visa and visitors are
allowed to stay for a period
of three months.
Photos. Far right upper: Our
secluded spot in Heggoy.
Far right lower: checking
crab pots in Heggoy. Top:
Tying the perfect bowline.
March 2010 Sailing Today 85
Ray, we hit the sack. As first days go, I must say
this had been a good one and it set the standard
for the rest. I wasn’t disappointed.
Charts
and pilots
The Norwegian Hydrographic
Service is responsible for
hydrographic surveying and
production of charts covering
the waters of Norway. See www.
statkart.no/eng/Norwegian_
Hydrographic_Service.
Coastal navigation from Halden
in the south to Kirkenes in the
north is currently covered by a
total of 136 charts on a scale of
1:50,000 in the main paper chart
series. Larger scale charts are
provided for congested
and demanding passages,
approaches and harbours.
Stongfjorden and the areas we
sailed are covered by charts
25 and 26. Also available and
perhaps more practical for small
boats are the sports boat series
Båtsportkart
www.uglandit.com/papirkart.php In
this range, series N and O
were needed.
Imray’s Norway Pilot
Oslo to North Cape and Svalbard
by Judy Lomax
ISBN 0852889402
BOOK OFFER
10 per cent off to ST readers who
quote this article when ordering
the pilot from Imray on
01480 462114
www.imray.com
Main photo: Ray, Arild and
me en route to Bulandet.
Above: Our Viking feast.
ANOTHER DAY,
ANOTHER TOWN
I awoke to another gorgeous day. The light
was clear and crisp as we slipped the lines and
headed for Bulandet. Again, we managed without
the GPS, even though there were some tricky
passages through very rocky inlets. We hove to
for lunch and, at my suggestion, located a shallow
bank to try our hands at fishing. I hardly ever
catch anything except mackerel, so was incredibly
excited about the possibility of catching a cod
or pollack. After about five minutes, Ray had
already landed a large cod, while I’d caught the
bottom about five times. The men were using
rods, while I was trying my luck with the hand
line. Suddenly, my line went ridiculously heavy,
but wasn’t moving. It had felt like a bite, but the
men laughed and said I’d probably just snagged
the bottom again. However, to our great surprise,
I hauled a pollack into the cockpit that was longer
than my arm. It was easily big enough to feed all
four of us. Luckily I’ve never been the squeamish
type, so I gutted and cleaned our dinner easily, to
the slight surprise of the men. By this time, the
wind had petered out, so we altered our passage
plan and sailed to Heggoy, reaching the group
of islands at night. The approach to the mooring
was a lesson in concentration and navigational
precision. It was a truly idyllic and remote spot.
The meal that night was fabulous too. Once we’d
lit a fire on the beach, we barbequed the pollack
in garlic butter and I suggested hot smoking the
cod, which was excellent. After this it seemed
like a great idea to walk to the highest point on
the island. It was dark. Very dark. There’s no light
pollution along Norway’s coast and I’ve never
seen so many stars in my life. As we reached
the small summit, we noticed two bright green
swathes of colour arched across the sky to the
north. This was the Aurora Borealis and it was
beautiful – magical almost – even though it was
only in the distance. I felt lucky to be alive.
THE THIRD DAY
It was wonderful to wake up on Heggoy. I saw a
couple of seals as I was munching my muesli and
the men were planning our passage to Bulandet.
Although the weather was a little grey and wet,
it didn’t dampen our mood. Before slipping the
lines, we took an hour to explore the largest of the
islands in the daytime. Arild suggested collecting
whelks for dinner, so all of us, bar Ray, went
paddling in the crystal clear rock pools to find
them. It was freezing.
