South to Stavanger - 60° 08' 06" N 05° 08' 60" E

 

Our route Bergen to Stavanger - via Søvig, Tevøy, Lambeidvågen and Selen

Bergen to Søvig

We were in the process of extracting ourselves from the raft when Border Force showed up and needed to check our documents.  Following a scramble to re-tie the boats, we passed inspection with flying colours and exited the raft into the movement of three ferries!  After a few minutes of dodgems, we were on our way.  In the rain. It rained, it poured, it rained some more as we wiggled our way through the misty rocks and islands.

And just think Jo, you could be sailing in Greece!

Hurrah for Jo who brave the wet, chilly helm while the rest of us swanned around down below ... warm and dry.  The rain finally eased as we dropped the anchor in a pretty little cove surrounded by holiday houses.  We spent a delightful evening fishing (we had chicken for tea!), watching the birds and enjoying the quiet after the noise of Bergen.

The tranquil bay of Søvig

We had morning wander ashore and checked out the local real estate.  And we foraged for mussels, bringing back to the boat a haul that would feed us for dinner!

Søvig to Tevøy

We set off to Tevøy under grey skies and threatening rain.  The sun did manage to peak out in between rain squalls.  Despite the rain, we had a great sail across Bjornafjorden to the entrance of Lokksund, the narrow passage that cuts between the mainland the the island of Tysnes.  

Ed and Jo cleaning mussels while we are underway

The pilot book advised "Its tidal stream unusually does not exceed 2 knots but can reach 3-4 knots at the narrows near the top (0.1m wide), and is affected by wind." Hmmm. The pilot book also advised that the tidal stream generally runs north on the flood and south on the ebb but the internet revealed Lokksund is a special case where the stream flips every two hours.  So we were a bit unsure what we were going to get.

Heading into Lokksund, you can just make out the ferry in front of us and the bridge across the gap

We timed it perfectly! We zipped through the narrows with 2 knots of tide with us and popped out in the famed Hardangerfjord.  We will not be heading into Hardangerfjord this trip, but perhaps another year.  Once through the narrows it started to pour again. In the misty hills you could imagine trolls and other mythical creatures.

Phew, safely under the bridge and through the narrows

Not a farm, surely?

There are plenty of places to tuck in out of the wind - regardless of the wind direction

Despite the wind and whitecaps in the fjord, our anchorage was calm and protected - from everything but the rain! We did manage to feast on our foraged mussels in the cockpit between squalls.  Ed pulled out the fishing gear and caught a fish! That's a first for Chinook.  

Yummo, now that is fresh seafood

Tevøy to Lambeidvågen

Next morning, we headed out and popped up the sails, enjoying a lovely sail for about 15 minutes before the wind completely died out.  We motored for a bit then the wind picked up again, the sails went up and we had a great sail in glorious sunshine all the way to the entrance of our anchorage. 

We have become far less wary of rocks than we used to be, anchoring much closer (by necessity) than we ever dreamed we would.  Once we had negotiated our way through the rocks at the narrow entrance, this anchorage opened up into a gorgeous, sparkling pool with lots of swing space, forest all around and birds singing happily. 

Dub, dub, dub...

We noticed a freshwater lake on the charts so jumped in the dinghy to search out a waterhole for a freshwater dip.  What a luxury.  Despite carrying 600 litres of water, we still need to be careful with four of us aboard, daily long showers are not an option!

Pretty, but not the best swimming

Perfect swimming hole, complete with life ring

Kate and Jo took the plunge while to boys cowered on the bank!

On the way back, we discovered some huge mussels on the dock, so we collected some to add to Ed's fish for yet another magnificent feast of fresh seafood.

Thanks Jo, we will miss your prowess in the galley

Lambeidvågen - Selen

We woke to a gloriously calm, sunny morning and after a slow start, we set off.  The sun and calm did not last and before long, we were motoring into a 15kn headwind!  We weaved our way between rocky islands and down the very busy Salhusstraumen past the industry and fancy houses and apartments of Haugersund, Norheim, Havik and Kopervik.  We anchored in a delightfully sheltered cove in Selen and spent the evening watching the birds and chatting. 

Bridges have become part of our world - but it's always lovely to have an extra 20 metres of air draft!

Selen - Hundvåg

After a lazy morning, Jo and Ed took on the role of skippers and planned the next leg to Hundvåg where we planned to anchor off Rob and Deidre's (the friends of Kelly and Greg's we met in Bergen) place. 

What a beautiful day for Jo and Ed's last sail on Chinook this trip

Our new friends, Deirdre and Rob, paddled out in their kayaks to meet us and we dropped anchor in the bay off their house.  Sadly, their dock is not designed for boat quite the size of Chinook, but it made a very handy dinghy dock!

What a view!

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