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Indrefjord

Our initial plan for cruising Norway was to run straight north to Tromsø with few diversions en route, and to tour the Norwegian fjords on our return trip south. But we decided to take a few days to explore 115-mile Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway. This time of year the mountains would still have…

North to Sognefjord

From our first Norwegian anchorage at Vorlandsvagen, we ran 105 miles north past Bergen to the mouth of Sognefjord in two day trips. Over that time we completed a few chores, explored in the tender, and enjoyed the relaxed running through Norway’s sheltered and scenic ‘inner lead’. En route we passed ships of all sizes…

Tender Rigging

After 9 years of hard use and over 550 hours, we decided to purchase a new tender and we picked it up in Harlingen, Netherlands. It was long past time to replace our tender with the final straw being an eight-inch complete seam blow-out in the cold Orkney Islands group in Scotland. Our goal was…

The Netherlands to Norway

From the Netherlands we made a 500-mile, 3-night run to Norway with a pitstop in Helgoland, Germany for duty-free fuel. Conditions for the first two days were wonderfully calm and for the final night were rough in tight seas on the bow with pitching to 20.5° as we closed on the Norwegian coast. But we…

Harlingen, NL

Our main reason for stopping in Harlingen, NL was that it was convenient for picking up our new tender en route to Norway. Harlingen worked out splendidly for that purpose, but it also was an excellent stop overall. We enjoyed the city’s many waterfront restaurants and made several interesting side trips, including a tender trip…

Afsluitdijk Dam

The 20-mile (32km) Afsluitdijk dam, completed in 1932, protects the Netherlands coast from flooding and provides an important source of freshwater by transforming the saltwater bay Zuiderzee into a freshwater lake renamed IJsselmeer. The dam also provides an important road link between the provinces of Friesland, where Harlingen is, and North Holland. An easy bike…

Harlingen Canals

We set of from Harlingen just past 7am on a warm and sunny day to test the new tender on a longer trip and to enjoy the inland canals. After passing through the sea lock, we spent several hours touring the narrow and shallow inland canals, passing through small towns and alongside old-style Dutch windmills….

Harlingen Harbors

After Boot Akkrum delivered our new tender, we went out on a tour of the Harlingen harbors to get the new Honda 50 broken in quickly. We found a lot there—Harlingen businesses include Dutch shipbuilder Icon Yachts, several boat yards with focus on the offshore oil industry, and barge offloading facilities. Below are trip highlights…

London, UK to Harlingen, NL

From London we made a 267-mile run to Harlingen, NL to pickup our new tender before continuing on to Norway. We spent a peaceful night anchored at Stangate Creek near the mouth of the Thames before making an overnight run to Harlingen so that we would arrive in the morning on a rising tide. Except…

St. Katharine Docks

St. Katharine Docks in London was a fabulous base for a winter visit to London. In addition to the marina, the St. Katharine Docks complex includes nearly a dozen excellent restaurants, is adjacent to the Tower of London, within walking distance of many other local attractions and restaurants, and convenient to public transport. And the…