The temperature continued to drop in Farsund in early February, bringing more snow and our first grocery trip in the white stuff. And surface ice started to form around the boat. The ice was still pretty slushy and we could poke through it with a boat hook, but it happened remarkably quickly.

We also took delivery of a pallet of parts and supplies that we had shipped from the US late last year. Most important were new HVAC units to replace the failed units on the guest and master staterooms.

Below are highlights from February 1st through 4th, 2021. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

2/1/2021

Morning Calm Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E Another calm morning in Farsund, with more snow on the way (clockwise from top left: forward, aft, starboard and port).

Groceries Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E Grocery shopping in the snow, a first for us on Dirona.

Snowing Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E Dirona at the Farsund guest harbour with snow falling and not a hint of wind.

Walk Position: 58°5.39’N, 6°48.35’E Out for a late afternoon walk in the fresh snow along a new path we found up the hill behind the guest harbour. We’re really liking the Baffin boots—they are super warm and have great traction.

Dirona Position: 58°5.43’N, 6°48.28’E Dirona moored in snowy Farsund. A little more ice, now covered with snow, has built up in the guest harbour in the foreground.

Dusk Position: 58°5.48’N, 6°48.50’E Dusk looking across to our berth at the Farsund guest harbour.

2/2/2021

Ice Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.36’E The temperature is getting colder and was 26.7°F (-2.9°C) overnight. More surface ice is forming in the outer harbour and big chunks broken by the tugs coming and going occasionally float past.

2/3/2021

Ice Filling In Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E With another night of below-freezing temperatures, a light surface ice is starting to form in the inner harbour now too.

Politi Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E The Politi (police) came by today to check on our status. They were under the impression that we’d just arrived in the country and were concerned about COVID risk, but were satisfied when we showed them James’ passport stamp from Stavanger.

Pallet Delivery Position: 58°5.50’N, 6°48.37’E Late last year, we’d arranged with GAC Logistics Norway to ship a pallet of parts from the US to Norway. The pallet was delayed several weeks by COVID-related issues, but arrived into Bergen a couple of days ago and here regional transport is dropping it off.

Unpacking Pallet Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E James heading back to Dirona with the first load of parts as we unpack the pallet.

New HVACs Position: 58°5.50’N, 6°48.37’E In an unlikely happenstance, both the master stateroom and the guest stateroom HVAC systems independently failed at around the same time. Then the pilot house system has been having trouble making heat in cooler climates, so we decided to replace all three since they are 11-year-old units. We’re really looking forward to seeing those systems working again. Also in the pallet were two replacement Headhunter water pumps, a new EPIRB, some generator oil filters and other miscellaneous items.

Replacing HVACs Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E This afternoon we started replacing the faulty HVAC units with the new units that arrived today in the pallet from the US. We started late in the day and just will do the master stateroom today and should be able to do the other two tomorrow. Read more …

2/4/2021

Ice Position: 58°5.50’N, 6°48.37’E The temperature is 21°F (-6°C) this morning and the surface ice around us is thickening. We can still punch through the ice with a boat hook, but only just. It looks to be about two inches thick.

Channel Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E There’s getting to be a fair bit of ice between us and the channel the FFS tugs make on their way in and out of port.

Frozen In Position: 58°5.49’N, 6°48.37’E We’re getting close to frozen in today when the water was completely ice-free two days ago. It’s not yet thick, but it sure happened fast.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.