Exploring the Trondheim area

6/8/25 - 12/8/25

Storms can bring sailors even closer together, both in location and in camaraderie, and as we sat out the Norwegian version of storm Floris, it was lovely getting to know our neighbours better.  There were various impromptu gatherings on the pontoon during the day, collectively inspecting lines and fenders, viewing each others' boats and hearing past stories and future plans.  The yacht across from us, Infinity, comprised a Brazilian crew enroute to The Netherlands.  Rafted alongside us were Australian-Chinese sailing sisters aboard their new Garcia Exploration 45, Mulan II, recently returned from Svalbard and heading to France for the winter before plans to complete the Northwest passage (across the top of Canada) next year.  And just ahead of Infinity was Bodyguard!  It was great to see Dennis and Arianne again and we would go onto spend another couple of super lovely evenings with them over the course of our stay in Trondheim marina.

Even with the storm in full flow, boat work doesn't end!  Stuart had managed to secure a boat mechanic to come and look at the gearbox issue we had been experiencing.  After the mechanic had familiarised himself with our engine and gearbox set-up, he noticed some play in the cables that control the gearbox which might be the root of our problems.  Our gearbox has dual controls - one that can be operated from the interior of the boat and the other from the cockpit.  We rarely use the interior one, other than when Stuart is doing engine and gearbox maintenance, and so for simplicity we also decided to temporarily disconnect the interior feed to the gearbox.  With tightening of the cable and change to the feeds to the gearbox, the mechanic was optimistic this would solve the transmission challenges.  We were less certain but welcomed the input, with hopefully at least partial success, and would see how it was going when we could next get underway.

In other boat maintenance news.... our poorly chartplotter has now completely died which, whilst not critical, does mean that we can no longer use the associated radar input and and we have lost the position feed to our VHF radio.  Given these safety implications we bit the bullet and proceeded to order a new one from the same place that we have ordered the furler from.  Stuart was able to secure a deal on the chart plotter and prices were competitive to the UK.  Furthermore, we are cautiously optimistic that we may be able to reclaim VAT on both items in due course (one of the few Brexit benefits?!).

With the storm ebbing, Dennis and Arianne joined us for drinks in the evening, bringing a liqueur reserved for special occasions and connections - we felt very honoured!  We sipped away at the very delightful Juttertje, sharing our reflections on some of the challenges and highs of boatlife, and also hearing our life paths brought us to where we are currently.  Somehow it was soon approaching midnight and time to head bedward...  a whole 10 metres across the pontoon for the Bodyguard crew!  Sometimes this boating life is ever so convenient!

slàinte! / proost! / skål! (photo credit to Dennis and Arianne)

Unsurprisingly, and after the week's prior endeavours, we enjoyed a leisurely start to the morning the next day.  I did a full clean of the boat whilst Stuart fixed a small leak in the engine exhaust.  Having nipped to the shops and done a couple of provision runs, I finally decided to acquire some of the infamous 'brown cheese' of Norwegian cuisine.  Having been told by many people previously that they really disliked but we really should try some(!), I finally caved and spent circa £5 to buy it.  We'd been advised by a friend that it is usually eaten with crackers and jam and we proceeded to give it a go...!  It is a very dense slab of brownness, with the consistency of cold butter almost but, I suspect, a higher melting point similar to that of cheese.  The taste is sweeter than 'standard' cheese, with a definite hint of caramel.  Both Stuart and I decided it wasn't too offensive and probably best enjoyed as an afternoon snack, with a little going quite a long way!

In the afternoon Stuart headed out for a run and I went on a long amble up to the southwest outskirts of the city, through quaint streets, then following a small stream and little waterfalls up to one of the city's reservoirs, before looping round to the south, through one of the city's business districts and back through the old town to the marina.  A few highlights: seeing the substantial ski-jump in the hills behind the reservoir; passing by extensive road-resurfacing works with all the machinery being used looking immaculate!; under-pavement heating being installed in the entrance to new buildings; being wholly unsuccessful in purchasing more Myken whisky from a couple of vinmonopolets (the state run liquor shops) and coming away with a bottle of aquavit instead!; and seeing my first wholescale traffic jam of our travels on the way back into the old town.  The roads were gridlocked and there were hints of drivers' frustrations emerging...I definitely don't miss that with boat travels!  

