Cruising Norway?

[Dockhead]

As the pandemic and restrictions on crossing borders throws a huge monkey wrench into summer cruising plans, I start to think about alternative destinations.


What about Norway?



Anyone spent much time cruising that fabled coast?


I guess berthing must be much more expensive than the rest of Scandinavia, no?


Any favorite spots? Special challenges?

[conachair]

Masses info in here, some free samples >
https://www.norwegiancruisingguide.com/

[Pete7]

Matt and Jessica (members on here) did Norway last summer and did some great videos of their trip:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvJ...R04-ifkg_FFnaw

[Seaworthy Lass]

Hi Dockhead
We cruised the south west coast last summer.

These nautical charts are available as free downloads. Only Volume 7 (Svalbard) is in English:

https://www.kartverket.no/en/Maps--N...n-Pilot-Guide/

I know the Cruising Guide series came with a rave review from Steve Dashew, but it was very poor when it came to selecting anchorages.

We did not tie up anywhere, but this is what other cruisers tended to do, as anchorages tended to be deep. We shared an anchorage with only two other boats all summer and one of these was Dmitry Rybolovlev’s superyacht Anna, so I am not sure that counts . We rarely anchored in less than 25-30 m.

In over a decade of cruising in Europe, the hospitality we have generally encountered everywhere has been outstanding, but in Norway it was phenomenal.

The scenery is spectacular. Sailing conditions moving up the coast were good if you are prepared to wait for the right weather window, but apparently further north more motoring is required.

Stock up on alcohol. It is not only expensive, but hard to buy as anything with an alcohol content over 4.75% is only available at government run Vinmonopolet stores that are few and far between and some tend to be open only very limited days and hours per week.

SWL

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Hi Dockhead
We cruised the south west coast last summer.

These nautical charts are available as free downloads. Only Volume 7 (Svalbard) is in English:

https://www.kartverket.no/en/Maps--N...n-Pilot-Guide/

I know the Cruising Guide series came with a rave review from Steve Dashew, but it was very poor when it came to selecting anchorages.

We did not tie up anywhere, but this is what other cruisers tended to do, as anchorages tended to be deep. We shared an anchorage with only two other boats all summer and one of these was Dmitry Rybolovlev’s superyacht Anna, so I am not sure that counts . We rarely anchored in less than 25-30 m.

In over a decade of cruising in Europe, the hospitality we have generally encountered everywhere has been outstanding, but in Norway it was phenomenal.

The scenery is spectacular. Sailing conditions moving up the coast were good if you are prepared to wait for the right weather window, but apparently further north more motoring is required.

Stock up on alcohol. It is not only expensive, but hard to buy as anything with an alcohol content over 4.75% is only available at government run Vinmonopolet stores that are few and far between and some tend to be open only very limited days and hours per week.

SWL

That sounds great!



This looks better and better.


I am accustomed to anchoring in that kind of terrain so don't think I'll need any guide for it.


As to alcohol -- what you describe is exactly the same as Sweden and Finland, so no surprise. We used to lay in a few cases in Helgoland before heading into the Baltic for this very reason. But Denmark is also a reasonable place for liquid provisioning.


Did you get invited on board Anna?

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Did you get invited on board Anna?

No, Dmitry looked like he was busy entertaining a leggy blonde teenager

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

No, Dmitry looked like he was busy entertaining a leggy blonde teenager

Only one?



Normally he would share with guests . . .

[Dockhead]

So I've discussed with my Danish friends, and an idea starts to be born.


A nice cruise up to Norway and around the coast to Bergen. Then sail over to the Shetland Islands for a week or so. Then back to Norway and cruise there.


I loved the Orkneys two years ago and understand the Shetlands are even more interesting.

[Matt Johnson]

Navionics, with the comments and information supplied by recent users, was a better guide for us than the books listed above. Their charts were also excellent for the area and we never found any dangerous inaccuracies. They're based on the Norwegian gov charts (all available for free on their Yellow Pages https://kart.gulesider.no) so you can compare in tight areas, but again, they were identical in all that we saw.

While there was some useful information in the cruising guides- so I would recommend buying them- the area is changing too rapidly and even a few years old data isn't too helpful.

We tried a few of the suggested fishing/commercial harbours that the guidebook said we're free only a few years ago, but either got turned away or had to pay marina type fees without any services.

