Taking Care of Business
We ended up spending a week at Brodernas Martinsson boatyard getting an engine service done and a few items installed (life raft, engine mount, large fire extinguisher). It was rainy and windy much of the time we were there, so we stayed longer than planned (didn’t want to head out in the bad weather). In addition to getting work completed, we returned to the Hallberg-Rassy Yard to have a few more warranty items addressed (one electrical, and one associated with the watermaker). During this time period we also made a quick trip to Lysekil to pick up a new foul weather jacket for Adam. These are all things we wanted to complete before departing Sweden and meeting our sailing friends, Torrey & Sara Lawrence, in Stavanger, Norway. They will cross the North Sea with us mid-July when we sail to Scotland.
Heading North Again
WIth our Schengen timeclock running (EU immigration gives us 90 days), we finally left the Hallberg-Rassy yard for what we think/hope is the last time for the season and sailed north to a lovely anchorage called Ulon-Dannemark. The day got a bit windy as we approached Dannemark, but we were happy to find that it was nicely sheltered bay.
Adam’s new foul weather jacket came in handy as we headed north from Ellös. Although May was lovely and warm with many days in the 70s, June has been chilly, windy, and rainy.
We enjoyed a quiet night at Dannemark. In the morning we headed further north to Stromstad, taking an “inside route” among the rock islands for some shelter from gusty winds. Some of these marinas have webcams, and Adam was able to view the one in Stromstad and pick out our docking spot. This was quite handy for setting up our fenders and docklines before entering the harbor. We had been to Stromstad before, so we knew where our preferred location was given the prevailing and forecasted winds.
Land Trip to Oslo
We both enjoy large cities and had been looking forward to visiting Oslo for some time. Given our timeline for crossing the North Sea and our need to have warranty items addressed by Hallberg-Rassy, however, we were running out of time to sail to Oslo on Hokukea. We would need 4 sailing days to go to and from Oslo, and then we’d want to spend 2 or 3 full days exploring. Public transportation in this part of the world is quite good, so we used the bus system instead. It was a 3-hour trip on 2 busses.
Photo on left is the Norwegian Parliament; Upper right is sculpture at the Opera House; Center right is the Opera House; Lower right shows traditional small Norwegian sailboats in Oslo Harbor among all manner of boats.
Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo — More than 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943).