Pretty wander through Trondheim

The aquavit came in handy when we caught up with Bodyguard again in the evening but, like the 'brown cheese', a little goes along way and we sipped our shot glasses, sharing plans for the future.  Dennis and Arianne would like to do a circumnavigation of the world, with aims to start with the northwest passage next year and we look forward to hearing all about their  adventures.  They also very kindly showed us around Bodyguard, which Dennis himself had built, and it is truly a magnificent boat.  The interior woodwork (all of which Dennis did) is exquisite.  We hugely enjoyed our time catching up with Dennis and Arianne and, when we arrived back from elevenses the following and were getting ready to slip our lines once more, it was with slight sadness to think we would be going our separate ways, but such is boat life.  I have no doubt our paths will cross again somehow somewhere again in future.

Given that our furler and chart plotter were not due to arrive until Monday at the earliest (I was reckoning on Tuesday and Stuart before the middle of the week) we decided to head out into Trondheimfjord to spend a couple of nights at anchor for a change of scenery.  After a short distance motoring the wind picked up and we enjoyed a lovely gentle sail up the fjord to Sponleira.  The gentler climate of being inland a bit and the lower lying hillsides clearly lends itself to farming and for the first time we saw arable fields, still with the distinctive red wooden buildings of Norway scattered across the landscape. 

Novel seating/sailing position!

Gradually the wind eased again but we were determined to coax the last little breath out of it, only giving into the engine once more when our boat speed fell to under 1knt. (1 knot is broadly equivalent to 1mph and our average cruising speed is about 6knts.)  With the engine on our ETA suddenly improved from 1hr 20mins to 14mins but even that was not quick enough to avoid a torrential downpour!  Fortunately, wearing a sailing jacket and shorts, in warm weather, it never feels that bad!  And we were soon in the water enjoying a swim anyway, with Stuart catching up on some hull scraping.  There were a few houses and cabins on the hillside around us and, as the evening progressed towards sunset, lights started to flick on around the bay, reminding us of the march of time and seasons.

Another slow start to the day but with Stuart having greased seal of the rudder stock (where items like the rudder and propellor shaft go through the hull there are sealing mechanisms which require grease to be pumped into them occasionally) and I had managed to enjoy a luxuriously long yoga practice, we felt the itch to move on again.  This time to an anchorage at Hyndøyvågen, a mere 2.5 miles across the inlet of the fjord where we were currently based.  As the conditions were calm and sunny, and we were in no rush, fishing was in order but this time we were both wholly unsuccessful.  We spent over an hour drifting in the beautiful sunshine but not a nibble despite a couple of lure changes.  On the plus side we were treated to a pod of four or five porpoises moseying around at a distance of approximately 100 metres from the boat.  Hopefully they were having more success than we were!  An additional bonus was the wind direction, which meant that our very slow drifting was at least in the right direction for our next anchorage and we ended up using the motor for less than ten minutes to cover the final few hundred metres.  We would thoroughly recommend both anchorage spots for anyone looking to explore more of the Trondheimfjord and there is the option for the second one to berth alongside a guest pontoon or 'gjestbrygga' if preferred.

Hoping for a bite

The next morning it was time to head back to Trondheim, not least as another blow was heading through.  The stronger winds were advantageous in drying out a couple of loads of washing and after a relaxing afternoon, we decided to head out for dinner.  We are probably averaging dinner out about once a month and it is such a treat for us.  I even decided to get the nail polish out!  Despite being a Sunday evening, there was still a vibrant buzz, particularly along the row of quayside restaurants to the east side of the city centre.  Whilst the food was not quite as good as last time we were in the city, it was an incredibly pleasant evening and we sat in a covered outdoor seated space, enjoying each other's company and watching the world go by.  After dinner we ambled the long way home, along pretty streets and tree-lined avenues.

Sunday night wander

A further day of general boat work, exercise, provisioning and food preparation brings us now to Tuesday morning....  We curiously find ourselves as the only boat on the guest pontoon, albeit a rather substantial cruise ship has now docked behind us on the quayside.  We are waiting with anticipation and crossed fingers of news today that our parts have arrived but we are also trying to manage our expectations.  The itch to get going again is strong, not least as we see the pink dots on Marine Traffic continuing south, but at the same time we remind ourselves that we pushed to get down to Trondheim quickly and so we still have time in hand.  In any case, sailing is definitely about living to and making the most of the conditions and circumstances around you and so plan 'A' for today is that the furler and plotter arrive and we crack on with fitting both.  Plan 'B' is a long afternoon walk and explore, with possibly a coffee thrown in also!