Ålesund

Ålesund is a charming port town, with a population of about 67,000.  Due to a catastrophic fire in January 1904, which destroyed practically all of the town's buildings and left more than 10,000 people without any shelter, the main hub of the town was rebuilt over the following three year period in a very distinctive and pretty Art Nouveau style.

Ålesund aperitifs

When we arrived on the Friday lunchtime the marina was already bustling and we needed to raft up to a boat already berthed in the marina.  Thankfully the Crinan Canal practice came in helpful and actually rafting alongside (berthing next to and tying up to a neighbouring boat instead of directly to a pontoon) a similarly sized boat proved easier in some ways than stepping down on to pontoon.  There is just the fandangle of the lines to be careful of - making sure they get to the other boat's cleats but through the fair lead and under the guardrails.

Our neighbouring boat left promptly the following morning and we then repositioned ourselves directly alongside the pontoon in an idyllic location, stern facing towards the harbour entrance, where we could watch all the comings and goings of the variety of marine traffic over the course of the weekend (more on that later!).

That morning the weather was dry, visibility good and sun forecast for later so we took the opportunity to climb up (via the 418 steps) to the top of the hill behind the town.  Whilst it sounds effortful, in reality the exodus from the recently docked, rather substantial, cruise ship ensured that our progress upwards was leisurely!  The best view point turned out to be approximately halfway up as the one at the top was unfortunately largely obscured by a restaurant.  Turnstiles and gates next to a card reader implied that you could pay for a better perspective but we chose not to and were content with what we could find.

Ålesund (and cruise ship!) from above

For the way down we opted to continue walking away from town and had great delight exploring the myriad of paths meandering through the peaceful woodland behind and taking in the scenery around us, including future sailing routes.

Woodland wander

By S... I know I need a haircut!

In the afternoon we did our first Norwegian food shop, sussing out the local supermarket, and were reassured that, with care and planning, food provisioning was, on the whole, not that much more expensive compared to home.  


The rest of the day was whiled away, watching the comings and goings of boat life in the harbour - of all sorts!  There were people in kayaks (that you can rent free of charge along as you pick up any rubbish you see en-route), fishing vessels, at least one superyacht (complete with helicopter!), other sailing yachts, small motorboats and big motorboats.  We think there was a planned meet-up for a particular brand, Princess, that weekend - either that or it is a particularly popular brand for people visiting Ålesund.  All in all we were very glad we arrived and secured a space when we did!

We had initially planned to leave the following day (Sunday) but by the time I had made pancakes for breakfast, tuna pasta bake for a future dinner at anchor and we had readied the boat for departure, our friends on Polaris were only an hour away having completed their North Sea crossing and furthermore a lovely Norwegian gentleman who was now rafted beside us had invited us aboard to kindly share his invaluable advice and tips for our future travels, with a glass of wine.

Therefore we decided to stay put and it was great to be able to welcome our friends and their crew into the port, take their lines (i.e. help them berth) and share hugs and stories of the crossing.  It was a delightful afternoon of socialising and connecting, with our friends, their crew and our Norwegian neighbour, and well worth delaying our departure by a day.

On our way!

Next instalment.... winding our way North again!

PS for anyone reading this who is planning on travelling to Ålesund by boat, we finally found the marina toilets and showers on the last day - they're in the ground floor of the fish and chip kiosk, just beside the bridge at the north end of the canal!



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