They also suggested anchorages that are now fish farms or filled with moorings. *Check Google sat view for fish farms before heading out of your way to an anchorage.

The Harbour guide app was helpful along with the marina payment app (gomarina app).

Marina fees are around $20-30 a night (USD).

Matt

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

So I've discussed with my Danish friends, and an idea starts to be born.


A nice cruise up to Norway and around the coast to Bergen. Then sail over to the Shetland Islands for a week or so. Then back to Norway and cruise there.


I loved the Orkneys two years ago and understand the Shetlands are even more interesting.

It was autumn when we visited the Orkneys, and strong winds meant I could not go ashore to explore as much as I would have liked, but from what I saw I thought the Shetlands’ terrain was infinitely more interesting. Undulating terrain meant better hiking and the bird colonies were numerous and easy to reach. The choice of anchorages was diverse.

Neither had the spectacular scenery of Norway though. There are insufficient superlatives to describe that . The only drawback in Norway was that there were too many pesky cruise ships in the fjords. That is not going to be a problem this summer though.

SWL

[nigel1]

Shetland is being very anti visitor's at the moment, more so than mainland Scotland.
I've had to jump through all sorts of hoops to get permission to go ashore in Lerwick.

[ol1970]

This was actually our plan for August this year, we had planned on chartering out of Bergen and sailing north for a few weeks. My wife is Swedish so it’s a ton of fun when she speaks their language in the small little towns and pubs. Unfortunately the trip will have to wait until next year (fingers crossed).

I would highly suggest you give the Swedish west coast archipelago a try. We sailed from Marstrand up the coast stopping in a bunch of awesome spots all the way up to Hunnebustrand. Her parents live on the fjord near fiskeabickskil and we anchored outside their house and have a sunset crawfish party onboard. It was spectacular. Anyway, we only explored a tiny bit but weaving in and out of the fjords and rocks was so much fun and so much to see and do. Easy spots to stop for supplies, great restaurants, and the friendliest people on earth. It should b on everyone’s list if they haven’t already been.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by ol1970

This was actually our plan for August this year, we had planned on chartering out of Bergen and sailing north for a few weeks. My wife is Swedish so it’s a ton of fun when she speaks their language in the small little towns and pubs. Unfortunately the trip will have to wait until next year (fingers crossed).

I would highly suggest you give the Swedish west coast archipelago a try. We sailed from Marstrand up the coast stopping in a bunch of awesome spots all the way up to Hunnebustrand. Her parents live on the fjord near fiskeabickskil and we anchored outside their house and have a sunset crawfish party onboard. It was spectacular. Anyway, we only explored a tiny bit but weaving in and out of the fjords and rocks was so much fun and so much to see and do. Easy spots to stop for supplies, great restaurants, and the friendliest people on earth. It should b on everyone’s list if they haven’t already been.

I've extensively cruised the South and East coasts of Sweden. This is some of the greatest cruising in the world, I think, particularly the archi which starts around Oskarshamn, continuing across the Archipelago Sea and Finnish South coast and doesn't stop until the Russian border . . .


My Danish friends also advocate for the Swedish West coast, and one of my business partners spends his summers on an island there, so it's a natural, if we have time.

[Flod]

The Swedish west coast is my home ground and it’s beautiful and you have endless options for anchoring out or tying up on an island of your own. Dockhead drop me a line if you want more specific tips and guidance. Regarding alcohol and Norway I want to warn you for bringing more than the legal amount into Norway. they are not part of the EU and the legal amount is like 1l of strong spirits, 4 bottles of wine and 6 beers. Anything above this will be considered smuggling. And they do watch their borders and do random checks and the fines are high.

[Zai]

Here is some info regarding tourism to Norway and the coronavirus.

https://www.visitnorway.com/plan-you...ing-to-norway/

If open for tourists it can be a very beautiful place to cruise.
Many marinas use a internet system called "GoMarina" to make reservations for dock space and to pay, which is very convenient.

I am living on the west coast of Norway.

The government has closed the borders to foreign nationals who lack a residence or work permit in Norway and as a general rule, this will apply until August 20th. Foreigners will be turned away at the border under provisions of a Norwegian law relating to the control of communicable diseases.