Norway:General

See this page in English See this page in French See this page in German See this page in Spanish See this page in Italian See this page in Portuguese See this page in Russian

From Skipper2Skipper

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit]

General

[edit]

Cruising Areas

The Famous Fjords
Enlarge
The Famous Fjords
Kristiansund
Enlarge
Kristiansund

The Kingdom of Norway occupies the western side of the Scandinavian peninsula. The area is predominantly forested, well preserved and remarkably clean. For us sailing folks, the main attraction is undeniably the fjords. The wild, rugged look of the fjords makes the area a very interesting and beautiful one to explore, and visit again and again.

Geiranger Fjord
Enlarge
Geiranger Fjord
Beautiful Norway
Enlarge
Beautiful Norway

In general, you will find very few anchorages, let alone good ones. The main problem is that the fjords are extremely deep. But, there is an increasing number of public pontoons available. Together with private pontoons which you should be able to use if the owner is away (ask permission if you can!), you should generally be ok if you plan a couple of days ahead.

If you are staying on the beaten track and prefer to moor up in the marinas and ports, you will not have any problems. There is plenty of space and good facilities, although you might struggle for good repair shops and delivery of parts may take a bit longer than you might expect. Best facilities are in and around larger towns and yachting centres such as Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Olso. In Oslo you will find anything you can ever want.

You have to remember, that fundamentally, this is cold water cruising, even in the summer. The sailing season is short and weather unreliable, so the number of visitors is small. This, however, varies from season to season and during a warm summer the place can be positively heaving with boats. Well, you might see more than 3 in a week. One of the most popular destinations, visited more and more, is Spitsbergen (Svalbard). The majority of sailors there are from coutries with similar climates, in particular Sweden, Denmark and Russia. More and more Russia, perhaps not surprisingly.

Norway is a very expensive country, particularly in comparison to European countries further south. This is readily seen in prices on food and alcohol, together with fuel and gas. In general, everything is expensive, although provisioning, gas (new, refils in major marinas only), fuel, etc., is readily available in all the ports.

If your landfall in Norway should be Arendal, and your intention is to go east, make sure you also tour Kristianssand and Mandal.

Pulpit Rock
Enlarge
Pulpit Rock
[edit]

Weather

This is a weather template included on all the relevant pages. Please edit at Norway Weather.

Despite its northerly location, the climate in Norway is temperate, thanks to the warming effects of the Gulf Stream flowing along its coast. The interior highlands have an Arctic type of climate in winter with snow, strong winds and severe frosts, but during fine summer spells the daytime temperatures can rise above 86°F (30°C) with long hours of sunshine. By contrast, the coastal areas have comparatively mild winter conditions. Gales, rain and cloud are likely along the west coast, particularly in winter, and the rainfall is frequent and heavy. The lowland area around Oslo is the driest and warmest part of the country in summer.

However, the weather in Norway and, in particular, around the coast is notoriously unpredictable, but several sheltered areas exist, which are ideal for cruising. The main area of interest, as a cruising ground, is a chain of islands, located along the west coast of the country, stretching as far as the North Cape! Another good area in terms of cruising is the fjords ground. The area is generally well sheltered, but does suffer from occasional severe gusts of wind. These are only a problem when anchored very near the fjord wall, as the gusts tend to be almost vertical in direction. Have a look at the anchoring section for some tips. Summer weather in continental Norway and further North is unreliable and prone to instability. Visibility can sometimes be poor, with low lying mist or fog. Winds can be strong and gusty and the weather can generally change very suddenly.

The areas along the South Coast of the Scandinavian region probably have the finest weather all round, particularly for sailing. They say you have more sunshine on the South Coast than in any area of any neighbouring country! Sørlandet, as the South Coast of Norway is called, has predictable, more or less, fine sea breezes during warm summer days. As the land warms up in the morning, the winds pick up at about 9 am, these are almost always Easterly, from the land, they increase steadily and veer South West in the afternoon, often reaching F5 (Beaufort Scale). As the day progresses, the winds ease, backing East, giving totally calm conditions for the evening and night. As you can see, this can provide for some fantastic sailing with little or no motoring, if planned right.

[edit]

Navigation

All areas are well marked with buoys, however many sea marks are Rusty Iron Pipes driven directly into the rocks. They will never change to another colour. Inshore sailing in Norway is quite uncomplicated and well marked for day and night sailing, but don't miss a mark!

[edit]

Marinas, Anchorages and Mooring

In Norway, you will normally only visit the harbours for shopping and short visits. Probably you will prefer to anchor in one of the many beautiful unspoiled anchorages with a lot of privacy. It is common to anchor directly Bow to the Rock or even alongside. Watch out for the gusts of wind though, a board with fenders is advisable.

In Norway you will need 2 "rock hooks" and a heavy hammer. The hook is a "L" shaped piece of IRON with a ring to tie your mooring lines to. The hook is very useful to "hammer" into Rock crevises. You can buy them on arrival. During most of your "mooring time" you will have to use a stern anchor and 2 mooring lines at the bow, tied to trees or rocks or stones. 3-4 long mooring lines (20-30 meter long each) would be quite useful as well. They don't need to be heavy/thick.

I also advise you to have an inflatable dinghy, as you will frequently anchor.

Norway Fjord
Enlarge
Norway Fjord
[edit]

Wintering in Norway

The regulations for storing foreign yachts in Norway are as follows: "Yachts complete with necessary equipment which travellers are bringing with them by entry into Norway can, according to the lines dated 15th of April 1985 given by the Directorate of Customs and Excise, be allowed imported without customs clearance with assessment of duty and value added tax, on the following conditions:

  • The yacht is imported by a person who does not have his permanent adress in Norway, and do not intend to stay any longer than six months in Norway
  • The yacht is imported for temporary use and afterwards re-exportation within 6 months after the importation. The yacht can not without customs clearance be left behind to any person living in Norway
  • The yacht is only used in Norway by the person filling the conditions according to item no. 1,
  • The yacht is only for private use, and not used for commersial transportation neither of goods nor people in domestic traffic against any kind of payment.

However Customs can give permit to store yachts in Norway for a longer period when conditions are favourable. Everybody who fullfill the conditions mentioned will normally get a permisssion to transit store the yacht in Norway for a further period, over winter for instance. I recommend them to contact custom as soon as possible when they plan to leave the yacht in Norway. Your case uncovered that our practise was too restrict. And do not forget to contact custom when arriving Norway directly from other countries than Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Owners who want to leave the yacht in Norway must contact custom and get a permission as mentioned.

[edit]

Marinas, Harbours, Anchorages and Ports


[edit]

Regions

Retrieved from "http://www.skipper2skipper.com/wiki/Norway:General"
Personal tools
guides
Southern Europe
East Asia
The big buoys