Kristiansand

We have turned around and are heading back west along the south coast of Norway. We went as far east as Arendal where our mission was to fill our North American propane bottles. This is a problem in much of Europe. Calor Gas have a monopoly in the distribution of propane in the UK and will only sell it in one of their exchangeable tanks. A similar situation exists in most of the EU. On the west coast of Norway this was the case, but a company on the east coast offers a filling service and also propane gas for commercial use in trucks, cabs etc. This company, LPNorge, is expanding its distribution service and has recently opened in Arendal. So we left there with three full tanks, enough for this and next summer.

The 42 mile leg from Mandal to Arendal was a bit of a blast. We went offshore and roared along, wing-and-wing, triple reefed main and half a genoa, with a Force 5-7 westerly making hull speed for hours on end under bright high pressure sunshine. This was all very well, but served to emphasis that the prevailing wind at this time of the year is either southwest or northwest and we have to get back east to Scotland. So, for the past week we have been wending our way eastward through the inner passages of the offshore islands. These intricate waterways are the summer playground for many Norwegians. There are big and small summer cottages everywhere and everyone, adults and children, has a boat, a power boat ranging from 30-35 foot sleek machines (think, James Bond) to high speed dinghies and ribs with what is often an outsized outboard. And they love to roar around, sometimes just for the hell of it. For us slow pokes, often struggling to figure out which route to take amongst the skerries, it can be a bit unnerving. That said we found some perfect sheltered anchorages in the outer islands often in island clusters that had been set aside as public parks. One, with the typically unpronounceable Norwegian name of Aalesolya, stands out. The entrance to the inner pool was via a circular passage that wound around the inner ring of islands, over several only seven foot deep bars (we draw 6.5 feet), and finally into a two hundred yard wide pool with a sand bottom. Bliss! We spent three days there and had some lovely hikes over the low, lightly wooded, often smooth rocked islands, or rowing quietly through the narrow passages out to the Lighthouse on the eastern edge.

Kristiansand is a bustling city, the fifth largest in Norway, and a lovely place to wander around admiring the old wooden houses and churches. It is the tourist centre of the South and every day there are one or more gigantic cruise ships in the harbour. Kristiansand is a natural stopping place for foreign yachts and the city has built a marina in the centre of the town just for visitors. Like everything in Norway, the marina and facilities are of a high standard but expensive.