Observations

Though we contemplated a layover day because it was so idyllic, we left Tallakshavn around 9 a.m. Wednesday via a back door channel letting out to the southeast. We needed to be in Stavanger in eight days to meet Martin and Dawn, our first guests (read “crew”), and we weren’t quite sure whether our pace was too fast, too slow, or just right to make it there in time. The forecast called for a continuation of the fine summer weather, with no storms in sight. But I figured that could change quickly, and if it did we’d be forced to layover a day or two, so we'd better move along while we could. The only downer in the forecast was that the easterlies we enjoyed off Sweden’s Gold Coast had left us and the prevailing wind, albeit light, was now in our teeth.

As the wind was not cooperating, we motored for several miles on a west-southwest course. Lighthouses stood as sentries guarding rocky points along the coast. The wind increased to 15 knots by 1 p.m., and we decided we’d had enough motoring. We set sail, even though it meant tacking into the wind. After about an hour, we started looking for an alternative anchorage as bucking the headwind left us two undesirable choices – either make slow progress tacking or endure a rough ride motoring.

We had bought an e-book entitled “Norwegian Cruising Guide” and a second volume simply entitled “Norway,” both of which offered good information on all sorts of cruising topics, including anchorages. We consulted these guides, and both described nearby Jomfruland, a three-mile-long, sandy island created by a glacial moraine, as attractive. We steered behind it, doused the sails, and motored along its shore, looking for an anchorage. We could find no sheltered coves, however, because the wind and the narrow island were perfectly aligned so there was no lee shore. We exited the island’s southwest channel and resumed our offshore course.

We resolved to make it all the way to Risor, the destination we originally intended for the day. We gritted our teeth as we battled wind and waves for 15 more miles at seven knots. Windleblo responded fearlessly. Finally, we turned into the entrance to the Risor basin. We anchored in a sheltered pool surrounded by islands just east of town. Anchoring went smoothly. I dove in the cool, clear water to check the anchor while Jocelyn improvised a delicious calzone-style dish using Norwegian ingredients. The wind died as the evening wore on.

We awoke early to lifting fog and slipped our anchor by 7:15. The GRIB files showed light winds through the morning building to 10 knots in the afternoon. The good news – they would be from the east, so we would finally have wind heading our direction. We left the quaint red-roofed, whitewashed buildings of Risor behind as we motored out to the southwest course to Kristiansand, our next destination.

We ate a scrambled egg and boiled potato breakfast while underway. Then, we each dozed below as the other stood watch. By 1 p.m. the wind had built sufficiently to unfurl the sails and kill the engine. Now, the only sound we heard was the slap of the waves on the hull as we glided along at 4 knots. Two hours later, we entered Kristainsand harbor and found the guest berths.

It was immediately apparent that we had landed in the middle of a citywide party. Throngs of people, mostly young, were in town for a huge weekend festival. And we had backstage passes! Well, behind backstage, actually. The stage backed right up to our marina, and the music washed right over us. Many of the nearby boats were full of revelers awaiting the prime time performers. We learned that the Black Eyed Peas were tonight’s feature, and Ozzie Osbourne would appear over the weekend.

Our shore leave took us through the older part of town. Judy Lomax, author of the "Norway" cruising guide, tells us that Kristiansand was founded in 1641 by Danish King Christian IV, to strengthen his coastal defenses. We couldn’t miss the Christianholm Festning, a squat fortress with a round tower and earth and stone ramparts, which sits on the waterfront adjacent to our marina. The grid system of streets was built on a backfilled marsh, much like Boston’s Back Bay. The architecture felt distinctly Danish as we strolled around the city.

We eventually arrived at the pedestrian promenade in the center of town. Here, the stores, restaurants, and promenade were thick with people, many wearing plastic wristbands marking them as festival goers. It seemed like everyone in this town of 77,000 must have been on the promenade this night. The weather was perfect – warm but not hot, and not a cloud in the sky.

Though we toyed with the notion of checking out the festival more closely, we had had a long day, and we knew we would have no trouble hearing the music from our perch aboard Windleblo, so we headed back to the boat and prepared a taco dinner. We had purchased some of the taco ingredients at an ICA while ashore, the first Scandinavian grocery store we thought sub-par.

Observation #1: Thus far, we have been highly impressed with the quality of the food found in all the grocery stores. With the exception of tonight’s ICA, every grocery seems of Whole Foods quality. The produce is incredibly fresh, the bread divine, the meats and cheeses gourmet, and everything in incredible variety. Once prepared, the meals here are more fresh and flavorful. Initially, we thought it was just our imagination, what with everything so unfamiliar. But even the small store in Ellos had an marvelous selection. Hopefully, tonight’s ICA was an anomaly.

Observation #2: The Scandinavian people. Particularly in Sweden, everyone seemed blond, thin, and beautiful. The Norwegians appear a bit rougher, with a few “weathered” faces sprinkled in, but even here folks are all attractive. Rarely do you see someone smoking. And there are very few addicts or ruffians, even in the festival crowd. Far more people, even those that look like they might be “mainstream,” sport tattoos and body piercings, though. There are very few people of color, though occasionally I notice families obviously from a Muslim part of the world, but these people usually segregate themselves.

Observation #3: An equally remarkable thing is that everyone speaks English, or so it seems. Whenever I need directions, I simply stop the closest Norwegian and ask. Invariably, I get a polite answer in unbroken, usually American accented English. The rare exception is when I ask an older person. The young people all speak excellent English, which is very handy as I don’t speak a lick of Norwegian. (Jocelyn bought a English-Norwegian dictionary to help decipher printed matter, but I can’t even begin to make sense of it.) Imagine how an American would react if someone stopped him or her in the street and asked for directions in Norwegian!

Observation #4: Each town has at its center an incredibly large church. It’s as if each town is competing to show it is more pious than the next by building a bigger church than their neighbor.

Observation #5: A final observation today concerns the use of credit cards. Every time we swipe our card at the store, we are asked for a “KOD,” or PIN. This occurs for all cards, not just debit cards. Apparently, this is the norm throughout Europe as a fraud prevention measure. When we tell the merchant we do not have a KOD, they simply ask us for our identification, we sign the credit card slip, and the transaction is complete. So the absence of the KOD does not interfere too terribly bad, though we have on occasion had to use a different credit card to complete a transaction.

We’re bound to register more observations, which we will attempt to relate as we do.