This week, we covered 300 nautical miles along the coats of the Netherlands, Belgium and France to reach Cherbourg. During this journey, we kept a constant look out for big ships as we crossed the entrances leading to major european ports. Because their speed is 2 to 4 times faster then ours, these cargo carriers […]
Flat boats and wheels (Netherlands)
On our travel south to France, we made two stops in the Netherlands: Den Helder at the north tip of the mainland and Scheweningen near The Hague (Den Haag). It was a complete change of scenery for us. Not only had the lanscape changed to flat lands, sand and polders. The towns had a different […]
Sailing south to the Netherlands
Last stop in Norway (Mandal) For our last sailing along the Norwegian coast from Farsund to Mandal, the weather was overcast. We passed the notorious Lindesnes lighthouse in a foggy atmosphere. Located at the south tip of Norway along a river, Mandal initially developed around salmon fishing and the timber industry. With white-painted wooden houses […]
At the crossroads (Farsund)
On our way to the south coast of Norway, we stopped in Farsund. Instead of a couple of nights, we ended up staying a week in this area rich in nature, history and amazing people. On top of Lista Lighthouse While sailing from Flekkefjord to Farsund, we passed Lista lighthouse. The peninsula of Lista is […]
While making our way from Egersund to Flekkefjord, we experienced again how the outside coast is exposed to wind and sea. But as you move behind an island or inside a fjord, it soon gets quiet. The tidal range is limited, and boats can be attached to any fixed pontoon. No wonder people established a […]
Cycling to Trollpikken
This week we moved south after picking up our parcel in Stavanger. The labyrinth of islands and fjords in the Stavanger area provides protected waters that we had to leave in order to follow the more exposed coast toward Tananger and Egersund. Sailing in the Hogsfjord On a sunny day, we explored the islands in […]
Intermezzo
During this rainy, cold and windy week, we stayed in Stavanger. It was time to took care of cleaning, provisioning and putting the affairs of daily life in order. In addition, Stavanger has good museums (really liked the Norsk Oljmuseum, Arkeologisk Museum and Norks Hermetikkmuseum) and a movie theather. Worth mentioning this week are the […]
Hiking in Lysefjord
We spent a week exploring Lysefjord. The name means “light fjord”, in reference to the coloured granite rock of its cliffs. Lysefjord is 42 km (26 nm) long and offers several impressive hiking opportunities. Getting to Lysefjord To get to Lysefjord, we passed under 2 bridges, one to leave Stavanger and another at the entrance […]
Summer music in Stavanger
Stavanger was our entry point to Norway. We stayed several days in this lively town. Coexistence of modern and old With around 230 000 habitants, Stavanger is the 3rd city of Norway (after Oslo and Bergen). It expanded a lot over the last 50 years, when oil was discovered in the North Sea. Stavanger became […]
Sporty crossing of the North Sea
It was time for us to leave the Scotland and to cross the North Sea to Norway. The passage from Inverness to Stavanger is 345 nautical miles. There are alternative routes, where you do a first leg along the East coast of Scotland to place your starting point closer to Norway. However, since we had […]