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Between here and Halden, Norway, much has happened and much water has disappeared under the keel of NOR SIGLAR. This will be just a sketchy outline of what we have been up to since then. We spent a whole year in Norway enjoying family, friends, the Lillehammer Olympics and lots of skiing. On July 23, 1994, after having cruised the south and west coasts, we left Ålesund at 63° north for the Shetland Islands. Although we had the wind on the nose most of the way, we completed the 278-mile run in 57 hours. Sailing this far north is nice because it doesn't really get dark during the summer evenings and the nights at sea pass quickly. In the Norwegian Sea we were impressed to see so many oil drilling platforms. The first night out, when I went off my shift, we had three directly head of us. I told Anne to change course to leave the closest one a few hundred meters to starboard. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard Anne shouting: "Hello"! I got up to find her very close to a support vessel, which had come out towards us from the oilrig. It was very close. Anne had unfurled the Canadian flag and was waving happily to the guys on the bridge of the tug. Within hearing distance, we suddenly realized that they weren't waving to be just friendly. "Turn on your radio", they yelled. "You are aiming right for one of our anchor cables!" Quite shocked, we altered course quickly to avoid them. We were harshly reprimanded and told that no vessel is allowed within 500 meters of an oilrig. This was news to us, as the year before we had entertained ourselves north of the English Channel passing several oil rigs as close as 50 meters and getting great photographs. The Norwegians had to admit it was a new rule. We did not let on that we spoke the language and probably passed as "ignorant foreigners". It was exciting to sail in the waters of our forefathers who plied the hostile Norwegian Sea in their beautiful, open Viking ships over 1000 years ago. In Shetland, we found people to be extremely proud of their Norse ancestry and were warmly welcomed in Lerwick, where streets and men are named after Viking kings. EVENTYR from Spruce Harbour Marina in Vancouver had overwintered in Shetland the previous year, and Helen had alerted her friends that we might come that way. So, lo and behold, having just tied up to the dock, we hear:" NOR SIGLAR! Do you know Helen and Erik from Vancouver?" We were really surprised. From that moment, we were given the royal treatment. For three days we criss-crossed the little islands with their many pre-historic sites, peat bogs, crofters, stone fences, Shetland ponies, fiddle concerts, Fair isle knitting contests and much more. The islands are rugged and barren, but beautiful in their isolation, and the people second to none when it comes to hospitality. We hated having to leave. On a practical note, there was no dock charge in Lerwick. There were even showers at no charge in the small yacht club right on the dock. We had to move on to get across the Bay of Biscay before the fall storms set in. So, although we were tempted to stay longer in these northern islands, we set off towards Scotland a couple of days to the south. Again, we had the wind on the nose, so after a rough 24-hour stretch, we sneaked into Stronsay in the Orkneys to rest and wait for a more favourable wind direction. Again, we experienced incredible hospitality. At the local general store, there was a sign posted in the window: "Pearl and Walter looking for people to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary on Saturday, July 30. Open House at the Community Hall. Please come".
Song "&" Dance, Fiddles "&" Accordions It was July 30, so we went! It was an experience we'll never forget. Dressed to kill, about 100 people showed up to a traditional celebration with song, dance, music and play until the early morning hours. We found many similarities to our Norwegian customs. Their dances were always in groups or pairs, following the same patterns. An MC kept everything running smoothly controlling the sequence of events. The music was lively with fiddles and accordions. A fellow whose father had survived 50 trips on the "Shetland Bus" to Norway during the war carrying out underground activities taught Anne many of the dances. She was utterly exhausted by the end of the evening. Old and young, babies and teenagers enjoyed themselves together. It was heartwarming to see how four generations can still party and have fun in this day and age. Stronsay was really a godforsaken place ñ misty, cold and miserable with its severe, gray, two-story, straight-up-and-down stone houses, no trees and little vegetation. But rarely have we seen such warmth among people. We have been to may places in the last four years but very few where we have been invited to people's homes. Stronsay is one. Lerwick, another. And guess what? Havana, Cuba, too.