Once we were underway with full sail set,
Ray helped us with sail trimming exercises. We
sailed on all points and once again I felt I was
putting more of my theory into practice. It was
also refreshing to be behind the helm, because
Aquilo was so light to handle. She reminded me
Photo ANTHONY GREEN
CRUISINGSCHOOLS
SAILING
of our family Sigma 362 (in last year’s October
issue), but felt a little stiffer and was definitely
faster. As we approached our destination, we had
to navigate under a bridge. We were all a little
anxious about it, because the mast was 17.5m and
the bridge was 18m. It was also high water with
a slight swell. Several cars on the bridge stopped
and we all held our breath as we sailed beneath the
bridge with only a few feet to spare. Ray told us
afterwards that he wasn’t worried at all; he’d done
it many times before. Pah!
Once safely moored, we enjoyed the delights
of the local cakes in the shop cum cafe, doctor’s
and post office. Norwegian cooking is hearty and
filling. Ray suggested we try a traditional dish
called Fårikål, made from mutton, potatoes and
cabbage. I was less than enthusiastic, to say the
least. I cooked our whelks in garlic and cream
and, although they tasted very good, we all agreed
they were extremely hard work to get out of their
shells. Ray was the only one with the knack,
but it might have helped if we had had better
implements than matchsticks. Earlier, Arild and I
went on a mussel hunt, which was disappointingly
unproductive, so Arild called a friend to advise
us on their location. Unhelpfully, he had no
idea, but instead tried to give us a huge crab.
>>
All contents © Marine Media Ltd 2009. No part of this publication may be used
NORWAY
The BOAT
Aquilo, of Stongfjorden,
was built in Ulricehamn,
Sweden in 1995. She is
an eight berth Scanyacht
391 and with only four of
us on board, we were very
comfortable. Bute Sailing
School never takes more
than five people at once.
As you might expect for a
sailing school boat, she
had been well used, but
she sailed beautifully and
the design is perfect for her
purpose. I was so impressed
I can truthfully say I want a
Scanyacht.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have a pan large enough
to cook it. This was yet another example of the
Norwegians’ hospitality and friendly nature;
they seem to love the English. As it transpired,
the sheep, which had been cooking for several
hours, was delicious. Ray then suggested a game
of contract whist which, with a glass of wine or
whisky, made for another very enjoyable evening.
WET AND WINDY
As we left Bulandet at 1000 the wind was F5-6 on
the nose. This was the first day I wore my oilies
(and it was October in Norway). I bravely and
successfully took Aquilo off the jetty after a lengthy
discussion on possible tactics.
The boat pointed high and kept up a good speed,
never griping like many more modern boats are
inclined to do in such conditions. I have to say
it was a little alarming when we sailed so close
past many rocks and small islands and through
narrow passages, but the scenery was incredible
and we saw four sea eagles. We were headed
for Eidesfjorden, a secluded anchorage, but
unfortunately the wind headed us and we were
forced to motor. Ray took the opportunity to discuss
anchoring, which added to my knowledge.
d without written permission. Please call 01489 585 224 for more information.
THE FINAL CURTAIN
When I awoke, I was sad to think that it
was my final day. Again the weather was
fine but cold and the wind had dropped
considerably. I jokingly suggested to
Ray that we got out the spinnaker – and
to my pleasant surprise, he agreed. It’s
obvious that Ray has a lot of experience
racing yachts and could pop a spinnaker
up in a jiffy. However, his current crew was less
nimble. Once it was set, Aquilo pulled beautifully;
her acceleration was thrilling. However, the wind
in the Fjords is known for being variable and
unfortunately it lived up to its reputation. It came
round onto the nose and we were forced to drop the
spinnaker. As we headed back to Stongfjorden, a
warm red light settled around us.
The low sun made the autumn colours glow and
faint streaks of slow-moving smoke kissed the
jagged rocks. I didn’t want to go home.
To thank everyone for their hospitality, I prepared
a three course meal of prawns, salmon and apple
crumble that went down very well. After saying
skål (cheers) to a thoroughly informative and
enjoyable experience, we all agreed to try to keep
in contact. Hopefully, I’ll be joining Ray again for a
cruise to the Lofoten Isles. I can’t wait.
■
Photos. Far right upper: My
giant pollack. Far right lower:
The Turner House, my home
for the theory course.
March 2010 Sailing Today 87