Stavanger to Kristiansand - 58° 08' 34" N 08° 00' 06" E

Around the southern most point of Norway

Stavanger to Tananger 

Because of pending bad weather from the west which would make Deidre and Rob's bay untenable, we reluctantly moved on.  Oh we will miss that endless hot water rain shower, the soft bed and that view.  Thanks Rob and Deirdre for being such wonderful hosts to people you only just met!

Rob kindly offered to act as crew on the epic 12 nautical mile voyage.  We motored down the fjord into the wind, past the massive work boats and the Saipem 7000, the world's third largest semi-submersible crane vessel,  before rounding the point.  We were then able to pop up a sail, turn off the engine and enjoyed a lovely sail over a rolly sea.

A stowaway!  He looks pretty comfortable onboard, too!

Tanager is a tight harbour filled with workboats (we counted 14), ferries and yachts.  We found a space against the breakwater and tied up to the most inconvenient mooring system we have seen to date.  No bollards or cleats, simply a board attached through which you thread the mooring lines.  Not problem other than this cannot be done from the boat so you need to have someone ashore.  

Fortunately, the lovely chap on the adjacent boat caught our lines for us (or perhaps he was simply worried about this aluminium beast harming his beautiful traditional wooden yacht!) and we tied up safe and sound. Deirdre popped in when she finished work, the sun came out and we enjoyed drinks in the cockpit.

Tuesday was not so lovely.  The wind howled and the rain poured down.  We were very pleased to be tucked up in the snug harbour and not having to go out in the tempest. 

Wing-on-wing in the sunshine with the current in our favour - magic

Tananger to Egersund

Next morning dawned beautiful and sunshiny and we had a magnificent sail all the way down the coast to Egersund.  The anchorage was a delightful bay with a narrow entrance and opened into a lovely pool with red painted holiday homes dotted around the shore.  

What a picture - complete with swans.  Are we being followed?

Before the rain set in, we did a hike around the hills above the inlet.  And, part of the magic of travelling how we are, we stumbled upon the Magma UNESCO Global Geopark.  The rock in this area is anorthosite which is the same rock type found on the moon. So our hike was basically a moon walk!

Goat or sheep, sheep or goat?? Earth or moon, moon or earth???

Not anorthosite but the sheep seem to like it regardless!

And rain it did.  Again, we were very happy to be tucked up in a snug anchorage while the heavens rained down.  Surely the weather is supposed to improve when you are heading south!

The view - just before the rain set in

Egersund to Kristiansand

'Some days are diamonds, some days are stones' - to quote John Denver.  Today was definitely on the stone side of the equation!  The sun was shining and the wind was blowing us south but the North Sea threw us short period, steep waves from several directions that kept Chinook rolling and rocking and dumping the little wind there was out of the sails.  So, in frustration, we took to motor sailing.  

This section of the Norwegian Coast is the most exposed and the official chart is scattered with caution symbols noting dangerous waves.  The pencil markings from our friends we borrowed the charts from note rolly seas and washing machine conditions!  We persevered, sails up, sails down, sails up, sails down and the motor, sadly, chugged all the way.  

As we would have arrived in Kristiansand just before dark, we opted to anchor in a stunning, protected bay amongst the islands about 5nm from Kristiansand.  We were rewarded with quiet stillness and a very solid night's sleep.

And thank goodness we did!  On arriving in Kristiansand, we discovered the berths at the guest harbour require you to pick up a stern mooring either side and tie up bow-in.  We don't even know the name of the mooring system, let alone how to execute it double-handed.  Fortunately, there was very little wind and we were able stop the boat while we fumbled around trying to pick up the stern moorings.  There has to be a trick to doing this with some degree of elegance!

... with no obvious way to leave the boat without a swim.

We looked it up, they are Box Moorings and the advice is to have your three crew members....

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