Category Archives: Norway

Well they say time and tide wait for no man … but when it comes to boating endeavours in the Arctic port of Tromsø there is a lot of waiting to be done by the mariner himself! There was only one window to launch today due to the tide (early in the morning), however at that time there were a series of quite severe snow flurries blowing through – after consideration the guys at the slip here decided to postpone the launch until tomorrow morning at 8:00.
So rather than reacquainting myself with being on the water today was spent tinkering with electric circuitry as I put together the HF radio system that will keep us in touch with the rest of the world while on the high seas. By tinkering I mean trying to attach 1 mm plugs to tiny wires with solder (a material used to bind electric circuits). Given my clumsy paint encrusted fingers this is no mean task, but perseverance got me there in the end … with a few curses delivered to the heavens on the way.

So it seems I will have terra firma beneath me for yet another night and I’m presently suspended by a crane by the water’s edge just waiting to get the hull wet in the morning  … just goes to show nothing goes to plan!

Not much time to write last night as today we get dropped into the water! So right now I’m tying up all the loose ends and saying goodbye to land for the next two years. Tying up loose ends means painting, servicing the  engine, stowing away all loose gear and just generally tidying up to make the transition from land to water. That being said … I had better get back to it … I’ll write more once more when we are safely back in our element!

Well with all the preparations in full swing for the trip we are running almost to schedule albeit a few day late. However, it seems the Arctic was not content to wait for us. Right now there is a heavy snow falling around the yacht and I am hiding out inside with the diesel burner on full blast rising out the weather. Today I was supposed to be painting, and with only one full day to go before we launch it is getting critical that another layer of paint is applied to the hull and the antifouling paint is applied to the bottom – this latter is important as without it we will carrying more than just two in the blue on the boat …. Beneath us we would be dragging marine organisms all around the globe where they may end up being major pests and ecological nightmares. So it looks like come rain, hail, snow or sun I’ll be out lathering the hull in paint. Then it’s just a matter of slipping into the water and sailing away!

Somewhere along this epic voyage we have a plan to tie the knot – I’m picturing us exchanging vows under the shade of a coconut palm while gentle waves lap upon a sandy beach in the Caribbean. The alternative of performing our nuptials on a barren icy shore with the spectators carrying large calibre rifles in case a polar bear decides to join in the festivities just doesn’t have the same ring to it… That being said, I reckon it’s pretty important that one of us doesn’t fall overboard sometime between now and the happy day! Now I’m sure there will be times when Leonie will feel like pushing me overboard, but the aim is to definitely arrive with the two in the blue intact.

The problem is that during our long ocean passages we will be sailing 24hrs a day sometimes for several days at a time … If you do the maths then that means that one of us has to be asleep below while the other fights the elements, or hopefully simply fights off the fatigue of a long watch at sea. But what if the person at the helm falls overboard? The thought of Leonie flailing in our wake while Widdershins happily sails on and while I slumber on unawares is not a notion that will be conducive for a good night sleep (in the case around four hours).

The solution to the dilemma takes the form of our newly installed man (or woman) overboard alert system – the Raymarine Life Tag. It works like this – whenever behind the helm you very own intrepid explorer will be wearing a small beacon strapped to his/her wrist. Wether drawn by the song of a siren, sick of the on-board company or simply taken unawares by a wall of green water coming over the side – once in the drink and 6 meters away their blissfully slumbering companion will be torn from peaceful repose by a blaring alarm. Provided they don’t knock themselves out when sitting bolt upright in the tight berth, they are then free to take charge and return for their sodden soul mate.

Of course we will also be attached to the deck by a harness at all times, but I don’t plan to make it easy for my bride-to-be to escape!

Painting today …which means inevitably I have just as much paint on my hands, my arms and face as I have managed to apply to the various parts of the yacht that were intended to be painted … But there is a very simple pleasure in standing in the sun and applying the finishing touches to a fresh coat of paint. Right now the weather in Tromso is showing its pleasant side and the warm air seems in direct contrast to the snow clad hills surrounding the boat harbour, and with each stroke of the brush I am one step closer to flinging off the tethers that bind me to shore. I think all this serenity is worth a little paint in the hair …

The sun has finally broken through the clouds and for the first time in days I was accompanied by my shadow as I took the 12 km round trip hike into town to pick up various items including a new starter motor. It seems that the small electrical fault I had been wistfully dreaming would be fixed in a morning was actually a broken starter …without which the motor simply will not run. Oh well. A few more dollars spent, and a bit more of my blood dripping into the bilge, and we are once again ready to roll!

The rest of the day was taken up with cutting a new inspection hatch in the fuel tank and generally cleaning the tank out so that it is sparkly clean at the outset of our big journey. A little harder than it might seem but rest assured, the cascade of sparks falling into the diesel dregs at the bottom failed to ignite any fires whilst I attacked the recalcitrant tank with an angle grinder! The tank is now thoroughly chastised after giving me a day of grief, and has bared its heart to me for a thorough scrub. And now, rather than having to lift he entire engine out as was necessitated by the previous system, I can get into the tank easily to solve the various problems that will inevitably not appear now that I have gone to this trouble.

There are still plenty of hours of sunlight ahead tonight … well 24 hours of them. I fear however that the bulk of the evening will be spent cleaning up the mess I have made. I think Leonie might have been right about that one…. Right now I am perched on a bench strewn with tools and can barely see the ground for oil soaked rags, spanners, electrical equipment and buckets holding dubious oily contents. Not to mention my grimy fingers working over the keys in front of me!

Well the good news is we are one step closer to hitting the water!

Here in Zürich things are getting more hectic everyday. In a little over two weeks I’m leaving for Tromsø, and in the meantime there are gazillions of loose ends to follow up. Today I spent hours at several Swiss governmental offices just to announce that I’m leaving the country, and of course they didn’t let me go without emptying my pockets. Thanks to Swiss bureaucracy there’s a whole lot more of administrative stuff I need to take care off, and of course there are tons of other things to do, like emptying my apartment and getting rid of most of my things, preparing for my PhD defence in a couple of days, arranging a PhD-party, resubmitting and publishing a couple of scientific papers, etc etc. Meanwhile Patrick is in Tromsø and not only struggling with the bad weather – our elderly boat needs to be in perfect shipshape before launching, and organizing everything in a remote arctic Norwegian town does not make things any easier. Well, not much more time, and we can leave all the struggle behind. Looking very much forward to finally setting sails!

Thirty knots of wind are rattling the rigging of Widdershins and a steady driving drizzle is descending from the snowy hills to the South of Tromsø. Meanwhile I’m hunkered down in the cabin with my hands wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee contemplating the list of tasks for the day. Anything outside is going to be a struggle right now, so it looks like this will be a chance to get the cabin organised, jettison some of the accumulated clutter that is not essential to the trip ahead and complete a provision list to ensure that Leonie and I are kept well in food and essentials.

It is surprising how much equipment is needed for our trip – photography gear takes up room in hard padded cases, piles of SCUBA equipment are crammed into every available hidey-hole, computers and electronics are mounted on every free flat surface, rolled up charts are tucked away in a few remaining spaces, and tools, wet weather gear and sundry other items are all packed tightly into what remains of our space. Widdershins is not a large yacht by any means and getting all this equipment stowed is quite a challenge! Still as long as there’s space for Leonie and I … and perhaps a bottle of fortifying spiced rum for those cold nights on watch.