Just one more week until the shortest day of the year. That doesn't really change the actual amount of daylight we get compared to now. When it's clear, we get daylight from around 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with a nice orange/light blue glow on the horizon because the sun is only 6° below it […]
Read more
Before we headed north to spot orcas and whales, some snow had already fallen. But that had completely melted away by the time we returned two weeks later. That gave us just enough time to tidy up the dinghy and put it on the foredeck before, a day later, […]
Read more
Between mid-October and the end of January, orcas, humpback whales and fin whales can be found in the fjords east of Skjervøy. They swim there because there is plenty of herring to eat during that period. This also attracts many fishing boats that fish for herring and many boats […]
Read more
The past two weeks have been characterized by settling into our winter berth in Finnsnes (in winter weather) interchanged with a long weekend of family time in London. The Monday before the weekend in London is a beautiful sunny day. Toine and Daniel pick up our shared rental car (for this winter period) in Harstad, and I go […]
Read more
Autumn is a good season for sailing in Lofoten. There are few other boats and far fewer tourists than in summer (but still many more than we are used to 😅). The trees are ablaze with beautiful autumn colours and there is a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights! In any case, the […]
Read more
It's a really enjoyable and relaxed week with our friends Jeanette and Claude, sailing around the Lofoten Islands 👍😊. The weather determines part of our route, because the beautiful summer weather of the previous period is over. But in the end, the weather is better (with some sunny and dry days) than we had anticipated […]
Read more
Once again, we are enjoying over a week of beautiful late summer weather with lots of sunshine and temperatures around 20 degrees. Occasionally there are strong winds and rain showers, but mainly at night. It's perfect weather for cleaning the boat, giving the polyester sides and underwater hull a good scrub […]
Read more
In increasingly beautiful and calm late summer weather, we explore the remote outskirts of Vesterålen. With steep, rugged mountains, fishing villages (some still active and some abandoned) and many hiking opportunities 😊. Everything is done with the engine, but we are used to that in this part of Norway, close to high mountains. When we arrive in […]
Read more
The beautiful summer weather we had over the past two weeks is over for now. The weather is unstable with lots of wind and rain. That's Norway for you 😅. We had planned to sail from Tromsø via the west side of the island of Senja and the Vesterålen to the south towards the Lofoten Islands […]
Read more
We did quite a bit of research for our trip to Svalbard, which was very enjoyable and useful. Below, we describe our tips and advice for visiting Svalbard with your own boat, based on our own experiences. Consider this […]
Read more
After arriving on Sunday afternoon from Svalbard, we stay for two more days in the beautiful anchorage of Toftefjorden. The weather is lovely and sunny, so we spend a lot of time outside. Just sitting outside, doing some jobs now and then. Toine services the winches and I do the laundry. We relax wonderfully […]
Read more
This is our last week in Svalbard! We don't know that yet at the beginning of the week when we are still in the northwest. But sailing back south, we see a weather window opening up for the crossing to Norway, which we want to take advantage of. Especially since the weather seems to be becoming quite unstable in the slightly longer term […]
Read more
Over the past week, we have been sailing along and in the fjords of the deserted north coast of Spitsbergen. It is cold there, but a few degrees above zero (and about 5 degrees colder than in the centre and south of Spitsbergen) ❄️ ❄️. It feels like the “end of the world”, with only the North Pole […]
Read more
Svalbard clearly has two faces, depending entirely on the weather 😃😅. It can be grey, dreary and misty with strong winds and cold. But it can also be delightfully sunny with blue skies and warm enough to be outside […]
Read more
After a long day of sailing in fog and rain, we arrive in Longyearbyen in the evening. Tom from the Ziggy Stardust was able to keep the spot next to them free ... which is very nice 😃. We speak briefly […]
Read more
We leave Tromsø in the early afternoon right after checking out from the police. In the harbour a little further on, we fill up the diesel tank. The first seven hours are still wonderfully quiet, on the […]
Read more
With four more stops, we sail the final stretch towards Tromsø. Lovely that we have time for this and don't feel any hurry 😊. The first stop is in Sortland, a town located on the passage to the north. We are well protected on the inside of a large sturdy floating jetty behind […]
Read more
We continue to sail north in leisurely steps. The weather is a bit more changeable 🌦️ ... so little rain and lots of sun obviously can't go on all summer ☺️. Without sun, it is also immediately a bit colder. Daytime temperatures vary between 9 and 18 degrees. Oh well, we are already getting […]
Read more
The Helgeland coast is really beautiful and also a bit magical. Because of the landscape with the many islets off the coast (big and small, high and low with unusual shapes), and the coast itself with high mountains and snow on the peaks 🏔️🤗. Of course, there is a geological explanation for the origin of these peculiarly shaped mountain […]
Read more
In 9 days we sailed about 420 nm, in several long day trips, further north until just past Rorvik. By way of comparison ... in the first 6 weeks in Norway we also sailed 420 nm. The weather is cooperating well and, according to the cruising guide, the part between Bergen/Statt and Rorvik […]
Read more