North Sea passage - Kristiansund to Wick

19/8/25 - 22/8/25

We're back in Scotland and what a passage!  Checking out from Kristiansund on Tuesday morning was very straightforward and within half an hour of returning from the police station we had slipped our lines and commenced our voyage, leaving the pontoon shortly before 11am.

Kristiansund berth

It was overcast and a bit damp but the weather forecast was holding firm and we were excited to be on the move again and content with our decision making.  In addition, I had a little bit of apprehension about what lay ahead - this was the longest sailing trip I had done to date and my enjoyment of offshore passages had been a bit variable thus far.  However, I was also incredibly confident in Evolene and Stuart's planning and how the three of us all worked together.  Therefore, whilst I felt a bit ropey during the first day, as I settled into the journey it soon passed and we settled into a comfortable rhythm of life aboard for the next few days.

Day 1 was mostly spent following the north coast of Norway down to the 'knuckle' where the coastline turns south.  It was strange seeing all the coastline that we had weaved our way up a couple of months previously and being that bit further offshore it felt, to start with, that it was changing so slowly!  At the same time, though, it was lovely to spend that time reminiscing over what we had experienced and achieved.  

We had set the sails on a starboard tack and they stayed there for the duration of the passage.  The wind was initially northerly at around 15kts and we sailed with the autopilot set to wind vane mode, tweaking the bearing relative to the wind and trimming the sails as required.

The Statt penninsula (marking the 'knuckle' of the coastline) came into sight before sunset on day 1, although it wouldn't be until approximately 4am on day 2 that we would be ahead of it.  Thereafter we could see the coastline drop away as we continued to forge south-westwards.

Day 2 was pleasantly unremarkable (as indeed the whole trip was!).  Evolene was comfortably "in the groove", maintaining an average speed of over 6 knots and Stuart and I were comfortable in our respective and joint rhythms.  Time loses a lot of meaning on passage and is only really marked by the progression of night into day and day into night, when we change a few of the boat settings.  This involves turning on the tricolour light and changing the chart plotter settings to night mode.  The tricolour is a white/red/green light at the top of the mast to indicate our visible presence and direction of travel to other boats, in addition to our AIS position that will show up on other boats' electronic systems.  At night, in order to maintain optimal night vision, we change the chart plotter from a standard chart appearance to a dark background.  We also set a red light for the saloon and use red lights in the galley.

Stuart particularly enjoys night navigation so during the course of the passage would do the bulk of the circa midnight to 4 or 5am watches - bonus! - with the proviso that he would wake me if he needed relief or assistance sooner.  And the rest of the time we worked watches to how we each felt, checking with the other before going down to rest how the other was feeling and what their preference for watch duration was.  We also developed a completely independent food routine which actually worked really well!  I had prepared plenty of food options prior to the passage (including rice, chilli, curry, pasta to reheat and rolls) and we were well stocked with crisps, biscuits, cinnamon buns, chocolate and therefore we could just dip into eating what we wanted when we felt like it.  One morning I found myself snacking on salted crisps whilst watching the sky lighten at dawn - it felt very decadent but fun and great for crew well-being!

As we progressed towards the evening of day 2 we started to approach a wind farm - the first of several man-made structures that we would pass in the North Sea.  Similar to our previous crossing, we were hailed on the radio as we approached the Equinor oil platforms and requested to ensure we maintained 1000yds clearance, which of course we were.  We think they were just checking that someone was awake or perhaps they just like making contact with passing yachts!  Once past the Norwegian rigs, at approximately 2am on day 3, we crossed into the UK Sector.  There is a lovely comfort at sea to start hearing your home Coastguard service on the radio with familiar accents, although we will miss the "Alle båter" (All Boats) hail of the Norwegian service that have been a regular feature of the last three months.

Windfarms and oil rigs

Lowering the Norwegian courtesy flag

By dawn we were past the UK oil platforms and racing ever closer to the home land.  Our arc of travel brought us within 20 miles of the east coast of the Shetland islands.  We continued on our beam reach enjoying the wildlife around.  Fulmars are the dolphins of the sky and will come and interact with the slipstreams generated by the sails and are great fun to watch.  We also started to see more and more gannets which we had missed in Norway.  Their elegance and precision akin to that of a fighter plane!  We were also joined at one point by a pod of pilot whales.  Thankfully this was towards the end of one of Stuart's rest periods and so I didn't feel too bad waking him!  And fortunately they stuck around and grew closer to the boat (at one point only 5 metres away) for him to see them also.

Pilot whale (honest!)

Prior to the passage we had determined what we would wake the other for.  It's a bit of a judgement, depending on how far away and therefore visible the wildlife is, and how rare it is.  Poor porpoises don't make the cut but pilot whales definitely do.  The humpback whale and northern lights will have to wait for another voyage though!

Day 3 drew to a close as we were progressing down the east side of the Orkney Islands.  The sweeping looms of the lighthouses visible in the distance.  We passed the passenger ferry that runs between the Scottish mainland, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands, and a couple of cruise ships, always notable by their mass of lights across the horizon.  As Evolene glided through the water, the magical phenomenon of bioluminescence (caused by a chemical reaction in tiny algae when disturbed, creating beautiful light displays) sparkled in the wake.

With two hours to go and the mainland in sight we were both up in the cockpit enjoying the last couple of hours of the passage together.  The wind was starting to die (as predicted) but we both reflected that we had enjoyed a beautiful weather window, creating near idyllic conditions for our passage.  With 9 miles to go we started the engine for the first time since raising the sails half an hour after leaving the pontoon.  Overall we had completed 420 miles through sailing, averaging over 6 knots for the entire passage.  Our batteries had supported our electrical requirements, including cooking, without needing any charge other than solar and we had no breakages.  We had set up Starlink Ocean mode prior to leaving and Stuart turned this on a couple of times each day to check the weather conditions.  This helped further finesse our route and sail plans underway.  It also allowed sporadic engagement with the wider world although I have to confess to keeping my phone on flight mode to maintain the simplicity of being at sea that little bit longer!

Scotland appearing on the horizon

As we approached closer to Wick we both agreed that what we were most looking forward to were showers!  (We could have showered aboard if we really wanted to but the motion of the boat would have made it awkward for the majority of the journey and without running the engine, we had no hot water.)  And the facilities did not disappoint.  We were met by the harbour master who gave us a lovely welcome and helped settle us and Evolene into the marina.  

It really had been a special passage and we were both so glad to have taken the weather window when we did.  I tweaked my clothing compared to previous passages and was much more comfortable in my fleece-lined running leggings and would use a dry robe as a further fleece-lined draught excluder over my various layers (including insulated sailing jacket!) at night.  I also really enjoyed a variety of podcasts enroute and a very eclectic mix of music that I will never confess to in public!

We have given ourselves today (Saturday) to rest and explore Wick but then will be back on the move tomorrow, winding our way south to Inverness before journeying through the Caledonian canal back to the west coast.  There's much we will miss about Norway but it's also lovely to be back in home waters and with the prospect of catching up with friends and family in the near future!

Happy sailors (in need of a shower)