June 20 – 26, 2025
This year’s summer sail goes to the south coast of Norway. We were there two years ago, as far as to Mandal. This is past the southernmost point on the mainland, Lindesnes, but there is much more to see and to explore further east. We will see how far we will get. Daughter Signe Elisabeth and her children will join us for some days, and we will visit friends and see places which we otherwise might not have visited. Then there are two events which I hope to stop at too: Tall Ships’ Races in Kristiansand July 30 to August 2, and the wooden boat festival in Risør the week after.
I started out from home Friday June 20, to go to Tananger which is a convenient starting point for the long leg around Jæren and the regions beyond. There are only a few places to stop along this coastline of around 60 nautical miles. The forecast looked favourable, and I hoped we would be able to make it to Flekkefjord in one day.
Tananger to Flekkefjord, June 21.
After a leisurely evening, with a visit to Ellen’s relatives in Tananger (and a retired professor at the University of Stavanger, where I worked until last year), and a good night’s sleep, we were ready to start a long day’s sail around the open coast line. Jostein Vedøy, from Talgje, arrived 7.30, and we left the marina at 7.45. Jostein is a carpenter and a boat builder/repairer. He built kayaks in his youth, together with his friends, and even put sails on them. But he had not sailed in a bigger boat, so he was happy to join me when I asked. Gladly, we had many hours of good sailing that day!
The wind was light from the north east. The first few miles we headed south west, until we cleared the nearby islands and some shallows. We rolled out the genoa, but with the light wind behind us, we also made use of the engine to gain some speed. After all, we aimed to reach Flekkefjord before nightfall.
Early afternoon, the wind picked up. We rolled in the genoa and set the gennaker. This is a light sail for catching wind from behind. Gradually the speed increased, and when we eventually could switch off the engine, we had a quiet and joyful sail for many hours. At around 14.00 we passed the light house at Eigerøya. Behind this is Egersund town, a good place to stop if we should need so. But seeing that we could make it to Flekkefjord may be around nine, we kept on.
The inlets to Flekkefjord pass behind the island of Hidra, which we visited in 2023 (see Older posts). From there, there was not enough wind to sail by, so we doused the sail and started the engine.
At 20.15 we were moored in the visitors’ marina in town. Jostein saw that he could catch a bus and a train and reach back home the same night, so he left soon after we had arrived. Thank you for good company, talks and discussions!
Flekkefjord, Sunday June 22
The day was spent in harbour. Son Nils David and his girlfriend came to visit. We celebrated my upcoming birthday with a good Thai dinner. Very nice of you to come!
To Farsund, Monday June 23
My birthday! A good part of the day was spent sailing from Flekkefjord to Farsund, the next town along the coast. They both are kind of hidden away from the outer coast line, behind islands and into fjords. To get from one to the other, you have to round the low, outlying land of Lista.
I started out from Flekkefjord at 7. For the first two hours I tugged along by engine, against a SW breeze and one meter swell. Being flat and low, the sea arond Lista is shallow, so you have to give it a wide berth. Eventually, I could turn south and east, roll out some head sail and swith off the engine. As I often do when sailing in a good, following breeze, I play music that I feel suits the occasion. Here I played a well known Norwegian psalm, Jeg er en seiler på livets hav (I am a sailor on the sea of life), by Berthine Zetlitz (you find it on Spotify). Verse 2 goes something like this: “Sometimes I sail with following winds, in the company of others, who like me are on this journey. The ocean shines and the sun smiles, and the wind fills the sails.” (Very poor translation!) Sailing in sunshine, singing along and having the time of my life, I looked behind. Coming fast towards us was a black wall of clouds and rain. A real squall! I only had time to put on a jacket and roll in some of the headsail before it hit. The wind quickly reached gale force, and the rain beat the sea flat.
I was glad I had not hoisted the main sail, as it would have been difficult to reef it alone. As it was, I just had to steer as best as I could, consentrating on keeping the course.
After about 20 minutes the rain stopped, but the wind was still strong. I was still clear of the skerries along the approaches to Farsund. Sailing in between the little islands, through narrow passages was calm and relaxing. The route is well marked, both in the sealandscape and on the map. At 14.30 we were safely tied up to a pontoon, next to Even’s house. Even Eftestøl was a missionary in Kenya, when we were there. We were also students together in the 1970s.
Being midsummer night, Even invited me to a celebration together with his friends. We were almost 30 people, and I had never met any of them before, except Even of course. But with every one I talked with, we had friends or acquintances in common.
In Ausviga, Søgne, I left the boat on good care. Petter and Margrethe’s house is just above the marina. They were not at home, having sailed to Scotland with the boat that normally is moored in the slip where I left Vestavind.
No summer sailing vacation without a sewing machine! Even’s wife, Åse, sadly died last year. We were there in the funeral, together with many of theirs, and our friends. Åse had a sewing machine, a little Elnita (Elna, a very good, Swiss make). The machine has seen the world, having travelled with her back and forth to Kenya. Now he gave it to me, knowing that I am kind of addicted to sewing machines. Thank you very much, Even!
Tuesday, June 24
Farsund is close to the more rural Lista, which is a rather low lying peninsula. Even took me on a drive around the area, stopping in the little town centre Vanse. Many people from here emigrated to USA in the 1950s, or they stayed for some years and came back. The building industry in Brooklyn attracted many.
Those who came back brought with them influences from over there, which can be seen in Vanse.
Some more images from Lista:
I left Farsund in the evening and motored for an hour out to the old fishing village of Korshamn. It was nice to see the little houses again, with the foot path winding between them.
Wednesday, June 25
I got up early and was underway by 7.30. The sky was clear, the wind a gentle breeze from WNW, which would take me easily around Lindesnes, the southernmost cape on mainland Norway. The destination was Søgne, where I would meet Petter and Ellen Margrethe, who had arranged a berth in their marina.
I first met Petter in 2010, at a conference in Kristiansand, where we established a national network for teaching and learning in higher education. Since then, we have met many times, and soon discovered that we have a common interest in boating and sailing, and things pertaining to that. Petter and Ellen Margrethe made a journey along the coast last year, in their 32 ft motor boat, all the way up to the Bodø area. They stopped for a few days with us at Talgje, and explored Ryfylke.
The sail around Lindesnes was smooth. Rounding the cape, I saw that the best option was to just continue in the open sea outside the many islands along the route. Out of Mandal, I turned in between the islands, meandering through pittoresque sealandscapes, with little (and big) summer houses everywhere. On a sunny, warm day like this, it looks charming. I almost envy some of the houses, especially those that have their own litte islands. But this kind of occupation also means that the shores and coastlines are unaccessible for other people. Although public access to the coastline is regulated by law in Norway, and there should not be any private building in a zone of 100 meters from the sea, this has not been enforced by local authorities. True, there are old fishing settlements dating back before the law, but local authorities have also been too liberal in giving exemption from the rules. The public right is still there, but you don’t want to walk into private people’s cottage garden, or land in their private marina.
Just after Mandal, there is a narrow passage under a bridge over to Skjernøy. Coming up behind me was a yacht I knew. It was Agnes II from Tau, just across the fjord at home. The skipper is 88 years old. Here he was with his wife on a summer cruise. I met him and his son last year in Lerwick, Shetland. Ten years ago, he sailed to Greenland, most of the time alone. I should have many years to go!
I took the bus to the train station and was home late in the evening.
So I went home for a week. I had an appointment with the dentist, but there were also other things to do which made it opportune to take a break from the sea.
Continued in new post.
Seil i vestavind/home 