Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Peter Tanner- On Cruising J/122 OOJAH

Peter Tanner is currently cruising in Norway in his J/122 OOJAH. He previously owned a J/110 of the same name.  Here is Peter's latest report-  "Hi all.  For the benefit of the navigators amongst you we're at 61 36N 05 02E, for the rest of you Floro is just south of the big kink in the Norway coastline & just North of the mighty Sognefjord, at 115 miles the longest fjord in Norway. Thanks to Gordon Cossor's help we had a relatively easy passage up the North Sea dodging all the gas & oil rigs & arriving in Stavanger 6 days after leaving Hamble - it was cold (4 or 5 layers) & we had to motor half the way due light wind. Christene thought she was suffering from a bit of seasickness but it turned out to be a hangover after an unsuccessful attempt to lock herself out of Lowestoft marina!

Stavanger is a forgettable landfall but the Lysefjord just inland was quite stunning with sheer rock faces, steep sides, wooded slopes & tumbling streams all intermingled. We then motored north weaving in & out of fjords, between islands, through nooks & crannies for a week until we reached Bergen. There is no way we'll have time to explore all the fjords but we did go into the Hardangerfjord and moored against an old pontoon from where we were able to walk up to the Bondhus glacier - it was beautiful but the effect of global warming on the retreating glacier was all too evident. In Victorian times ice was carried down to the fjord & exported all over Europe for refrigeration. Bergen was buzzing, with a jazz festival in progress, & everyone was out partying - boats were rafted 4 or 5 out. The waterfront with its old colourful wooden houses & narrow streets is very picturesque, & even the more modern parts of the centre are attractive It is the wettest place in Norway with rain over 250 days a year, & it is said that when a young boy was asked if it ever stopped raining he replied "I don't know - I'm only 13!".   However our weather was improving day by day & we were down to 3 layers! The next 2 days of the inner lead through the Radsund were very intricate with sometimes less than a boat's length between the rocks but all well marked. The anchorages have been beautiful but some proved too cramped, too deep or subject to fierce mountain downdrafts (fallvindor probably in plain mans English "foul wind") & after several attempts we had to move on! The depth can vary from nothing to over 1,000 metres in a moment, a marked contrast to the North Sea much of which is only 25 m deep. If a rock has your name on it you certainly will not see it coming!

After a week of predominantly motoring we had our first real sail today and we're down to 2 layers & shorts. The coastline has opened out a little although we're still weaving between mountainous islands with the wind coming from all angles. Some days we see hardly anyone but tonight we're in a small marina - trying to operate a Norwegian washing machine was the most stress we've had so far! The Norwegians are all delightful & usually speak very good English - fortunate for us because Norwegian is a bit of a mystery. It remains chilly but dry & increasingly sunny & we're not running the heating for the first time this evening; night is about 3 hours of twilight. Shopping or eating out are around twice as expensive as at home, but diesel is similar to the UK and berthing a lot cheaper. OOJAH is behaving herself & absolutely rocketed along on the few occasions we've had the spinnaker up, although we struggle to de-power her in stronger wind.  To answer one question - we are still speaking, & C's not missing  work, although she says looking after me is a full time job.  With much love,  Christene, Peter & OOJAH"