Cruise the Norway Fjords?

[rustybarge]

Hi All,
I've always been interested in a summer boat trip up the the Fjords, but after looking at this video I've changed my mind.

I believe there is some sort of boat tax if you visit Norway with a foreign boat?

All those exciting places to visit along a protected coastline sound fantastic, but is it just me or does it look very very boring?:ambivalence:

http://www.primewire.fr/external.ph...AyZGViZQ==&domain=ZGl2eHN0YWdlLmV1&loggedin=0

 

[IDAMAY]

Hi All,
I've always been interested in a summer boat trip up the the Fjords, but after looking at this video I've changed my mind.

I believe there is some sort of boat tax if you visit Norway with a foreign boat?

All those exciting places to visit along a protected coastline sound fantastic, but is it just me or does it look very very boring?:ambivalence:

http://www.primewire.fr/external.ph...AyZGViZQ==&domain=ZGl2eHN0YWdlLmV1&loggedin=0

Having cruised to Norway twice in our own boats - once to the fjords north and south of Bergen and in 2013 to the south coast, I can reassure you that it definitely isn't boring. That is unless you are looking to make passage between on set of bright lights and another. There isn't a tax on visiting boats. I think there was talk of introducing one for boats left there longer than six months or so but the Norwegians soon realised that this would discourage tourism.

There is a tax on alcohol brought into the country. On our first visit we arrived with over 100 bottles of wine on board but customs were not at all interested in us. Last year we were unfortunately boarded by customs who were awaiting the arrival of a ship. This was very unlucky but did result in payment of £90 in duty on the bottles we showed them. They were kind enough not to search the whole boat!

A few other points that are worth bearing in mind:

1. It is a long way, especially to the west coast. Our first cruise was 3200 nm and last year was 2300 nm. You will burn a lot of diesel.

2. Cost of living in Norway is high but mooring costs are low and often free. Marine diesel (dyed blue) is roughly the same price as UK.

3. Eating and drinking out is prohibitively expensive.

BUT:

4. The locals are reserved but very friendly, helpful and almost all speak good English.

5. Scenically you will not find anywhere better in Europe and there are literally thousands of miles of sheltered waters giving unrivalled cruising opportunities when you get there.

6. The weather on the south coast is better than the west. I was in shorts and T shirts pretty much every day from the beginning of June to the end of August.

Just in case you are interested in finding out more we made a blog of the whole cruise which can be found at:

www.oceanstarblog.co.uk

PM me if you have any more detailed questions.

Good boating.

Richard.

 

[rustybarge]

[There is a tax on alcohol brought into the country. On our first visit we arrived with over 100 bottles of wine on board but customs were not at all interested in us. Last year we were unfortunately boarded by customs who were awaiting the arrival of a ship. This was very unlucky but did result in payment of £90 in duty on the bottles we showed them. They were kind enough not to search the whole boat!/QUOTE]

Thanks for all that info
I visited norway many years ago to go skiing, Voss was the place i think. That was back in the 70's.....
Coming from Ireland we got a bit of a shock with the drink prices. My father was partial to a few drinks, as you are, only to discover that when you bought a bottle of booze you had to show your passport and it was logged in a special book. Seem to remember the allowance was two bottles of spirits per person per week.:nonchalance:

Luckily my two older sisters were over 18 so they got roped into the Whisky buying project.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of sunshine on the slopes, the snow was excellent.

Looking at the video, the landscape seems to get more and more desolate the further north you go....
It's a bit like the alps in France, the low parts are lovely, but the higher you go the darker the valleys get and the harsher the the scenery becomes.

Norway just looks very grey and desolate........

 

[IDAMAY]

Well, I don't seem to have done much of a persuasive job then! It's certainly true that Bergen is wet and the further north you go the less vegetation there is and the more snow there is, especially in winter. But remember that the Hurtigruten from which the video was shot starts in Bergen and finishes almost at the Russian border and rounds the North Cape way beyond the Arctic Circle. I have also taken the round trip on the Hurtigruten in April and found it a fascinating experience. When the sun shines (which it does) the world takes on a quite different hue!

Anyway, my recommendation for a first visit in your own boat would be to go to the south where the climate is more moderate and the scenery more verdant. You might get a taste for it.

I don't think the Vin Monopole rations drink nowadays but then again perhaps it doesn't need to as the price does the job!

