Faroe Island Passage Planing and Cruising resources

[eebygum]

It's my 61st year this year and Vivendi my S7S designed SHE32C is 50 years old, so together we are heading to the Faroe Islands @61.50N this summer to celebrate !

I've compiled a list of information sources to help plan which I thought it maybe useful for anybody else planning a similar trip, so sharing here.

If you think I've missed any useful resources then please add as a comment.

SV Vivendi
Vivendi
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Cruising notes
Where the Sun never sets! - Sailing Today
Passage to The Faroe Islands
Sailing in the Arctic: how to cruise to the far north - Yachting Monthly
Planning a passage

Faroe Sailing Videos

ErikAanderaa WHEN NATURE STRIKES BACK in Faroe Islands

ErikAanderaa Sailing from Shetland to the Faroe Islands

ErikAanderaa Sailing from Iceland to Faroe Islands. Gale force Chaos! 27 mins in

Sailing solo to the Faroe Islands

Patrick Laine: Ep 27 Sailing from Shetland to Faroe Islands Solo

Sailing around the Faroe Islands – Stunning scenery
Sailing around the Faroe Islands

Sailing the Faroe Islands:
Sailing the Faroe Islands: WE SAILED INTO A FAIRYTALE - Ep 108

Solo Sailing from Orkney to the Faroes
https://youtu.be

Faroe marinas
Natural harbours and marinas in Faroe Islands

Noonsite | Faroe Islands

Visiting Yachts - Port of Tórshavn

Marina Vestmanna on Navily

Yacht Club:
Tórshavnar Bátafelag, Bryggjubakki 20 - 100 Tórshavn - Box 3108 – Faroe Islands.Email; batur@post.olivant.fo

English Site | Tórshavnar Bátafelag

Tidetables

Tide tables | Center for Ocean and Ice |

AIS and currents
fishIn.fo

5 Day ocean weather forecasts
DMI Ocean and Ice [Model Animations]

Interesting Cruising Blogs with passages to Faroe
A Day On Suderoy
Faroes – Sumara of Weymouth

Iphone App for weather
‎Yr.no

Faroe Red Book (Tides)
Tidal Atlas For Faroes

Pilot Guide Imray Arctic Waters
Arctic and Northern Waters: Amazon.co.uk: Wilkes, Andrew: 9781846239311: Books

BBC Radio 4 podcast

Excellent 3 part series on a walking tour of the Faroe Islands
Sound Walk - Faroe Islands Sound Walk - Vágar: The postman’s trail - BBC Sounds
Sound Walk - Faroe Islands Sound Walk - Suðuroy: The weather will decide - BBC Sounds
BBC Sounds - Sound Walk - Available Episodes

Faroe Hiking Maps
Map of the Faroe Islands

Faroe Tourist Guides
Brochures and videos
Guide to Faroe Islands
Visit Faroe Islands
http://visittorshavn.fo/en/

Faroe Blog sites
https://the-faroe-islands.squarespace.com/blog
https://www.facebook.com/myfaroeislands

Faroe Telecoms
https://www.ft.fo/en/

Faroese Language
https://faroeseonline.com/
https://www.faroeislands.fo/the-big-picture/news/foreigners-can-now-learn-faroese-free-online/

Faroe Festivals
Ólavsøka midsummer festival
https://www.fiftydegreesnorth.com/uk/article/planning-your-faroe-islands-holiday-29-july

General Faroe Information
https://www.reddit.com/r/FaroeIslands/comments/8dq31f/general_info_when_traveling_to_the_faroes/

Faroe Facebook Groups
https://en-gb.facebook.com/Faroes/
https://www.facebook.com/myfaroeislands/

The Faroes Island Podcast
http://www.faroepodcast.com/

Classic Faroe Books of Fiction
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Land-Far...MI86P-nsXT-wIVTO3tCh30wQcSEAQYAiABEgKfEPD_BwE

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Old-Man-...MIv_Tdy8bT-wIVweDtCh1CsAAyEAQYAyABEgKmuPD_BwE

 

[westhinder]

Many thanks for sharing

 

[Sandy]

What charts are you using?

