July 24 – 27, 2025
The Norwegian coast is fantastic! The scenery, whether in calm or stormy weather, is beautiful and awe inspiring. We rather prefer calm conditions when we sail here, though, and we have had it in abundance this week. Temperatures up to 30 Celcius, the sea in the twenties, swimming every day, often several times a day just to cool down.
True, there are some open stretches when you sail the entire coast, but most parts, if in a small boat, you can travel between islands and skerries, and there is always a way. The maps and the routes are well marked.
One of the best known such passages is Blindleia, which starts east of Kristiansand and continues to Lillesand, ca 11 nautical miles (20 kilometres) meandering in and out of narrow sounds and between small islands and skerries. Everywhere there is beautifully kept little, or larger houses, many of them restored traditional fishing families’ settlements. You need to have a well fed bank account to be able to buy one! Some of the richest people in the country have their (or one of their) holiday places here. We identified one. But many are kept in the family, after those who once lived there moved away and the following generations have takene over.
July is of course high season for holidaymaking here, so we had to be on the lookout every minute for other boats in the narrow passages. It can’t be very quiet and peaceful for those in the houses along the route!
There was need for a break for lunch and a swim. We anchored in a sound off the track, opening out to Skagerrak. It certainly can’t be very calm there in a southerly gale, but today it was just peace!
At around 5 pm we entered the guest marina in Lillesand. It was quite full, so we had to tie up to another boat.
There was a festival in Lillesand the following weekend, and we expected it would not be quiet. So the day after we came, we left town and anchored in a bay at an island not far from town. Son Nils David and his girlfriend stopped by on their way home from Sweden, and spent the day with us. Still hot, we were as much in the sea as on board.
We took the visitors back to town in the afternoon, and returned to the island, Skauerøya. This time we tied up to a little quay, next to what seemed to be an abandoned old fishing boat, and could go ashore.
Skauerøya used to be inhabited until the 1950s. There were five farms and a small manor. Now it is a nature reserve, with footpaths around the whole island. Only the manor, with a barn, still stands. Of other houses we only saw some foundations.
The island is covered by mixed forest, some of it planted and other parts growing naturally. Obviously, the municipality, who owns the island, only keeps the paths open, otherwise the forest is left to take care of itself.
The manor is kept and run by the the Lions Club, as a youth camp. It must be an exciting place to take young people, away from screens and into nature!
Good friends Marianne and Jon came to visit Sunday. We anchored out for lunch, on the south side of Skauerøya. We knew that boats from the Tall Ships Race had started to gather along the coast, before they all would join up in Kristiansand later that week. Suddenly, we saw tall masts behind the little islands, and would you believe it! Jolie Brise, a 112 year old, famous pilot cutter came in and anchored only about 100 feet from us! I was able to talk to the skipper, and told her that this was the one ship I had most of all been looking forward to meet. “Come and see us in Kristiansand” she said!
The women drove back to Kristiansand, Jon and I sailed. Trough Blindleia again, with one over night stop.
This is another boat we have met several times along the coast. Tassen, a beautiful Colin Archer, built by Djupevag in Norheimsund.
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