 

[rustybarge]

. I have also taken the round trip on the Hurtigruten in April and found it a fascinating experience.

Just out of interest how much does it cost for a round trip, double cabin etc......[it's subsidized??]
Best idea would be to have a look first before bringing the boat.
I had a friend who went of a motorbike trip for 2 weeks, loved the experience, but they said it was expensive, but then the whole of Scandinavia is dear.

 

[IDAMAY]

Just out of interest how much does it cost for a round trip, double cabin etc......[it's subsidized??]
Best idea would be to have a look first before bringing the boat.
I had a friend who went of a motorbike trip for 2 weeks, loved the experience, but they said it was expensive, but then the whole of Scandinavia is dear.

Very much depends upon the cabin type and the time of year but we did the 12 day round trip for about £2000 each in an outside cabin in April. That included flights to Bergen, three or four excursions and a modicum of wine with meals. We took duty free wine (purchased at the airport) on board and drank that for pre dinner refreshment. You are allowed to take drink on board provided it is consumed in your cabin. We travelled with friends who had a suite which made the pre dinner experience very agreeable!

Like most cruises, there are often deals to be done and prices go up fairly dramatically from about mid April. If you do go make sure you go on one of the more modern ships as they occasionally use a couple of older ships that are not stabilised. I can't remember the names but they are readily identifiable as older vessels. We went on Midnatsol one of the larger and most modern in the fleet.

 

[Divemaster1]

........ If you do go make sure you go on one of the more modern ships as they occasionally use a couple of older ships that are not stabilised. I can't remember the names but they are readily identifiable as older vessels. We went on Midnatsol one of the larger and most modern in the fleet.

This may help ...

http://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/Ships/Ship-types/#millennium-ships

Edit: helps to add link...

 

[Piers]

Lin and I have just been on a Hurtigruten cruise from Bergen to Kirenes on one of their ferry/cruise ships. We flew to Oslo, caught the train over the mountains (seven glorious hours) and boarded their ship, Midnatsol.

Magnificent. Captivating. Want to do it again. 32 ports in 6 days.

The adventure starts here: http://www.playdeau.com/we-are-off-to-celebrate/

Have I said how good it was?

Piers

 

[IDAMAY]

Lin and I have just been on a Hurtigruten cruise from Bergen to Kirenes on one of their ferry/cruise ships. We flew to Oslo, caught the train over the mountains (seven glorious hours) and boarded their ship, Midnatsol.

Magnificent. Captivating. Want to do it again. 32 ports in 6 days.

The adventure starts here: http://www.playdeau.com/we-are-off-to-celebrate/

Have I said how good it was?

Piers

+1 Piers. We would do it at a different time of year next time to get a totally new perspective. We hope to be in Guernsey in Ocean Star sometime in April. It would be good to catch up. Will you be around?

Richard.

 

[rustybarge]

@Piers, Love your blog........
Looks like you had a fabulous time in Norway.

@Idamay, What was the winter like on the Algarve this year? I have fond memories of Tavira, I was there for two winters a few years ago.

 

[U4]

The Fjords are absolutly amazing - we spend a week last summer aboard a cruise ship cruising the area and we were absolutly blown away by its beauty.

It would be a truly amazing place to cruise your own boat and its on my personal bucket list to do this

 

[rustybarge]

The Fjords are absolutly amazing - we spend a week last summer aboard a cruise ship cruising the area and we were absolutly blown away by its beauty.

It would be a truly amazing place to cruise your own boat and its on my personal bucket list to do this

Another very positive report.......
I think they made the video when there wasn't much sun, which made everything look very dull especially in the deep sided Fjords.

 

[IDAMAY]

@Piers, Love your blog........
Looks like you had a fabulous time in Norway.

@Idamay, What was the winter like on the Algarve this year? I have fond memories of Tavira, I was there for two winters a few years ago.

Still on the Algarve as we speak. Back to Chichester in mid March. This winter has been somewhat cloudier and a bit wetter than last year or the year before. On the other hand it has been warmer too. We have had the fag end of many of the fronts going through the UK. On the whole though it has been a whole lot better than back "home."

Richard.

 

[rustybarge]

Still on the Algarve as we speak. Back to Chichester in mid March. This winter has been somewhat cloudier and a bit wetter than last year or the year before. On the other hand it has been warmer too. We have had the fag end of many of the fronts going through the UK. On the whole though it has been a whole lot better than back "home."