I sail with Andrew Wilkes from time to time; a real gentleman.

 

[Roberto]

There is also this app with tidal streams, it's called "Rák", it can be found on the Play Store, you must use the precise spelling with the accented "á"
https://www.researchgate.net/project/Tidal-current-app-for-the-coastal-waters-in-the-Faroe-Islands.

 

[eebygum]

What charts are you using?

I sail with Andrew Wilkes from time to time; a real gentleman.

I have paper charts for the whole of Scotland on Admirality leisure folios’s, but I will just be using Navionics for the Faroe Islands which are setup on three different devices.

I’m not sure I want to invest in the Imray Arctic, Greenland, Iceland Guide as I think the Faroe Islands only makes up about 20 pages.

 

[eebygum]

There is also this app with tidal streams, it's called "Rák", it can be found on the Play Store, you must use the precise spelling with the accented "á"
https://www.researchgate.net/project/Tidal-current-app-for-the-coastal-waters-in-the-Faroe-Islands.

Yes I have Rák App installed on my iPhone, it’s not the most intuitive application to use !

 

[Motor_Sailor]

Yes I have Rák App installed on my iPhone, it’s not the most intuitive application to use !

I didn't want to say that in case it was just me. The paper tidal flow book is £47 but at least the information it contains is usable.

 

[Sandy]

I have paper charts for the whole of Scotland on Admirality leisure folios’s, but I will just be using Navionics for the Faroe Islands which are setup on three different devices.

I’m not sure I want to invest in the Imray Arctic, Greenland, Iceland Guide as I think the Faroe Islands only makes up about 20 pages.

Thanks for letting me know.

The Faroes is a maybe trip this summer, I refuse to sail with just electronic charts - tried it sailing from Lowestoft to Peterhead and felt very uneasy not being able to look at a big chart.

 

[Koeketiene]

The Faroes is a maybe trip this summer, I refuse to sail with just electronic charts - tried it sailing from Lowestoft to Peterhead and felt very uneasy not being able to look at a big chart.

I must admit I share your misgivings about sailing just with electronic charts and have paper charts for chosen cruising areas.
Yet... in practice I barely look at them.
Even though I keep the chart of the current area in a waterproof folio in the cockpit.
In practice, it's electronic all the way.
Navionics on the plotter at the chart table and on 2 tablets (one in use in the cockpit and the other charging).
In all honesty, next time I change cruising area I probably won't bother with paper charts.

 

[steveeasy]

Thanks for sharing all the information. Will be very interesting following your progress in planning the trip.
steveeasy

 

[eebygum]

I must admit I share your misgivings about sailing just with electronic charts and have paper charts for chosen cruising areas.
Yet... in practice I barely look at them.
Even though I keep the chart of the current area in a waterproof folio in the cockpit.
In practice, it's electronic all the way.
Navionics on the plotter at the chart table and on 2 tablets (one in use in the cockpit and the other charging).
In all honesty, next time I change cruising area I probably won't bother with paper charts.

Exactly my position. I’ve always had paper charts but honestly I don’t think I’ve looked at them in the last four years and that includes a circumnavigation of Ireland and sailing to Orkney and back.

Last year I bit the bullet and never bought them for my trip over to Brittany and the Channel Islands (I did have various pilot guides). Did I miss them ? Absolutely not.

The Faroe Islands will be a new cruising area which I think costs around £90+ plus on Navionics; so on my shoestring sailing that’s enough for me.

 

[westhinder]

I must admit I share your misgivings about sailing just with electronic charts and have paper charts for chosen cruising areas.
Yet... in practice I barely look at them.
Even though I keep the chart of the current area in a waterproof folio in the cockpit.
In practice, it's electronic all the way.
Navionics on the plotter at the chart table and on 2 tablets (one in use in the cockpit and the other charging).
In all honesty, next time I change cruising area I probably won't bother with paper charts.

