Trondheim to Kristiansund

12/8/25 - 18/8/25

Our parts arrived!  It wasn't until Thursday mid-afternoon (14th) and whilst that felt like forever for a couple of sailors itching to get going, in reality it was only a couple of days later than expected.

In the days prior we caught up with general boat admin.  Stuart enjoyed a couple of runs and a haircut!  I went for a fascinating walk round the east of the headland, passing an international autonomous boat skills tournament for students (I found the Scottish flag but not the team!), historic German WWII armaments, a cosy restaurant at the headland (Ladekaia) which I expect would be idyllic for watching the sunset and walked back through the city's pretty botanic gardens.  We also enjoyed elevenses at a super lovely cafe (Nabolaget) that was typically Scandivanian and effortlessly chic, and lost ourselves in the city's excellent second-hand bookshop (and picked up a few more novels at 80p a piece)!

Elevenses!

Wangsmo Antikvariat bookshop

Talking of novels, our friends on Polaris had lent us the book 'The Sixteen Trees of the Somme', written by Lars Mytting.  It is set predominantly in Norway and the Shetland Islands and recounts the fictional story of a young man exploring his family's heritage and events leading to the deaths of his two parents when he was four years old, all of which are intrinsically related to his grandfather's participation in WWII.  Coincidentally we have also just watched the film 'Number 24' which is based on a true story and focuses on the efforts of the Norwegian resistance.  Both are excellent and have added extra depth to our explorations.

Whilst Trondheim is a great city and we had plenty to occupy ourselves, by Thursday morning we were really getting quite restless!  The one saving grace was that we had come up with a Plan B for the weekend if we were really going to be stuck that long - Robbie Williams was playing in Trondheim's Dahls Arena, a mile down the road, on Saturday evening and there were still tickets available! 

As it was, Stuart emailed the supplier again on Thursday morning and by mid-afternoon we had returned with the new chart plotter and furler motor - success!  Although, now the 'fun' was truly about to start!  Stuart cracked on with fitting the chart plotter as I nipped to the shops to top up on last minute provisions and all went smoothly with that installation.  Next... the furler motor...!  The furler motor weighs approximately 6 or 7 kg and needed to be attached to the bottom of the forestay at the bow (whilst aligning three different holes to ensure the correct rotational movement for furling) and to the foredeck of the boat.  As you can imagine, the whole rigging of the boat is under tension so prior to releasing the forestay to remove the old and fit the new motor, alternative lines to keep the mast upright needed to be rigged.  There was also not much 'give' in the forestay and once we had the motor attached to the end of it, we needed to close the gap between the base of the motor and the anchor point on the boat, which to start with was about 2cm.  It doesn't sound much but all our best efforts in heaving the motor down only reduced that gap by 1.5cm...and there was no way the pin was going in! 

Boat bits

The solution we settled on was to rig a block and tackle system to pull the forestay directly down towards the fitting and with extra tension applied using the help of the winch on the windlass we finally aligned the holes, slipped in the pin, and quickly released the extra tension we had applied to the forestay!  Result!  And without a swear word from either of us, except in exclamation of relief!

Furler fitted

With the parts fitted, there was no stopping us and within 10 minutes we had slipped the lines and were headed out the marina!  The boat was still in considerable disarray but we didn't care.  We knew we could sort that underway and given that it was now about 6 in the evening we just wanted to get a move on.  The evening was glorious and we headed to an anchorage a couple of hours up the fjord and flopped into a very contented sleep later on that night!

Trondheim Fjord

We knew another blow was forecasted to be coming through in the next couple of days and our friends on Polaris were heading to a small marina at Hasselvika at the top of the fjord the next day so we decided to join them.  We hunkered down for a couple of nights whilst the blow passed over and hugely enjoyed catching up with Terrie and Chris, and their crew Sheena and Margaret.  

Hasselvika Marina

By now we were turning our thoughts to the next few days...  We need to be out of Norway by the 29th August and whilst we had initially thought we would head down to Bergen and head west from there, the forecast was showing steady northerly/north-westerly winds at 15 to 20 knots from Tuesday (19th) through to Friday.  Thereafter the forecast was more variable.  We both agreed we needed to make the most of that weather window!  We monitored the forecast over the next couple of days whilst continuing to press south and after anchoring next to the Tyrhaug Lighthouse last night, we have now made it to the port of Kristiansund.

Tyrhaug Lighthouse

Stuart has done some research and we have confirmed that we can check out of the country from Kristiansund.  The weather window has stayed consistent and optimal for crossing over the next few days.  I'm in the middle of preparing our meals for the next few days (we estimate it will take us circa 60 hours).  Stuart has emailed Wick to request a berth (where we are currently aiming for but we can stop off in the Shetland or Orkney Islands if required).  We will top up again with water, visit the police station (to check out) tomorrow morning and then be on our way!

Whilst our plans to cross back have come round slightly quicker than expected it is to make the most of this weather window and such is sailing life!  We have loved this country so much and will take away so many phenomenal memories.  Now to press on with with boat prep!  Next update... from Scotland!