MV Dirona travel digest for Andalsnes to Geiranger, Norway 2018


Show Andalsnes to Geiranger, Norway 2018 travel log map Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise.

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8/16/2018: Departing Trondheim
Departing our berth in Vestre Kanalhavn five weeks after we arrived. We really enjoyed our stay in Trondheim, and it was an excellent place to leave the boat while we returned to Seattle for work.
8/16/2018: Skansen Bridge
We passed through Skansen Bridge on the first opening, just after 6am.
8/16/2018: Narrow
Rather than continue behind the breakwater alongside the marina, we exited earlier through a narrow but sufficiently deep small boat passage.
8/16/2018: Fast Cats
Two fast catamarans departing Trondheim, likely the start of their workday.
8/16/2018: Fenders
The row of fenders we had deployed against the pilings in Trondheim. It will take a while to get everything stowed.
8/16/2018: Nordkapp
The Hurtigruten Nordkapp en route to Trondheim for an 8:30am arrival.
8/16/2018: Fortifications
German World War II fortifications to our east.
8/16/2018: Power Wash
James giving the boat a power washing. It had gotten a little dirty after several weeks in the city.
8/16/2018: Drying Lines
The long lines we'd deployed in Trondheim spent a fair bit of time in the water at higher tides and were quite dirty. So we power-washed them clean and hung them up to dry. Pictured are 2 white 1-inch 75-foot lines, two black 1-inch 25-ft lines that we'd tied together to make a 50-foot line, a black 1-inch 35-ft line, and a dozen or so lightweight lines used to hang the fenders.
8/16/2018: Tern Sea
The Danish tanker Tern Sea en route to Trondheim.
8/16/2018: Terningen Lighthouse
The lighthouse on the island of Terningen was built in 1833. It was automated in 1991 and the buildings now serve as a guest house.
8/16/2018: Ireland
The Dutch natural gas-powered cement carrier Ireland heading to Trondheim.
8/16/2018: Bruschetta
Bruschetta for lunch underway with delicious dark bread and fresh tomatoes and basil that we'd picked up at Meny in Trondheim. We've been particularly enjoying the whole-grain breads in Norway.
8/16/2018: Pioneer Knutsen
The LNG tanker Pioneer Knutsen, also en route to Trondheim.
8/16/2018: Glimt
A ferry was exiting through the channel at the north end of Ramsoysundet as we neared our intended anchorage there, and we were looking forward to seeing one pass while we were at anchor. When we heard a roar, we expected to see a ferry and instead saw the Royal Norwegian Navy Skjold-class corvette Glimt passing through (Skjold means 'shield' in Norwegian and Glimt means 'flash').

The Norwegian-designed Skjold-class ships are surface-effect crafts made of fiberglass and carbon composite materials. The 155.8 ft (47.50 m) vessels displace only 275 tonnes fully loaded and can travel at over 60 knots in calm seas (the top speed is classified). It was probably doing close to that as it passed through the anchorage, throwing a stupendous wake. But we loved seeing it.
8/16/2018: Terningen
We also did get to see a ferry as the Terningen passed through after the Glimt. But that was the end of our excitement for the day.
8/17/2018: Hestskjaeret lighthouse
Hestskjaeret lighthouse, constructed in 1879, aglow in the morning sun.
8/17/2018: Nyhamna Gas Plant
The massive Nyhamna Gas Plant, completed in 2007. The plant sends gas through a 745-mile undersea pipeline across the North Sea to Yorkshire, England and supplies 20% of the UK's gas requirements.
8/17/2018: Actuators
We had 30lb Nauticus trim tab actuators on the previous tender, and installed our spares on the new tender. But we felt the newer tender could use beefier actuators, so we brought some 40lb ones back from Seattle and installed them today.
8/18/2018: Vagsetervagen
The view north from our anchorage at Vagsetervagen. We've stopped here for a few nights while a weather system passes through before continuing on to Åndalsnes.
8/18/2018: Pump Prime
Our emergency hydraulic pump won't run unless it is primed. We've been keeping RV anti-freeze in it since that won’t evaporate and it ensures the pump will be primed and ready to go. The problem with this approach is if you make a mistake when operating it and accidentlly run it dry, it will take some time to get the plug out, get water, and refill the pump to restore the prime.