Richard.

I have been in the south of France since the end of December. Unfortunately the storms in the uk have also affected the weather here, and a low pressure zone has lingered over the Provence for the last two months. Couple sunny days a week in January, less in February.......very disappointing but a veritable Shangri-la in comparison to the UK hurricane season.

IMHO it's necessary to go further south to get good winter weather.

 

[sap_2000]

Just in case you are interested in finding out more we made a blog of the whole cruise which can be found at:

www.oceanstarblog.co.uk

Good boating.

Richard.

Great cruise report Richard! I really enjoyed reading through the whole report and a lot of the pictures was very familiar.
We started our holiday at the end of June from Oslo heading down the south coast, so i guess we missed you by a few days.
Not ofte we get to see a UK mobo here so would have loved to have a chat and shared some "secret" locations

The south coast is far more busy in July wich can be both good and bad. Our holiday took us down many of the same straights as in your pics. We turned around in Farsund on the SW coast, then back up to Risør where we crossed over to the Koster islands on the Swedish NW coast.
Then down to Lysekil / Kärringön where crossed over to Læsø island on a beautiful night passage. Then down Ålborg and back up to Fredrikshavn where the forecast told us we would run out of summer, so we went direct from Fredrikshavn - Færder - Oslo. We have a displacement Trawler that cruises economically at 6,5-7 knots (1,2 l/nm) so the 150 nm took about 23 hours.

We bought the boat last winter in Holland and took her home in April very much the same route as you did. An unforgettable experience it was

Thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed reading it.

 

[IDAMAY]

Great cruise report Richard! I really enjoyed reading through the whole report and a lot of the pictures was very familiar.
We started our holiday at the end of June from Oslo heading down the south coast, so i guess we missed you by a few days.
Not ofte we get to see a UK mobo here so would have loved to have a chat and shared some "secret" locations

The south coast is far more busy in July wich can be both good and bad. Our holiday took us down many of the same straights as in your pics. We turned around in Farsund on the SW coast, then back up to Risør where we crossed over to the Koster islands on the Swedish NW coast.
Then down to Lysekil / Kärringön where crossed over to Læsø island on a beautiful night passage. Then down Ålborg and back up to Fredrikshavn where the forecast told us we would run out of summer, so we went direct from Fredrikshavn - Færder - Oslo. We have a displacement Trawler that cruises economically at 6,5-7 knots (1,2 l/nm) so the 150 nm took about 23 hours.

We bought the boat last winter in Holland and took her home in April very much the same route as you did. An unforgettable experience it was

Thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed reading it.

Glad you enjoyed it. As you say it would have been good to meet. We didn't meet another UK based mobo after we left Zeeland in the Netherlands until we got back there two months or so later. I think we only met a couple of UK based yachts in the same area. One of them, though, we had by coincidence met in Brittany a year earlier. Small world. I don't think we will be coming back your way anytime soon but you never know......

Enjoy your 2014 season. If the weather is anything like 2013 you will!

Richard.

 

[Nautibusiness]

A few years ago I delivered a power cat from Cornwall to Tromsoe up in the far north of Norway.

It still remains my most memorable delivery ever.
Stunning (STUNNING!) scenery and lovely people.
Fish Eagles flew with us, Moose at the side of the fjord, we caught fish to eat and had an amazing trip.

Rounding the western cape remains the roughest stretch (about 10 miles or so) of water I have ever been in on a small boat, but to be greeted by the midnight sub that was hidden just beneath the cliff made the roller coaster ride worthwhile.

Glaciers, Mountings, fascinating towns, pretty villages, stunning fjords.

 

[rustybarge]

A few years ago I delivered a power cat from Cornwall to Tromsoe up in the far north of Norway.

It still remains my most memorable delivery ever.
Stunning (STUNNING!) scenery and lovely people.
Fish Eagles flew with us, Moose at the side of the fjord, we caught fish to eat and had an amazing trip.

Rounding the western cape remains the roughest stretch (about 10 miles or so) of water I have ever been in on a small boat, but to be greeted by the midnight sub that was hidden just beneath the cliff made the roller coaster ride worthwhile.

Glaciers, Mountings, fascinating towns, pretty villages, stunning fjords.

