Reaching our winter berth in Harstad

We have been aware we would need to return to the UK for a short time over the winter to deal with a few bits and pieces. We had originally been planning a trip over in the depth of winter around the end of January, for several reasons including the difficult logistics of leaving a boat unattended during the snowiest period we have had to shift this trip forward. With this in mind we made the decision in Skjervoy to head south towards Harstad where we had a possible winter berth and also access to an international airport. 

For us it was a difficult decision, having just arrived in the far north and with so much to explore we felt hard done by to leave again, we do however appreciate that exploring Finnmark in our boat is ostensibly a summer undertaking. Overwintering in Harstad will give us a great position for continuing our adventure north when weather allows in the new year, whilst we are also excited for local winter cruising around the beautiful areas and islands near Harstad, including Helloya, Bjarkoy and Melloyvaer.

So, we started the great race south again, its worth bearing in mind while it is south from Skjervoy, Harstad still lies well in to the Arctic region at almost 150miles north of the Arctic Circle. Norways coast as we have previously mentioned can have fairly powerful currents, something we wouldn't particularly noticed at 20+knots but at 4knots require planning around. We departed from Skjervoy in the early hours, with daylight becoming shorter and shorter we have had to accept that longer journeys will most likely include an amount of navigating in the dark, we have spotlights aboard which are very handy for spotting buoys, nonetheless it can make for a more stressful journey.

We thought we were doing really well on leaving Skjervoy with the current helping us along and the seas relatively calm we made our way in good time towards Tromso. Approaching the sound which would take us to Tromso with plenty of time before the current changed, as we made our way south through the sound we were a bit worried that the current appeared to be against us, against all we had read in guide books and online. The current can reach 6 knots, with under the bridge feeling the strongest effects, if we arrived here against the strongest tides we would have no power to push through, leaving us stuck on the wrong side of the bridge. 

The eddies and tidal effects were clear to see as we drew nearer and we pushed the throttle control on both outboards to full, with 16hp we crept closer, being thrown around by the boiling waters below, aware as we motored between the narrow bridge pillars that if we were thrown off by tide we could easy find ourselves without the power to correct our course and collide with the solid posts. At full throttle the outboards can push us at around 6knots but we were only managing a sluggish 1.8knots! Thankfully we made it under the bridge and the town marina is a short distance on the starboard side, a motorboat came speeding in on front of us lunging us from side to side in its wake. The marina surrounded by a mole offered us protection from the current and so we throttled back, as we approached an empty berth the same motorboat dashed in on front of us, we tied up across from the motorboat and wrapped up warm to head out and see the sights. 

Fighting against the tide

We were a little disappointed to find that the winter rate hadn't started at the marina yet, despite the fact they had turned off the water supply leaving us quite short aboard. The pontoons however are very nice, there was a bright light underwater on the pontoon which drew a lot of interest from the fish, it felt as if we were moored in an aquarium! Having had a very early start we decided to have an early night, plans were dashed though by the same motorboat playing painfully load music through the night, burying our heads below our pillows though we were relieved when the music came to an end after 4am. With currents not allowing us to leave before after midday we opted for a lay in.

Hundreds of fish

Tromso by night and the bright underwater light surrounding Quickstep

Our lay in was cut short by the sound of people jumping aboard at 7am, confused and half asleep climbing out of bed to see what on earth was going on we hadn't expected to find a couple of love birds on deck who had assumed our boat might be empty! A little grouchy we sent them on their way, having a laugh about it when we had a chance to wake up properly! Tromso wasn't quite the quiet town we had seen before, it provided a good laugh though. 

With a few hours before the change of tides we walked to the West side of Tromso island to buy some oil for the outboards, it was nice to see the other side of the island, where most tourists will never see. With oil purchased we prepared to leave and followed the current south, as we turned west past Ryoy we had the full current with us, sending us along at over 9knots! Almost back to our planing days!! 

With only moonlight we anchored in the same area we had done near Gibostad on the way north, only 21 days earlier! Strange being on anchor again. With more strong currents nearby we planned another particularly early start which we hoped might see us most of the way to Harstad. So in the dark of 5am we pulled up the anchor and made our way south. The cloudy morning meant the sky barely brightened before 8am. The wind was low though and we motored on past Engenes, passing Kjotta and arrived in Harstad. We had to take care tying the boat up, the temperature had plummeted to zero and there was a frosty way on the pontoons, as the evening went on the temperature fell to -3degC! A little introduction to winter for us, its since then struggled to get above freezing. We have now moved in to the marina berth we will have over winter and spoke to some friendly people here at the marina. 