Same here, I have always insisted on having all the relevant paper charts and the chart will be on the chart table, but in practice I navigate electronically. Plotter under the sprayhood, IPad and phone with Navionics as backup. I do keep a written log when on passage.

 

[penfold]

Thanks for letting me know.

The Faroes is a maybe trip this summer, I refuse to sail with just electronic charts - tried it sailing from Lowestoft to Peterhead and felt very uneasy not being able to look at a big chart.

Rocks don't move, perhaps old Admiralty charts might be a reasonable option.

 

[westhinder]

Rocks don't move, perhaps old Admiralty charts might be a reasonable option.

This is what I did for my circumnavigation of Britain, I have a complete set of cancelled Admirality charts. I bought them off a guy who sourced them from ships which were required to replace their charts when a new edition was published. Unfortunately that source seems to have dried up, all big ships having moved to fully electronic navigation.

 

[steveeasy]

With limited knowledge, I feel paper charts are an absolute necessity. Last year on my failed attempt to sail to the Azores I took a fair bit of stick for buying a chart for the Atlantic. My mate said its just open sea,

If you rely on your chartplotter and it takes a funny turn for the worse, You need a paper chart to plot your position. I Had on board a GPS with Coordinates as a back up for this. without a paper chart to plot your position you could end up pretty much anywhere. When im cruising its quite satisfying plotting your position and not just looking on the screen.

Steveeasy

 

[Gadget257]

I sailed to Torshaven last year. Interpreting the tide and overfalls is a dark art even with the RAK app and the Red Book as the calculations are based on Moon Mer Pass rather than tide times. I was fortunate to speak to the Bosun of the Faroes lifeboat and even he had to phone a friend to interpret the local tide conditions on our departure.

Top tips
- Mooring in Torshaven is typical Scandinavian pay and display and the showers are in the road behind the water frontage and from the outside look as if you are going into someone's home.

- The Port Control in Torshaven are very friendly and willing to chat and advise (their office on the top of tower has the most amazing views).

Enjoy, I would love to go back sometime.

 

[eebygum]

With limited knowledge, I feel paper charts are an absolute necessity. Last year on my failed attempt to sail to the Azores I took a fair bit of stick for buying a chart for the Atlantic. My mate said its just open sea,

If you rely on your chartplotter and it takes a funny turn for the worse, You need a paper chart to plot your position. I Had on board a GPS with Coordinates as a back up for this. without a paper chart to plot your position you could end up pretty much anywhere. When im cruising its quite satisfying plotting your position and not just looking on the screen.

Steveeasy

On reflection I think your right ?

I did buy a North Sea chart for passage recording on my trip to Norway a few years ago for that exact reason.

I think the best chart to buy for passage recording will be the Admirality Chart 245 Scotland to Iceland.

Anybody got a copy they want to sell ?

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Thanks for letting me know.

The Faroes is a maybe trip this summer, I refuse to sail with just electronic charts - tried it sailing from Lowestoft to Peterhead and felt very uneasy not being able to look at a big chart.

I had a similar experience recently on a charter holiday based in Martinique. The charter was "peer to peer" and the owner ( of one month), assured me that "all the charts are on board". Yes, there were all the charts that the previous owner had used when in the Med and when crossing the pond, plus a passage chart for the whole Windward-Leeward archipelago. The local charts were on two plotters and using them without familiarity with the use of those plotters caused some stressfull moments.
I normally navigate/pilot using paper charts and an old A-series Raymarine plotter at the chart table as back-up.
I now realise that I need to get some training in modern electronics. I did have an RYA plotter simulator programme with my Coastal Skipper Theory Course many years ago, but unfortunately Saint Tom's tutorial kept sending me to sleep?

 

[steveeasy]

Just visiting this old thread to see if anyone made it to the Faroes.
I’m reluctantly leaving the west coast of Scotland this year to return to lake Solent. I feel I’ve missed so much including this little adventure. So I’m pondering one last Hooley and am interested in any thing or advice on best places to visit. Just anything anyone would like to share on the trip.
Steveeasy

 

[Slipstream 34]

We made it up to the Faeros last year. Definitely worth a visit.!