That cat looks like a serious piece of kit, did you experience any bridge deck slamming[seems low in the photo's] when the going got rough?
What sort of range did it have to get across the north sea?

 

[Nautibusiness]

That cat looks like a serious piece of kit, did you experience any bridge deck slamming[seems low in the photo's] when the going got rough?
What sort of range did it have to get across the north sea?

Hi RB

She's a Powerglide 43 built by Rod Baker in Wadebridge. Rod is the original designer of the enormously popular charter fishing boat the Offshore 105.

The hull is a displacement form, wave piercing rather than planing.
At almost any speed from 12 knots through to 21 knots she returned 3 litres per nm.
WOT was only 24 to 25 knots, but with a cruise of 21 knots for such frugal fuel consumption from her 2 x Iveco 285Hp engines you didn't need more.
She was built for charter fishing around the islands of Skjervoy and Arnoy and out into the open sea.
In addition she was designed for eco tourism (Glacier trekking / skiiing etc) and documentary filming - Chris Tarrant amongst others has spent a fair bit of time onboard.

She's far from glamourous being very basic (a'la angling boat) inside, but she is absolutely, totally flat running, in any usual sea that fits beneath the hulls. There is literally no movement at all.

Ours was slightly out of balance in that we had asked for the entire accomodation to be moved off centre to allow for a 1.5m walk way down the port side.
This meant that she sat marginally bow down on the starboard hull. As it is, most of Rods powerglides look a fraction bow down (I've suggested mounting the engines further aft and running v drives, but he's not keen on the idea). We levelled her out with a fair bit of ballast in the starboard quarter.

She's a little tender in a big following sea. To the ill prepared this can be quite nerve racking as the sharp bows will dig in and if off centre she will try and broach coming off a wave, but with an hour or so of practise you can anticipate the boats movements well ahead and counter anything that is coming.
She doesn't slam at all dropping off a wave. It's a little surreal, almost like you are on hydraulic rams with just enough forward bouyancy to stop the drop before the main centre part of the hull hits the water, however in a really steep, tall, chop it can knock the stuffing out of you as the wave hits the underside and you get forced upwards.

We encountered all sorts of seas on the 2103nm delivery (which went via the Kiel Canal due to F9s in the North Sea.
Along the south coast specifically the Needles Channel I learned about her characteristics in a following sea. That was intersting in the pitch dark having left Poole ar about 22.15.

As we left Dem Helder, our first fuel stop since Poole, again in the pitch dark we had +/- 4m rolling swells right on the bow. They were rolling towards us as we steemed towards them so the closing speed was fairly high. This was a little uncomfortable - for me as I was trying to sleep in a space I called my cabin under the dashboard. I woke to find I'd been hurled halfway down the saloon and was still in my sleeping bag as the next one hit taking one of the windscreen wipers clean off. I told the guy at the helm, Oistein Arne Mikelson the owners friendly Norwegian skipper and engineer, to slow down a bit at that point and then went back to bed.
We were averaging 333nm between fillups and at that range we were running with about 80nm of fuel in reserve.

River Elbe and the Baltic were all rather benign and by the time we ran from East to West along the Skaggerak the main blow in the North Sea was over and we simply had a F5/6 bang on the nose with a nasty chop of about 1.5m. Again at night and trying to maintain speed this is where I discovered how to knock the wind out of yourself. These were the punchy little waves that were the most uncomfortable. They weren't dramatic in anyway, but they were taller than the underside of the hull and they did hit hard.

3 days stuck in Stavanger whilst the owner registered the boat as the world volley ball championships were taking place and I just managed to pick a mooring right next to one of the courts...

As said, the fjords were beautiful and a trip I will remember for ever.
The Western Cape saw massive +/-15m seas with short breaking crests. By this time, Oistein and myself both had the boat sussed and were quite happy motoring with these on our port quarter. We spend most of the time squealing like kids on a roller coaster as we surfed wave after wave. Holger, the owner was less happy as he managed to steam the windows up down the entire port side where he was stood clenching a grab rail so hard his knuckles went white.
And then the midnight sun and daylight for the rest of my trip...

Oslo was 28 degrees when I landed on the first leg of my flight home.
Tromsoe was about 8 degrees when I left.

 

[rustybarge]

Hi RB

She's a Powerglide 43 built by Rod Baker in Wadebridge. Rod is the original designer of the enormously popular charter fishing boat the Offshore 105.