In Harstad

At our Winter berth

 Having never been in Norway in the winter its an exciting time for us, we look forward to walks around Harstad, there is some lovely scenery as well as a bustling town so we will have lots to keep us out of mischief. We have fitted an extra heater aboard and if the worst comes to the worst the clubhouse has a nice warm shower so we will be able to defrost!! 

Returning to Troms county

With unusually gentle weather we could easily think winter might be many months away. This time last year this area already had wintry conditions for about a month now. In just a few short weeks temperatures can drop to low minus 20°C bringing deep and long lasting snow. Local opinion from hardened fishermen and indeed our own research suggests that further north might indeed be one step too far in mid October especially with a boat without main engine. Weather can change quickly and dramatically. We must not forget we are as far north as Alaska and many hundred miles north of Papay that itself hardly has warm winters!. Therefore with heavy hearts we set a slow course  back south. The weather wasn't too bad a we went back up Alta fjord and the occasional uncomfortable sea was easily taken in Quicksteps stride. At the top of the fjord we turned west away from Hammerfest and strangely north due to the direction taken by the sound.

Leaving Alta marina

Hills surrounding Alta

Alta disappearing in to the distance

Small community in Finnmark

Low clouds clinging to the top of hills

Even lower clouds cutting hills in two

At 70° 20.177 North we turned down towards Bergsfjord again and that probably will be as far north as we take this adventure, certainly for this year. We loved our weeks stay at Bergsfjord, the beautiful and quiet Finnmark village and so with friendly messages coming over the phone we tied up again in the marina. We have now been given the possibility of a permanent berth for winter here so it is quite likely we will spend a while in and around the dramatic landscape that surrounds the village.

Approaching Bergsfjord

Leaving Finnmark

Barren hills

Monday though in the early afternoon we set course around the Finnmark/Troms border to land again in Skjervoy. We have some provisioning to do and it is a usefully large town to buy electric heaters and some clothing. The distance of 25 miles or so also is exposed to the open sea, so watching for suitable weather saw us completing the last hour or so in the dark. Others too seemed to be following our lead and we had the Hurtigruten, a large 50m processing ship and a fishing boat all converging on the harbour at the same time as us! We knew with our AIS we would beat in the Hurtigruten and fishing boat by a good  few minutes, but the fish farm 50m ship was going to be a close call. We increased our speed to maximum (all relative at just under 6 knots!) and made it in ahead with her around 0.2 miles behind us! In the frozen evening we tied up under a glorious display of northern lights.

Fishing boat keeping us company between Finnmark and Troms counties

Vast spaces of empty hills, settlements are few and far between

Bye for now Finnmark

Stunning skies 

Sun setting leaving us in the dark 

Chased in by a big ship with northern lights above

-1 deg C frosting up the camera lens

Very bright Merry dancers, but even brighter marina lights!

Yesterday we walked around the town and shops also visiting the great library. Later in the day when the rain started (temperatures up to 9°C) we decided to go for a longer walk! We climbed back up above the town and had a picnic in the evening light sitting in the shelter up on the hill. The town looked lovely in the dark even in the rainy and windy night.

Alta and Hammerfest!

We have had an incredible few days in the far north of Norway! 

Bergsfjord was a fantastic stopping place, a lovely community with friendly welcoming people and lovely scenery. We made the most of our time there to follow some of the marked trails. We also made use of a BBQ and shelter which was tucked under a hill with a lake by its side and the noise of waterfalls running nearby. Nestled around the barbecue in the calm evening with merry dancers flickering in the sky we discussed just how lucky we were to be leading the life that we have chosen in Norway.

End of the road! Bergsfjord

With the heater due to be picked up in Alta in the coming week we decided to make an earlier start following the good weather towards Oksfjord, virtually half way between Bergsfjord and Alta. Alta lies at the end of a rather long fjord, meaning that it actual is back in the high 69deg. As we were approaching Oksfjord the sea which despite the low winds was throwing at us a notable swell and rumble began to calm. Keen to make haste to Alta so not to miss a weather opportunity we motored beyond Oksfjord and for the city.

Northern lights in Bergsfjord

One of the ferries which connects the smaller communities with no road links

Spotting dolphins beside the boat we slowed down hoping they might stay close and we could have a good look, bringing the boat to a stop the dolphins seemed less keen to be near and so we moved on again, as we did the dolphins came closer than ever, literally playing around the bow, leading us along for several minutes, great company on route! 