Josh Tofield of Nordhavn 52 Samba came up with the good idea of putting a valve and a hose quick-disconnect on the pump fill port. In this model we just snap on the hose, turn the valve to prime the pump, close the valve, and the pump is ready to go.
8/18/2018: Hydraulic Hoses
While in Seattle, we had MFCP make us some hydraulic hoses to replace the crane hoses that failed while we were in the Lofotens. James installed them today. These are the old hoses, one of which is held together by small hose clamps. Remarkably, it worked beautifully and didn't leak.
8/19/2018: Wind
The storm system we expected is passing through today, bringing gusty winds into our protected anchorage. The offshore winds are forecast to approach 50 knots.
8/20/2018: Romsdalsfjorden
The storm system has passed and we're heading up Romsdalsfjorden towards Åndalsnes in wonderfully calm conditions.
8/20/2018: Scenery
The scenery in Romsdalsfjorden is spectacular. This is looking south just past Mandalen.
8/20/2018: 10,000 Hours
We just crossed an amazing 10,000 trouble-free hours on our John Deere 6068AFM75. Nothing runs like a Deere.
8/20/2018: Åndalsnes
Dirona moored at Åndalsnes harbour in front of their modern visitor center. Today we plan to climb the mountain visible behind, 2,345-ft (715m) Nesakskla.
8/20/2018: Trailhead
Jennifer at the trailhead for Nesakskla peak, and several other trails. Time to break in the new hiking boots.
8/20/2018: Rampestreken
At Rampestreken, a fantastic cantilevered viewpoint at 1902 ft (580m) en route to the Nesakskla summit.
8/20/2018: View
The spectacular view from Rampestreken.
8/20/2018: Dirona
Dirona moored in Andlasnes, viewed from the Rampestreken lookout.
8/20/2018: Stairs
The trail continues up from Rampestreken to the summit of Nesakskla along beautiful stone steps.
8/20/2018: Lunch
Lunch with a view at the top of Nesakskla.
8/20/2018: Romsdalsfjorden Head
Another great view looking east towards the head of Romsdalsfjorden from the summit of Nesakskla. The structure on the left is a small stone mountain hut. Dirona is just visible as a white speck at the right side of the town (click image for a larger view).
8/20/2018: Climb Profile
The elevation profile of our climb today—pretty much straight up, then right back down.
8/20/2018: Convoy
A convoy of army trucks heading into Åndalsnes as we return to Dirona from our hike.
8/20/2018: Fuel Filter Vacuum
We installed a pressure sensor today to put our fuel filter vacuum reading onto the NMEA 2000 bus to enable alerts and alarms on the level.
8/20/2018: Bakgarden Thai
A delicious meal at Bakgarden Thai in Åndalsnes.
8/21/2018: Cow
We picked up a rental car early this morning to drive up the famous National Tourist Route Trollstigen ("The Trolls Road") from Åndalsnes to Geiranger. This cow standing on the road had little concern for our car—we had to sqeeze beside it.
8/21/2018: Trolls
Many of the geographical features in the area are named after trolls, a mystical creature from Norse Mythology. We've seen many troll statues and troll figurines for sale in gift shops. This campsite has no shortage.
8/21/2018: Istra
The river Istra gushing alongside the road.
8/21/2018: Wheels
Jennifer with our ride, a hybrid Toyota Yaris. We were amazed at the excellent fuel economy it got. After driving 165 miles (265 km) with a total elevation gain of 19,700 ft (6,000 m), we'd only burned 10 liters of gasoline (assuming it was full when we picked it up).
8/21/2018: Stigfossen Waterfall
Dramatic Stigfossen Waterfall plumetting from the top of Stigrora, 2,815 ft (858 m) above sea level, down and under Stigfoss Bridge. Trollstigen winds up and along the bridge.
8/21/2018: Stigfoss Bridge
Through a series of switchbacks, climbing the steep slope, we arrived at Stifgoss bridge for with an excellent close-up view to Stigfossen Waterfall.
8/21/2018: Visitor Center
The striking visitor center above Trollstigen.
8/21/2018: Upper Lookout
At the upper lookout above Trollstigen.
8/21/2018: Lower Lookout
Jennifer standing at the lower Trollstigen lookout.