The hull is a displacement form, wave piercing rather than planing.
At almost any speed from 12 knots through to 21 knots she returned 3 litres per nm.
WOT was only 24 to 25 knots, but with a cruise of 21 knots for such frugal fuel consumption from her 2 x Iveco 285Hp engines you didn't need more.
She was built for charter fishing around the islands of Skjervoy and Arnoy and out into the open sea.
In addition she was designed for eco tourism (Glacier trekking / skiiing etc) and documentary filming - Chris Tarrant amongst others has spent a fair bit of time onboard.

She's far from glamourous being very basic (a'la angling boat) inside, but she is absolutely, totally flat running, in any usual sea that fits beneath the hulls. There is literally no movement at all.

Ours was slightly out of balance in that we had asked for the entire accomodation to be moved off centre to allow for a 1.5m walk way down the port side.
This meant that she sat marginally bow down on the starboard hull. As it is, most of Rods powerglides look a fraction bow down (I've suggested mounting the engines further aft and running v drives, but he's not keen on the idea). We levelled her out with a fair bit of ballast in the starboard quarter.

She's a little tender in a big following sea. To the ill prepared this can be quite nerve racking as the sharp bows will dig in and if off centre she will try and broach coming off a wave, but with an hour or so of practise you can anticipate the boats movements well ahead and counter anything that is coming.
She doesn't slam at all dropping off a wave. It's a little surreal, almost like you are on hydraulic rams with just enough forward bouyancy to stop the drop before the main centre part of the hull hits the water, however in a really steep, tall, chop it can knock the stuffing out of you as the wave hits the underside and you get forced upwards.

We encountered all sorts of seas on the 2103nm delivery (which went via the Kiel Canal due to F9s in the North Sea.
Along the south coast specifically the Needles Channel I learned about her characteristics in a following sea. That was intersting in the pitch dark having left Poole ar about 22.15.

As we left Dem Helder, our first fuel stop since Poole, again in the pitch dark we had +/- 4m rolling swells right on the bow. They were rolling towards us as we steemed towards them so the closing speed was fairly high. This was a little uncomfortable - for me as I was trying to sleep in a space I called my cabin under the dashboard. I woke to find I'd been hurled halfway down the saloon and was still in my sleeping bag as the next one hit taking one of the windscreen wipers clean off. I told the guy at the helm, Oistein Arne Mikelson the owners friendly Norwegian skipper and engineer, to slow down a bit at that point and then went back to bed.
We were averaging 333nm between fillups and at that range we were running with about 80nm of fuel in reserve.

River Elbe and the Baltic were all rather benign and by the time we ran from East to West along the Skaggerak the main blow in the North Sea was over and we simply had a F5/6 bang on the nose with a nasty chop of about 1.5m. Again at night and trying to maintain speed this is where I discovered how to knock the wind out of yourself. These were the punchy little waves that were the most uncomfortable. They weren't dramatic in anyway, but they were taller than the underside of the hull and they did hit hard.

3 days stuck in Stavanger whilst the owner registered the boat as the world volley ball championships were taking place and I just managed to pick a mooring right next to one of the courts...

As said, the fjords were beautiful and a trip I will remember for ever.
The Western Cape saw massive +/-15m seas with short breaking crests. By this time, Oistein and myself both had the boat sussed and were quite happy motoring with these on our port quarter. We spend most of the time squealing like kids on a roller coaster as we surfed wave after wave. Holger, the owner was less happy as he managed to steam the windows up down the entire port side where he was stood clenching a grab so hard his knuckles went white.
And then the midnight sun and daylight for the rest of my trip...

Oslo was 28 degrees when I landed on the first leg of my flight home.
Tromsoe was about 8 degrees when I left.

So few people have ever made such an epic trip in such a small boat in those conditions, what a fantastic narrative.

1.5mpg in a 43' boat is really excellent fuel economy, and all on twin 285hp engines....I can't understand why it is that the cat concept is ignored by most uk boaters, as it seems to deliver some fantastic advantages. I'm sure most mobo owners still believe that cats are not seaworthy craft, well I think you have finally put that stereotype to bed. Of course nearly every wind farm vessel is a cat operating right through the winter period no problem, and the proof is in the eating, as they say!

Thanks again for posting that interesting story of your trip.:encouragement: