“Portland, Maine” a woman exclaims from the pier. “Did you sail that boat all the way from Maine?” her male companion chimes in. We are tied stern to at the visitor’s dock in Ålesund, Norway. The public floats are traversed several times a day by the parade of tour groups from the visiting cruise ships. It seems we have become a bonus exhibit for the tour guides. Americans make up a significant portion of the cruise ship quest list but American sailboats are an unusual sight in Norway. “We did in fact” replies my wife politely answering the woman. “Last summer we sailed from the Caribbean to Bermuda, Bermuda to the Azores, and then from the Azores to Ireland”. This answer inevitably leads to other incredulous follow-up questions from the visitors. Their cruise ship lifestyle is a world apart from our life aboard Alembic, our 42 foot ketch.
By the time we arrived in Ålesund, we had already been in Norway several weeks. We departed Peterhead, on the northeast coast of Scotland in late May. After a two day crossing of the North Sea, we made landfall just south of Bergen, Norway. Our first two remote Norwegian anchorages gave us a taste of the amazing landscape and numerous secure coves that make Norway such a special destination. Fortunately, the landscape makes up for the rainy weather we experienced in the month of June. The cruising guides warn of the wet climate especially in the area around Bergen. The west coast of Norway sticks out into the North Sea like the snout of a walrus. Rugged mountains rise abruptly from the sea. This geography causes low pressure systems sweeping into the North Sea to unload the moisture they have lugged across the Atlantic. This weather pattern, however, also rewards those who venture further North. The further North you travel in Norway, the less it rains.
The goal we had set for ourselves during our winter ashore in Maine was to sail above the Arctic Circle. We hoped to do this as close to the summer solstice as possible so we could experience the “midnight sun”. This goal took on more importance one night at our local ski bar, the Loose Boots Lounge, when we shared the idea with close friends and fellow sailors Cam and Julie. After a couple of PBR’s it was decided. If we sailed Alembic, our Whitby 42, north of Bergen, they would join us for a 2 week cruise across 66.5N latitude and into the Arctic.
Not surprising, sailing on the coast of Norway is a dream vacation for many adventuresome travelers. Our daughter Lindsay and her boyfriend David, as well as our niece Danielle and her friend Blanca enthusiastically booked trips to join us. Luckily, airports are scattered all over Norway so we were able to arrange arrivals that dove-tailed with destinations we were eager to explore. Lindsay and David joined us in Bergen for a cruise among the fjords and quaint coastal islands that surround this lively and historic city. After their departure, we hopped north to Ålesund visiting several special stops along the way including Skjerjehamn where paintings and sculptures grace the surroundings both inside and out. On our way north in June we had this quiet setting all to ourselves. When we returned in July we found an entirely different scene! Skjerjehamn was packed with dozens of boats and hundreds of people enjoying a three day music festival.
In Ålesund, we were joined by the two enthusiastic recent college grads, Danielle and Blanca. We were eager to show them the magic of Norway so we set sail for one of the most beautiful, and uncrowded fjords in this part of the coast. The nearby Geirangerfjorden is one of the most photographed fjords in all of Norway but this celebrity status draws a crowd of tourist excursion boats. Instead, we sailed up the Hjørundfjord just to the west and tied up for two idyllic days at the guest dock in Øye. From here we had access to amazing hiking on the peaks of Saksa and Slogen. We also enjoyed a gentrified evening piano recital at the Union Hotel which is famous for hosting Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany for several summers at the turn of the 20th century.
With our guests already giddy about these adventures we kept the momentum going by taking them to the southern-most puffin colony in Norway on Runde Island. The puffins did not disappoint with their casual tolerance of the gawking admirers. To top off the week of adventure, we headed back to Ålesund for front-row seats at the largest bonfire in the world held on the summer solstice celebration. The 135’ wooden tower of shipping pallets burned with Scandinavian precision from top to bottom over a two hour celebration of the longest day of the year.
With the departure of our niece and her friend, it was time to get down to some serious Arctic sailing. As promised, we met our adventuresome friends Cam and Julie in the city of Molde with its spectacular downtown filled with flowers. After a quick provisioning run, we set off for our first stop at the pretty little island of Magerøya. This little island is a world to itself graced with new guest docks in sharp contrast to the 19th century merchant hall that currently houses a small restaurant. The island with its historic structures is under the care of a group of young people who manage the restaurant, raise wild sheep, and assure that the setting remains welcoming to visiting boats. Although it was raining upon our arrival, we had a hardy meal of Bacalao, the delicious regional fish stew, and learned more about the island history from one of its young stewards.
One unique aspect of traveling the Norwegian coast is that most vessels travel along the semi-sheltered channels leading through the numerous coastal islands. At these high latitudes during summer it is either daylight or twilight essentially 24 hours of the day. Given these conditions, we found that it was easy to make 100 mile hops up the coast in order to savor some of the prime stops further along the Helgeland Coast. This scenic region of Norway stretches from the archipelago around Vega to just north of the Arctic Circle. Its portfolio of natural wonders includes the low lying islands stretching for miles off the coast, puffin rookeries, and rugged unique coastal mountains. We cherry-picked a couple of favorite stops that were easily accessible from anchorages or guest docks including the Seven Sisters near Sandnessjøen, Torghatten near Brønnøy, and the Svartisen Glacier.
After three hundred adventure-filled miles from Molde, it was time to cross the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is not a fixed latitude. It is the southern most latitude where the sun does not set on the evening of the June Solstice. As the earth wobbles on its axis, this latitude is drifting northwards at about forty nine feet per year and currently resides at 66°33′47.8″. Across the Arctic Circle we sailed, passed a monument marking this milestone and then we jumped into the frigid water to commemorate our arrival.
After two weeks of sailing, hiking, and general adventuring we arrived in the large community of Bodø. We said goodbye to our friends who shuttled off to the airport and we were back to just the two of us on the boat after a month of visitors. Bodø proved to be a convenient spot to re-provision and catch up on a few boat projects. Everything we needed was a short walk from the guest docks along with an assortment of bars and restaurants.
Since it was still early July, we were eager to continue our Norwegian explorations to the unique Lofoten Islands with their stunning landscapes and quaint fishing villages. We jumped straight to the western end of the island chain with a forty mile day sail to Reine. This town was voted to be one of the most scenic in the Lofotens. Fish racks with thousands of cod fish heads drying in the sun made for some interesting photos. A quick hike up the four hundred and fifty meter peak of Reinebringen offered amazing views of the harbor below and the surrounding mountains.
After a spectacular week absorbing the breath-taking scenery of the Lofoten Islands and enjoying endless sunshine, it was time to point our bow south. We had plans to be in Sweden by mid-August so we took advantage of the mild and settled weather of mid-summer to return to southern Norway. The tug of Norway proved to be strong, however. Instead of rounding the southern end of Norway and sailing to Sweden as planned, we lingered in the fjords near Stavanger, Norway into the fall. We chose to leave Alembic in Stavanger for the winter. We are still undecided which direction we will travel in the Spring. We may continue on to Sweden and the Baltic or we may return to the Arctic for another magical summer. After 4 years of cruising, 22,000 miles, and 27 countries, our visit to the Arctic regions of Norway stands out in our minds as one of our favorite destinations. One summer in the Arctic may not be enough!