8/21/2018: Trollstigen
The view from the lower lookout to the spectacular switchbacks of Trollstigen with Stigfossen Waterfall on the left, Stigfoss Bridge at the bottom just right of center, and the Romsdal valley in the distance. It was a pretty wild road to drive up. (Click image for a larger view).
8/21/2018: Breakfast
Steady rain had been falling all morning, but we found a little nook with some protection and had a picnic breakfast at the lower lookout overlooking Trollstigen.
8/21/2018: Ferry
The next leg of our journey was a ferry ride across Stofjorden from Linge to Eidsdal.
8/21/2018: Passing
Driving a bus on this road looks challenging—there's not much room to pass.
8/21/2018: Eidsvatnet
The rain has stopped and the skies are clearing, producing this beautiful scene at the lake Eidsvatnet.
8/21/2018: Tunnel
In one of several tunnels we'll pass through today.
8/21/2018: Geirangerfjord
Geirangerfjord is one of the better known and popular fjords in Norway and is part of the West Norwegian Fjords UNESCO World Heritage Site. Full-sized cruise ships regularly visit, as do the Hurtigruten coastal ferries, local ferries and countless other craft. This lookout is perched above Geirangerfjord before the road plunges through a series of switchbacks to the town of Geiranger at the far left. The lookout was packed with cruise ship passengers who had been bussed up from the ship visible off the town.
8/21/2018: Switchback
It's a real struggle for the many full-sized buses to navigate the tight switchbacks. The driver of this bus had to stop and back up on order to complete the corner.
8/21/2018: MSC Preziosa
Passengers disembarking from the 1,092ft (332m) cruise ship MSC Preziosa at Geiranger. The town doesn't have a dock suitable for a vessel of this size, so instead the ship is secured bow-and-stern to large moorings.
8/21/2018: Crowds
The MSC Preziosa has a capacity of 3,959 passengers and the small town of Geiranger was packed with tourists.
8/21/2018: Flydalsjuvet
We continued on the road through Geiranger and up into the hills above. This is the fabulous view looking back down from the Flydalsjuvet viewpoint. A wedding party taking photographs is just visible at bottom right, partway down the cliff outside of the spectator fencing (click image for larger view).
8/21/2018: Switchbacks
A close-up view to the switchbacks we negotiated down to Geiranger. The lookout above Geirangerfjord is at top left where the road makes the first turn.
8/21/2018: Djupvatnet
Overlooking the lake Djupvatnet as we follow the switchback road up to Dalsnibba, Europe's highest fjord view by road.
8/21/2018: Dalsnibba
Jennifer taking in the spectacular view to Geirangerfjord from the Dalsnibba lookout 4,921ft (1500m) above sea level. The twisty road we followed up from Geiranger is visible below.
8/21/2018: Olebuda
We arrived back into Geiranger just before the lunch crowds and snagged a patio table with a view over town.
8/21/2018: Trollfjord
The Hurtigruten Trollfjord returning to Alesund from Geiranger. The ships only stop in the town for five minutes to transfer passengers.
8/21/2018: Buses
We stopped off at the Geirangerfjord lookout again on our return trip. One lane of the road, and much of the car park, was completely blocked by a series of buses carrying Hurtigruten passengers who were visiting the lookout and would continue on by bus to meet the ship at Alesund.
8/21/2018: Return Ferry
Taking the return ferry back across Stofjorden to Linge.
8/21/2018: Zakarias Dam
After the ferry ride, we continued east to Tajford and beyond to visit the Zakarias Dam. The 314-ft-high (96m) dam was highest dam in Northern Europe when completed in 1986. In the US, we'd never be able to get near the dam for "security reasons" but here in Norway we could walk all the way across the top from one side to the other.
8/21/2018: Below Dam
From the top of the dam, we could see an old road running across a bridge toward the dam base. We found the road on the way back out and followed it a short distance to reach the base of the dam. It did feel a little crazy to be standing there with all that water held in behind. But the dam has stood for 30 years, so odds are it will last another 15 minutes. We just hoped they didn't need to open the floodgates.
8/21/2018: Mountains
The weather continued to clear up as the day progressed and we got some excellent mountain view on the return trip.
8/21/2018: Power House
Old power house along the River Valldola.
8/21/2018: Gudbrandsjuvet
Gudbrandsjuvet is a narrow ravine through which the Valldola River gushes. Walkways through the woods and over the river provide a birds-eye view to the rapids.