The lousy weather made us so anxious to get to warmer climates that we made only one stop in Scotland and skipped England altogether. In Troon, we picked up a new dinghy, outboard engine and main sail which we had ordered in Norway but which did not get finished in time for our departure. Our eight-year-old rigid-bottom Zodiac had long since given up the ghost. It had given us a lot of trouble because it had been produced in the year when inferior glue was used on the seams. To add to that, we had managed to get a multitude of holes at various times. If I (Martin) add up all the hours I've spent gluing the dinghy in the last four years, it may be close to what I've spent on maintenance of NOR SIGLAR! With its 9.9hp engine, it was very heavy for the two of us to handle, so we are now very happy owners of a roll-up Avon with a 5hp which more than adequately covers our needs. We would recommend this combination to any of you "dreamers" back home. A rigid-bottom dinghy is great for the surf on the U.S west coast, but as an overall dinghy for offshore cruising, we found it too cumbersome to handle and both of us have been down with bad backs at various times as a result of manhandling it. Our original main sail, which came with the boat from the factory in France, was of average quality and intended for weekend cruising only. So, after eight years and four rips/repairs, we replaced it with a fully battened, radical-cut, heavy, quality, offshore type. It is so powerful that the speed increased by at least a knot depending on the wind direction. Also, we have to reef it down already in 15-18 knots. Reefing is made easy with newly installed lazyjacks and the lines attached to the reefing points with loops. We are very happy with it, although the cost was high, about C$4000 (duty and VAT exempt). Troon Marina was very friendly and had excellent facilities and services of all kinds. Moorage costs were high at C$32 per day. We don't know how this compares with other Marinas in Scotland, as we did not stay at any others. The oldest Yacht Club in the World We boomed right along through the Irish Sea, constantly tackling crazy and strong currents, non-stop to Crosshaven near cork in Ireland and the oldest yacht club in the world, Royal Munster Yacht Club. Having the word "royal" in its name, we thought it might have reciprocal privileges with RVYC, but no such thing. The cost was also C$32 per day with no charge for showers. Crosshaven Boatyard, just down the river, was slightly cheaper. There is no problem with anchoring in the river, although the current is very strong. We stayed only long enough to visit Cork and kiss the Blarney Stone before setting off across the Bay of Biscay to Portugal and sunshine. As you can see from our poor record of writing letters lately, I think the Blarney Stone worked the opposite way on both of us. At least, that is a good excuse. The crossing of the infamous Bay of Biscay went very well. On August 19, the second day out, we intercepted our course line of July 13 of the previous year, on the 49th parallel ñ same as Vancouver ñ but a long way further east. Here, the weather permitted us to change from our heavy cruising suits to the much lighter Henry Lloyds ñ still keeping longjohns underneath, of course. On Day 6, we rounded Cap Finisterre with the dolphins playing around our bow and temperatures suddenly soaring to 25º. Off came the woolies and on with the shorts! Our first stop in Portugal was Porto, 730 miles and seven days from Cork. Here we celebrated with excellent port wine offered at the numerous wineries along the Douro River and took the opportunity to stock up the bilges. Talking about bilges, we discovered that a large storage area under a bunk in the stern cabin was full of salt water. I then remembered that we had taken a few large seas washing into the cockpit just after leaving Cork, on a beam reach with the railing under water. The water forced its way through the sail locker cover, which by now has been waterproofed! This meant a major laundry and drying-out project. We were lucky that a suitcase full of gifts and souvenirs was still dry inside. And then: Great excitement in the misery! We found a bunch of bottles we had acquired in Saint Martin before the Atlantic crossing: they were earmarked for gifts during our stay in Norway and had been hidden away from Norwegian customs ñ and then forgotten by us. There are two good harbours in Porto: One is about two miles up the Douro River along a floating dock on the south side of the river bank, just below the tall bridge. Moorage is free. You cannot get ashore without using the dinghy, although the distance is very short. The other moorage is a Marina Porto Atlantico in the commercial harbour of Leixoes, a suburb of Porto. This is professionally-run marina with excellent facilities. The dock charges were about C$20 per night which we thought was quite high for Portugal. It is not a good harbour to anchor in, although you can do it outside the Marina Molo. We found out later that moorage in smaller harbours like the fishing village of Nazare was much cheaper. Some moorage was even free if you tied up alongside commercial or fishing docks. We were now back in the cruising mode and ambled slowly down the Portuguese coast, stopping at several quaint, little fishing villages. The Portuguese specialty, Vino Verde, a