Kjøtta in the snow

We have been out gallivanting for the past few days in Kjøtta. The KNBF mooring buoy stays in the water all year and so we tied up to that. There is a small pontoon set up on the island but we weren't originally sure if they allowed visiting boats or not, as it happens we spoke to a local who said we were welcome to tie up for the weekend as several of the finger berths are free over winter. 

Moored up in the calm

Kjøtta is a beautiful little island and even more  amazing in the snow! The mooring buoy is a little distance away in the bay formed by the calf of Kjøtta, so we rowed the tender across to the pontoons and tied up before each walk. After barely making the first walk upright we brought our brodders with us for the next few...remembering of course to take them off again before jumping in the inflatable!! 

After one of the many snow blizzards!

We also rowed across to the calf in the evening and watched one of the best shows of northern lights we have seen yet, very dramatic surrounded by snow clouds and further from the cities glare. 

Walking around in the dark with the fresh snow on the ground, northern lights in the sky and Christmas trees lit across the water we were feeling very christmassy. The only thing for it was to return to the boat, get some Perry Como on the radio and make our first mulled wine of the year! Bliss, the boat still smells of cloves and cinnamon! 

We seemed to time each walk with a blizzard so dived for cover in the ferry waiting room several times, the locals must have thought we were mad, sitting in the waiting room hours before a ferry was due. 

It's been a while since we have spent much time off grid at an anchorage or mooring and its a different experience at minus a few to the summer temperatures! Having only received the parts for the heater on our return from the UK we hadn't even tried it out before getting to the mooring, thankfully it seemed to get going and get the boat heated quickly, it saves running the generator for hours and hours with a fan heater. With all the trouble we have had with the heater up to now we still need to build some confidence in it, so we didn't leave it on over night. In a mostly uninsulated RIB that means we go to bed with temeperatues in the high 20s and walk up with temperatures in the low single figures! 

Inside the ferry terminal

Our poor dehumidifier has been becoming less and less effective for a while now, we really don't want to have to fork out for a new one but the boat is virtually awash with condensation at some points, worse when we are on a mooring with no heating left on through the night. Condensation is becoming a real trial actually, with temperatures inside sometimes 30℃+ what it is outside the walls particularly behind the lockers are just running, mopping up is a daily task. We have had to choose carefully on positioning things aboard and so have placed the more sensitive items in the lockers below sea level, which have a more static temperature and suffer less from condensation. 

This is all very grand, but today in the preparation for leaving the mooring our water container was placed in the cabin area and at some point the tap was knocked meaning 5+ltrs of water poured in all the under deck lockers and all over the bedding!! thankfully we noticed before to long and could minimise the damage, so we are now counting on the dehumidifier to give a good push today and have the boat nice and dry by bedtime!! 

This little mishap meant we were a half an hour later leaving the mooring than planned and so we knew part of our trip back to Hagan would be in the black dark. On the journey back we also got in a thick snowy blizzard and dodged between three ships, having just thought the other day how we basically get the sea to ourselves cruising at this time of year, we certainly didn't today! 

We had been hoping to head out to some live music and maybe a Christmas beer tonight but alas there was some lockers needing sponged out! The joys of boaty life! 

All in all a great few days in Kjøtta, we're back to the safety of the marina in Hagan in time for the gales forecasted for tomorrow and over the next week, so will probably stay put for a day or two!  

Oh, we have also lost our camera charging lead... so all photos are from our ancient mobile phone!