Rørvik to Kristiansund

The Sørgjæalingan archipelago

It was an easy 16nm sail from Rørvik to Sørgjæalingan, although a tortuous entrance to the harbour from the north.  The Sørgjæalingan archipelago comprises about eighty islands.  The main group is a former fishing community, which used to have ca. a thousand seasonal residents.  Now there are just a handful with no proper shop or inn but a few summer visitors – probably descendants of former residents.

We enjoyed the quiet and the views.

Annsteinsundet

After a 42nm passage with an overnight stop in Villa, we came to Annsteinsundet.  This very pretty anchorage is between a group of islets.

Each has one or two houses with their own pontoon.  Access is entirely by water, even when visiting a neighbour.

Trondheim

Two more passages brought us to Trondheim, which lies 25nm into the Trondheimfjord.  This extensive fjord has a narrowish neck and the tidal flow in and out is significant. 

Trondheim was the capital of Norway in the Viking era.   The cathedral was built over the grave of Olave, the patron saint of Norway. A rebuild after the tower collapsed took influence from English cathedrals. Constitutionally, it was where coronations took place although a simpler inauguration occurs here these days. The old town is situated on the River Nidelva.  We have seen elsewhere how dwellings are built out over the rocky shore.  Here dwellings/warehouses have been built out over the river bank.

We enjoyed five days here and visited the sights, including the Stiftsgården royal residence, the Nidarosdomn cathedral and the art museum.

Trondheim is very bike friendly and we whizzed around with ease. Norwegian drivers stop for pedestrians and cyclists when you even think about crossing. And they stop a couple of lengths back to leave a clear view. But you have to watch out for the foreign drivers!

There was just a day of fair wind to get from Trondheim to Kristiansund and it was up to gale force 8. We normally avoid such strong winds but with the staysail instead of the genoa and all three reefs in the main we had a manageable if exciting 74nm passage until the wind ran out as forecast. We spent two nights at anchor sitting out calm and rain before completing the passage to Kristiansund.

Here we are waiting for Tony’s daughter Sarah to join us.

That’s the news for now.

love Tony & Ynskje

Tracklog here.