Dolphins, which have all proved camera shy, or perhaps we aren't quick enough with the camera

Leading the way to Alta!

Alta is the biggest city in Finnmark and has just short of 20000 people, the marina was set up by some boating enthusiasts and it is fairy central. We tied to the long pontoon on the more sheltered side, despite no bad weather forecast we didn't want a repeat of the uncomfortable stay in Engenes where fender watching can take away the enjoyment and option of leaving the boat. Now several days since a shower and having not braved an on deck shower with temperatures outside below the double figures we made a bee line for the boat club showers. The boat club was locked but with the help of a local we had access and got the much longed for showers, making socialising a little more pleasant (for everyone!)! 

Eagle on the lookout for fish

Towing a pontoon... I guess they can stop where ever they want!

As we walked back to the boat from the shower block we were stopped by a man who had seen our boat at the marina and was interested to find out a bit about what we were doing. After speaking for 10 mins he invited us to his house for a cup of coffee and a slice of toast, overwhelmed again having just arrived in Alta and being treated with such kindness we gratefully accepted his generous offer. He gave us a quick tour by car of Alta, pointing out some of the interesting architecture including the Northern Lights Cathedral. Welcomed in to his house within moments his wife had put dinner on the table, we ate some of the nicest home caught fish we have ever tasted, if only one day we could learn to cook fish like that! 

Altas' Northern Light Cathedral, light to resemble the northern lights

Drinking coffee after dinner we mentioned that part of the reason we were in Alta was to pick up our heater, dubious whether or not the shop would be open the following morning being a Saturday, within minutes he was on the phone to the owner to find out opening hours and if our heater had already arrived. The heater was indeed in store, unfortunately the shop owner was not, in fact he was in Finland! To make matters worse he was in Finland for a further two weeks. The owner provided a number for someone who might be able to open up the store and our host didn't hesitate in calling him for us, a few moments later we were driven down to pick up the heater. With the heater back aboard we were disappointed to find that a few parts vital to running the heater had been forgotten about so 1 months after putting our heater away to be fixed, which we were told with shipping would be back to us in 4 days, we still have a heater we cannot use, disappointing to say the least. Especially being told that temperatures can plummet to -30 deg c this far north ...

Having also mentioned we were thinking of aiming towards Hammerfest we were advised that it might not have the facilities we were looking for and that a powerful current could see the relatively short distance of 40 miles between Alta and Hammerfest taking a long time especially with our lack of power. Having second thoughts about taking the boat to Hammerfest they mentioned that there was daily buses from Alta so we considered doing that in the morning. Amazingly they then offered to take us there, have a look around and then return with them, having already been treated to a lovely dinner and company we didn't want to abuse their kindness, but they insisted and being dropped off in the evening we agreed to a 10am start to drive north. 

We have made it to Hammerfest! 

Making it to Alta we wanted to go a quick walk through the city centre in the evening, the town looked very pretty in the dark and we were surprised to have such relatively warm evenings so far north and inland, Alta over winter last year saw almost -30 deg so we were very fortunate to be having 7 deg. 

This morning as planned we buckled up to be driven the 100 mile trip to Hammerfest, it was great to get a more inland journey for a change, passing Sami settlements and also seeing the incredibly bare and barren landscape of Finnmark was an experience of its own. The landscape was much flatter than we had imagined, the huge areas of treeless stony land was very different to the green mountains further south. Hammerfest was a nice little town but as mentioned lacked the facilities we had hoped for and so we decided that it would not make a suitable winter stop, with this in mind we will not take Quickstep there, at least not until after winter. We were given a brilliant whistle stop tour of Hammerfest, including being driven to a great viewpoint above the city. Looking over the boats heading in and out of the town we were fed a pie and warmed by a hot cup of coffee. 

Returning to Alta in the afternoon our generous hosts invited us to finish the coffee with them, before we knew it there was pizza in the oven and we were shown round the property and some of the amazing machinery they have, it was worth us noting that much of this was for snow removal... a sign of things to come perhaps! Still overwhelmed by people making the effort to come over and say hi when we arrive in marinas this was beyond any kindness we could imagine, treated like old friends by two strangers, just breathtaking. 

We were also very touched to be given a pair of homemade slippers, which will see Amanda through the winter with toasty feet and two lovely handmade fish hook ornaments. Norway has been the dream of a lifetime, and has been not only an amazing adventure for us but also a true education on what is really important in life, the freedom and kindness we have found from south to north will stick with us forever. 

Amazing gifts, Amanda parted with them for a few seconds so we could get a photo!