8/21/2018: Clear Skies
The weather on the return trip through Trollstigen was clear and beautful—a big difference from this morning.
8/22/2018: AIDAsol
While we were having breakfast in the pilot house, the 831ft (253m) cruise ship AIDAsol suddenly dominated the view forward. This is the same ship we saw from the Hurtigruten at Hammerfest.
8/22/2018: Line Handlers
We'd been seeing workers arrive at the pier and were wondering what they were up to—they were line handlers for the AIDAsol. It was fun to have a close-up view of the work done to deploy and secure the various lines.
8/22/2018: Raumabanen
Ready to go on our trip on the Raumabanen that Lonely Planet named Europe's most beautiful railway journey.
8/22/2018: Trollveggen
One of the highlights along the Raumabanen is spectacular Trollveggen ("The Troll Wall"), the highest vertical mountain wall in Europe. The face is 3,600 ft (1,100 metres) from base to summit and scaling it is one of the ultimate mountaineering challenges.
8/22/2018: River Rauma
The River Rauma spilling through a gorge as we cross the Kylling Bridge.
8/22/2018: Romsdalen Valley
Looking back to the River Rauma winding through the Romsdalen Valley.
8/22/2018: Kylling Bridge
A quick glimpse of the famous Kylling Bridge, one of the most photographed in Norway, before we enter a 180-degree tunnel.
8/22/2018: Dombas
The Raumabanen line ends at the small village of Dombas, where the station there is a junction for trains to Trondheim and Oslo. We had an hour until our return train, so walked around a bit. The place is obviously popular with outdoor enthusiasts with only one hotel, a couple of restaurants, and a hardware store but at least four outdoor gear stores and several grocery stores. This is the Dombas Church, completed in 1939.
8/22/2018: Cockpit
The cockpit of our train.
8/22/2018: Mountaineering Museum
Åndalsnes is considered the mountaineering capital of Norway and the visitor center adjacent to our berth has an excellent mountaineering museum covering the history and technology of the sport with some great video footage.
8/22/2018: Cliff Tent
Jennifer trying out a cliff tent at the Åndalsnes Mountaineering Museum. Rock climbers making multi-day climbs overnight in tents like these.
8/22/2018: Climbing Wall
Inside the Mountaineering Museum we discovered what the tall portion of the building was: a massive climbing wall. We spent some time watching several climbers working their way up the complex face.
8/22/2018: AWOL
Spitfire knows he's not allowed off the boat and generally follows the rules, but the grass on the pier at Åndalsnes was too much for him to resist. Normally he jumps right back on board when he knows he's been spotted, but he just kept chomping away until we picked him up and carried him back aboard. He's never been that stubborn.
8/23/2018: Åndalsnes
A final view to Åndalsnes as we depart.
8/23/2018: Romsdalsfjorden
The mountains aglow in the morning sun as we pass through Romsdalsfjorden.
8/23/2018: Fannefjord
The ferry Fannefjord crossing in front as we turn west into Midfjorden.
8/23/2018: NATO Warships
Three NATO warships (Lithunian M54, Latvian M 08, and Belgian A960) were underway in the area as we neared. They made several passes and turns before all continuing south ahead of us.
8/23/2018: Lofoten
Anchored just north of Alesund before continuing into town in a few days. We love anchorages like this, with plenty of swing room, good protection and a view to the passing traffic. This is the Hurtigruten Lofoten heading north from Alesund after a day in Geirangerfjord.
8/24/2018: Nordhavn
We noticed that one of the local AIS targets was named Nordhavn.
8/24/2018: Wire Pull
We'll be staying in Amsterdam City Marina this winter. The great news is it's right downtown but the bad news is that they don't have larger than 16A connections. There are other marina choices in the area with 32A shore power connections but we really want to be right downtown. Dirona actually will run fine on 16A and the majority of the marinas we go to only have 16A power so it's really not a problem. When running on 16A, we just need to give the batteries time to recover after the dryer or oven is used, and we would need to use diesel heat rather than electric.

However, the combination of having seen several docks in Norway that only have 10A connections or even less, we decided to implement a solution where we can run the boat on two shore power connections. This will allow us to run run all the way down to dual 8A connections. We love the flexibility that we'll get from being able to use two shore power connections and it'll allow us to have access to 32A rather than only 16A while we are in Amsterdam City Marina for 4 months this winter. Here James is installing the 16A breaker for the new shore power connection.
