Notes on Norway by Andrea Joop-McKay s/v Diomedea

Norway is a fantastic cruising ground within easy reach of particularly the UK although the North Sea can be unkind at times. The weather is generally more stable and predictable than west coast Scotland, with Scandinavian Highs often lasting for many days.
We spent two summers in Norway (2.5-3 months each) and have only just scratched the surface of its potential. Both times we decided to sail to the Northwest coast, particularly north of the arctic circle, which is scenically nothing short of spectacular.

Sailing
Most of the sailing is on flat water as the coast is largely protected by outlying “skerries”. The winds are mostly light and it is definitely worth bringing light wind sails .Unfortunately a lot of motoring should also be expected particularly in the far North. We did not use our storm jib but did make use of 3 reefs in the main on the more blustery days. Generally we preferred to hide at solid protected pontoons if there was a gale or storm forecast or if we leaving the boat for more than a few hours. We prefer to be out and about sailing and anchoring at other times.
There a thousands of anchorages and gjeste brygges and none of the cruising guides do all of them justice. We used 3 different ones:
1) Norwegian Cruising Guide by Attainable Adventures, Vol 3,4 and 5, 2017 Edition (would recommend the hard copy to allow flicking back to coast chartlets on this complex coast this is somewhat tedious on the cheaper electronic version)
2) Imray Norway Pilot 3rd Edition, 2016
3) Havneguiden Bergen to Kirkenes (the older edition is in English and Norwegian, the newer one only in Norwegian
We however also just picked charted anchorages from our Navionics Chart if wind directions and soundings looked suitable. Unfortunately the charts give little indication of obstructions such the thousands of salmon farms and private docks and moorings. Be prepared for a plan B if you find your chosen spot unsuitable.
A chart plotter at the helm is essential as there a lot of rocks along this coast. We have heard of occasional uncharted ones but generally the accuracy of our Navionics charts was very good.
Gjeste brygges (guest pontoons) are widespread and surprisingly affordable considering that most other goods and services are quite expensive. For a 48 foot boat you can expect to pay 100-400 Krona ( 10-40 British Pounds). Large towns and the Lofotens are by far the most expensive, in the North they are occasionally even free. In more populous areas and further south rafting at the pontoons is common practice but we managed to avoid it most of the time. Many gjeste brygges only accept payment electronically via an app: https://gomarina.com/
Rescue services are apparently expensive for foreign yachts. You may decide to become a member of the RS which gives you 2 free tows per annum and other benefits https://www.redningsselskapet.no/english/ but we did not opt into this.
Diesel is widely available and reasonable priced- similar to UK.

Weather
We used https://www.windy.com/and found it reasonably accurate.
On VHF there is no weather reporting. The Norwegian forecast is available in English at https://www.yr.no/hav_og_kyst/tekstvarsel/?spr=eng.
A useful app is Kystvaer which reports coastal observations real time https://itunes.apple.com/no/app/kystvær.../id698101935?l=nb...8.
There is no “better” direction of travel along the coast. It is supposed to blow from the north later in the season suggesting going North quickly and then ambling South but we never found this to be true.
May can be very cold and in the North you can have cold snaps any time. We found Fladden Suits better than our wet weather gear to stay warm.
A cabin heater is essential in the boat.

Formalities
There are many designated entry ports along the coast but we also have heard of cruisers checking in at small town police stations. If you have a non-EU passport you need to make the effort with immigration in clearing in and out of Schengen by presenting yourself to a police station. Customs was not interested in us on our first visit in 2017 but on the more recent visit boarded our boat unexpectedly a couple of days after we arrived. They appeared mainly interested in alcohol imports. At this stage (2018) there is no requirement to notify customs of your arrival

Money
Norway has become a virtually cashless society. Card use is widespread and only occasionally did we need cash (mainly for honesty payment boxes at pontoons). Banks do not have counters/customer service. It is impossible to change foreign currency at a bank.

Coms
There are two main providers in Norway: Telenor and Telia. Only Telia was offering a prepaid option with plenty of data (12GB) in 2017 and 2018. A passport is required to get a sim card and top ups happen via vouchers. If you run out before the monthly data allowance is due you can top up early. Not sure if foreign credit cards allow top up on the internet without a voucher. Overseas calls even to the rest of Europe are expensive add ons. It is preferable to use data to make skype calls.
The network is nothing short of amazing. It is uncommon to be somewhere without 4G.

Provisioning
“Don’t go to Norway to save money” was the advice given before our first trip.
Eating out is exceedingly expensive and most of the food is very simply prepared but very fresh fish. If you are half a fisherman there is plenty of fish to be had and fish is cheap at the supermarket if you are not inclined to get cold in a tiny dinghy. Wine generally doubles your restaurant bill.
Wine purchased at the state controlled Vinmonopol is also not exactly cheap. The Vinmonopol opening hours are severely restricted and shops are only located in medium sized and larger towns. A can of cider from the supermarket (supermarkets are only allowed to sell low alcohol drinks) will set you back up to 40 Krona.
Shopping for fresh veg and milk is easy but the quality fresh produce varies. Buy what looks fresh when you can. Even small towns often have several supermarkets with relatively extended opening hours.
Provision for non-perishables before departure in the UK or Europe.
LPG is available usually as swap and go, but it is also possible to fill international bottles at selected filling stations. In Tromso and Rorvik these are close to the guest pontoon. http://www.lpgnorge.no/stasjonsoversikt/english/

Getting off the Boat
We love walking and would often choose our anchorages/gjeste brygges according to the surrounding mountain walking potential.
To plan your sailing or land trips you need a 1:410 000 road map (turist kart by Cappelen Damm is widely available from bookstores in the larger towns). The coast of Norway is so complex that without the overview it is easy to get lost in the detail. To make matters even worse many place names are endlessly recycled up and down the coast.
The bus and ferry network is extensive and timetables are all available on the net. To have flexibility we often took our bikes (transported for free) for a return journey if the time table did not suit or we wanted the extra exercise.
A lot of walks are well described and graded ( although the grading is a little haphazard) on the Norwegian Trekking Association website (Den Norkse Turist Forening: https://english.dnt.no/?_ga=2.117656969.1043111032.1535285578-513380885.1529074651
and you can look at maps and even print contour maps for your walks. The DNT also has a fabulous network of mountain huts which are positively luxurious compared to mountain huts in other parts of the world. You can get a key for a 100 Krona deposit at any DNT office and stay at the huts at a nominal fee (150-200Krona) considering most provide lots: crockery, cutlery, cooking utensils, cooking gas, wood for the stove and even doonas (!). All you need to do is bring your food and a silk sleeping bag and pillow case. You can visit these huts even if you are not a full of DNT member and sign in as a visitor which increases the day fees slightly.
Many communes have websites with local walks as well which are not usually listed on the DNT website. Norwegian love hill walking and there is a cairn on just about every summit.

Overwintering
There are numerous places where this is possible and affordable, but in water rather than dry dock storage is the norm.