young, sparkling white wine, sold for C$5 for a five-liter keg. A delicious BBQ sardine dinner cost C$3. Prices have come up since Portugal joined the EU, but you can still get a really good dinner, including wine, for C$10-15 per person. So the days are gone when it was just as cheap to eat out as onboard, which was the case when BAGHEERA cruised Portugal in 1986. We have Liza Copeland's book Just Cruising, onboard and enjoy following partly in their footsteps, although at a more leisurely pace. The information is very useful, but today's prices are a far cry from what they experienced throughout the Mediterranean. In just a few years, prices have skyrocketed in all the countries we have visited so far. In Vilamoura, we had a surprise visit from Anne's sister, Kari Remmereit, and husband, Njål, from Norway. They managed to come all the way down to the boat and knock without our seeing them until they were standing right there ñ with big smiles on their faces! Very exciting indeed. At the end of September, friends from Vancouver, Hubert and Jill Bunce, arrived to boat-sit NOR SIGLAR while we went to Vancouver. We stayed in their house and even had the use of their cars. A great arrangement for all of us. After returning to Vilamoura in November, we spent some time sightseeing in Portugal and working on the boat. Vilamoura is an excellent, safe place to leave the boat, in or out of the water. It is quite expensive, but has good, all-round facilities, including a well-recommended boat yard. Moorage, including electricity, was as follows: US$ 20.65/day: June 16 - Sept. 15 US$ 15.00/day: Sept. 17 - Nov. 15 and March 16 - June 15. US$ 10.65/day: Nov. 16 - March 15. We got a special three-month rate of US$ 9 a day from September 15 - ñ December 15. Before heading to Costa del Sol and the Mediterranean for the winter, we thought we would go up the Guadalquivir River and visit Sevilla for a few days. We got such a fantastic welcome at Marina Yachting, a small marina just inside the locks, and liked it so much that we ended up spending the winter there. There were only six cruisers in the marina, making up a nice little family community. Sevilla is a beautiful, old city with lots to see and do, so we had a great time. Our Spanish improved greatly after a three-month course, which was well worth the time, effort and investment. Not many boats winter in Sevilla, so moorage rates are low. We paid C$9 a day, including electricity and showers for three months. There is another popular marina with competitive rates at Gelves, just below the locks. The most obvious reason for wintering in the rivers is being in fresh water. The government runs most marinas in Spain. Facilities are similar and the rates are set at a standard of C$12 a day, including showers for boats under 12 meters in the low season. We left Spain in early April, so we did not pay attention to what the high season rates were. Inside the Med, there are private marinas and yacht clubs, but these are always more expensive than the government marinas. So far, we have found Spain (with the possible exception of Costa del Sol) to have the best prices and selection when it comes to food provisioning and eating out. But don't expect to get what you need in the way of marine equipment or parts, although things can be ordered. It took us two months to get a can of Blue Peter varnish at a cost of US$35! However, hardware stores are plentiful, very well stocked, and reasonably priced. In the spring, friends from Oslo, Marit and Knut Endresen, came to Sevilla for a "landlocked" holiday aboard. In the absence of beaches, sailing and swimming, we rented a car for a week and crisscrossed Andalucia. The scenery is varied with huge agricultural areas, miles and miles of olive plantations and hillsides dotted with forests, castles and whitewashed, steep villages or "pueblos blancos" with incredibly narrow streets and alleyways. Just before leaving Sevilla, we got caught in the fishing dispute between Canada and Spain. On returning to our boat from a land trip, we were surprised to find our Canadian flag gone. It turned out the marina manager had taken it down to prevent possible vandalism from irate Spaniards. The port captain had called the manager and told him to kick us out, but the manager told him we were actually Norwegians sailing a Canadian boat. He grudgingly let us stay, and from then on, we flew a Norwegian flag, a real no-no, but over here few people seem to know where Vancouver is anyway! On April 2, we left the safety of our Guadalquivir River winter hideaway. The second night out, we had a scary incident. Anne was on watch. At 0300, she was suddenly approached from behind by a very fast-moving craft, which blinded her with an enormously strong searchlight. It turned out to be the Spanish Customs Patrol. In rough seas, it came dangerously close and circled us many times until we asked them on the radio what they wanted. We were outside the 12-mile limit and technically speaking in international waters. They were obviously harassing us intentionally and nothing more came out of it. Gibraltar next. Copyright © Anne Brevig & Martin Vennesland. www.norsiglar.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NORWEGIAN 
Chief Officer prevision Norwegian "klippfisk" (dried cod) in Oporto. 
Finishing the Skippers Christmaspresent sailing up the Guadalquivir river. 