From Engelsvik to Kuvaun, distance 12NM, weather: Sunny 28°C, water temperature 23°C, wind east 0-1 Beaufort.
Hugo does not want to go back on board this morning....Apparently he likes the shadowy place underneath a picknick table at the harbor wall, where some sausages mysteriously found their way to him yesterday evening (a generous donation from two 3 and 4 years old Norwegian kids, who befriended him :-))....why should he want to leave?! ;-) But Madita's captain demands him back on board and finally he follows and we are on our way to our last Norwegian stop.Kuvaun is a beautifully remote bay with high rocks surrounding. Only a few private summer houses are at the shore. Around the bay are small stretches of beach, which are internittend by high piles of granite rocks.Again we have a wonderful day with swimming, fishing, exploring the different parts of the beaches and the area behind.The surfaces of the rocks are grounded by ten thousands of years water and wind exposure. Although laying high above the shore some have deep hollows where the water must have been running back and forth during long autumn and winter storms.
From Evjesundet to Engelsvik, distance 8.5 NM, weather: sunny 27°C, water temperatur 22°C, wind northeast 2 Beaufort.
We have been to Engelsvik before: 2012, when we traveled to Oslo by ferry, we drove there one mild autumn day, bought some smoked fish, which we ate at the abandoned harbor. It was a very pleasant day and we think it should be wonderful to return to this place by boat. Since it is only a short distance from Evjesundet, where we spent a clam and refreshing night, we have the whole day for our leisure in Engelsvik. When we arrived there were only a few guest places left, but people from other boats were very friendly to guide us, helping with the lines and starting a calm, friendly and interested chat with us almost from the very beginning.Engelsvik is a rather small place, more a suburb of Oslo.Ah Oslo btw.....it would have been 30NM to finally reach Oslo, but there is hardly any wind today (which means, the motor would run all the time), the sun is burning down on us and no one of us feels like going for sightseeing in a big city.....We rather have a peaceful afternoon in the harbor. The children are playing with other Norwegian kids, catching crabs and playing hide and seek....no language is necessary, they are just happy children on a wonderful summer day at the waterside...
From Skaerhalden to Evjesundet, distance 27.5 NM, weather: sunny, 25°C, water temperature 20.4°C, wind southwest 3 Beaufort.
Today we reach the most northern point of our journey at 59° 21'N, 10° 39'E.After sailing to about the middle of the Oslo-Fjord we anchor in a small double bay, which has an narrow entrance but is therefore very protected: Evjesundet. Here we spend a very peaceful afternoon and evening with swimming and fishing. Today Wolfgang is lucky and catch two mackerel, which taste even better than yesterday's fish :-)In the evening we sit in silence being enchanted by the changing color of the light, sky and horizon....
From Längeskär/Sweden to Skjerhalden/Norway, distnace 22,7 NM, weather: partly cloudy, temperature 20°C, wind southwest 4-5 Beaufort.
Today we reach Norway! Even if we are not going to make it to Oslo we still achieved our goal to visit another scandinavian country :-)But before we are on our way, we have to fill up Madita's fuel tank and to buy some liquids for us. Therefore we stop at Havjesund, where the gas station is directly at the waterfront. But we are not the only ones having this idea and it becomes rather stressful, especially since there is quite a bit of free waves running against the pontoons. The ships are coming so close to each other, that some Norwegian Yacht manages at full speed to let a rope of their dinghy entangle with the paddle of our dinghy....good luck Wolfgang makes a quick jump and grabs the rope to free it.....The Skagerak is much calmer today and we reach Norway with good winds. The appearance of the skerry suddenly changes with many pine trees growing on them. The air is full with aromatic fragrance.The first Harbor we plan to touch at is Skjerhalden. When we arrive it is over crowed and we feel the little stitch of disappointment when you finally come to a place you longed for a significant period. However, we moor at a fisher's boat pontoon and Wolfgang goes for a search. The first guy he speaks to turns out be the harbormaster, who is very willing to help and after about 15 minutes they find a space for Madita. It is alongside the outer pontoon and we have to turn Madita in the very narrow port basin. Good luck a very kind gentleman helps us from the pontoon side. But there is a huge iron chain leading from the pontoon to the ground of the basin. I am not sure, how that eventually works out, but surprisingly without any damage to Madita she slips over the chain and is at a good position of the pontoon.Almost immediately after the lines are tied Friedrich starts to catch little fish. To our amazement these are little baby plaice: perfectly flat with both eyes on the upper side ;-) (Of course they all were released after a few!)We buy very delicious fish at the nearby fish shop, where we learned, that the Norwegian word for monkfish is Breiflapp :-) Later that evening a boat neighbor starts to fish for mackerel. Wolfgang and Friedrich want to try that, too and get some advise. But the fisher's luck is not with them this day. The very friendly people from the other boat are luckier and to our delight be very kind and give us some freshly grilled mackerel as a present. That was the most delicious fish I ever had so far :-)
During the autumn break in 2012 we traveled to Norway. Since we expected not the best whether at that time of the year, we took the ferry from Kiel/Germany to Oslo/Norway and stayed 3 nights in a hotel. Using the ferry allowed us to bring our car, which was convenient, but going up the Oslo Fjord in this huge and luxurious ferry, we felt kind of sad not being here with our own boat :-/Anyway, we enjoyed visiting Oslo a lot, but soon we felt that we would love to see the nature and the mountains. We drove outside the city and soon were fascinated by the landscape, the ancient stones, the waters and the nordic flora.It was a great trip with a lot of new impressions and I am more than happy that this summer our vacation should lead us to the Oslo Fjord again, this time with our own boat :-)
