A new lazy bag

Ten years ago, I had a new sprayhood and a lazy bag made. Now I see they need to be replaced, even though I take the lazy bag off and cover the sprayhood up over the winter. But the cost…

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A good investment

Something was obviously missing on the boat. When going forward on deck, especially out at sea, there was not a handhold that really was strong enough to feel safe. I asked Hans at Ship Shape in Stavanger to help me,…

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Upgrades 2022

There have been a few upgrades to the boat this year too, ready for the season. I has had a wish for several years to change the backstay from one single stay that could not be adjusted under sail, to…

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Building the half hull Aasta

This is the history of a half hull, going back to the 1870s. In the 1870s, three brothers of my great grand father worked as ship wrights in Sand, Ryfylke, south west Norway. The yard developed with the demand for…

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Leaks around the propeller shaft

I seem to be spending more time on maintenance and repairs than sailing, at least for the past two to three years. But it’s an old boat, and I like to keep her in good shape. March 2021, it was…

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Changing to tiller steering

One of the discussions that sometimes comes up on sailing fora, is wheel or tiller steering. Of course, it depends on the boat and the user, and there are pros and cons with both. Our first boat, a 30 ft…

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Teak deck renovation and other maintenace jobs

For those who might be interested, here are some details of boat maintenance and teak deck renovation on a Swedish sailboat from the eighties, more particularly a Vindø 995 🙂 I had for a long time considered doing something about…

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The Vindø boats

Orust, south west Sweden, has a long tradition of boat building. Since the middle of last century, some of the world’s most beautiful sailing yachts have been built there, according to Ferenc Matè. Of these, the Vindø boats from the…

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New engine

I have decided to replace the old Volvo with a new engine. The Volvo has done good service since the boat was new. Last summer it took the boat up and down the West Coast, running for 100+ hours (there was…

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Velcome to my blog

Hi, I am Eilef. In this blog I want to share some stories and impressions from sailing and hiking on the west coast of Norway, and beyond. I live close to Stavanger, on a little island in the Ryfylke basin. You can find my stories in the menu above.

My aim with this blog is to share the beauty of the landscapes in western Norway, from the most remote islands out where the open ocean is the closest neighbour, to the deep fjords where the mountains rise up to the sky. People have lived here for around nine thousand years, setting their marks on landscapes and communities. I also hope to show some of the history and contemporary life along the coast.

My roots are in islands, fjords and mountains. Through my father’s line, I can go back eight generations on the same hill, close to the medieval church at Talgje, where I grew up. If I follow my father’s mother’s line, I find my roots in the narrow fjord near Sand, in the northeast parts of Ryfylke. And through my mother’s lineage, I can go back to the deep fjords and high mountains in Hardanger and to Masfjorden north of Bergen, just south of the outer parts of Sognefjorden.

Islands close to home
The Folgefonna glacier in Hardanger
View of Ryfylke
The 12th century church at Talgje, my church.