8/24/2018: Breaker
The left breaker is the 30A breaker for the 120V AC shore power connection, the middle breaker is the new 16A breaker for the second shore power connection. The breaker on the right is the 50A breaker for the primary 50A 240V shore power service. The new 16A breaker replaces one no longer in use that was for directly connecting the AC to shorepower.
8/24/2018: New Socket
Here is the second shore power service installed and being tested. The wires run to a breaker behind the hatch door and then below but the below deck wire pulls haven't yet been done.
8/24/2018: Steering Pump
Here's our #1 Accu-Steer HPU212-200 steering pump. It's currently valved out of the system to minimize the amount it leaks. It has 4,900 hours on it and the bearings have failed causing it to both leak badly and to run slow due to high friction at the bearings. The Accu-Steer HPU212-200 has developed a poor reputation for reliability and is no longer made. Apparently we're lucky to have got nearly 5,000 hours from these pumps. Given it's a $4,000 pump, we don't view 5,000 hours as an acceptable wear period. This pump is a real mess, but it's still ready to go if we need to go to the backup.

To the right and behind the old pump, you can see the bright and shiny Accu-Steer HPU200. Both the HPU200 and the HPU300 have a great reputation industry wide, the pumps look like real beasts, and we expect these new pumps will last considerably longer the the original HPU212-200s did.
8/24/2018: Rain ... and Sun
An unusual combination of pouring rain and bright sunlight in the evening.
8/25/2018: Le Champlain
The luxury cruise ship Le Champlain nearing completion at VARD Sovikines shipyard just south of our anchorage. The vessel is expected to be delivered later this year.
8/26/2018: Switch
Switch and circuit breaker sending power to the Aft and Laz Raspberry Pis. The Aft Pi manages 12 temperature sensors, warns when main bilge pump or hydraulic bilge pump turns on, and warns if power to the main bilge pump is interrupted. It also controls the entertainment system cooling fan. The Laz Pi senses the availability of power at each charger and the second shore power connection. It's responsible for shedding charger load when the overall boat power draw nears the capacity of the power source. It's also responsible for switching on and selecting the second shore power connection when power is available on the second.
8/26/2018: Wire Pull
Today James pulled power and Ethernet connections down from the salon to the Laz Raspberry Pi.
8/26/2018: Broken Door
While transferring gear out of the lazarette and into the cockpit to work on the second shore power connection, the fold-down doors on a 64L Really Useful Boxes came open and broke while moving the box. Fortunately we have a few spares and this was an easy fix. (The damaged door is on the left. It’s hard to see in the photo, but the the topmost pin on which the door swivels down is broken off.)
8/26/2018: Wiring Up
James connecting 24V power, ethernet, and NMEA2000 to the control box for the second shore power connection. This control box will be responsible for many operations overtime so it's considerably more complex than needed for simply controlling the second shore power connection. The control box was designed to do the following: 1) support load shedding on both chargers, 2) control the 2nd shore power and enable it when power is available, 3) provide electrical interlock so the charger will be fed by the ship or the second shore power connection but never both, 4) control a 4x20 LCD in the engine room, 5) control a 4x4 matrix keyboard in the engine room, measure all voltage, current, and KWhrs consumed via the second shore power connection, and 6) provide 8 channels of digital output.
8/26/2018: Testing
The laz power control box for the second shore power connection in test. The 4 lights signal: 1) charger #1 enabled via ship primary power, 2) charger #2 enabled via ship primary power, 3) second shore power enabled, and 4) second shore power selected. In the configuration shown, the first chargers is on and powered by the ship's primary power, the second charger is on and powered by the second shore power connection.
8/26/2018: Control Box
The control box for the second shore power (and various other control functions) at its eventual install location. A large service loop on the wires allows the control box to be lifted out and put on the laz floor in front of the chargers for ease of service.
8/27/2018: Finnmarken
The Hurtigruten Finnmarken arriving into Alesund on a northbound run. In the summer, the northbound ships stop here for 45 minutes, then cruise Geirangerfjord and return back to Alesund for another 45 minutes before continuing north.
8/27/2018: Map
Jennifer tracing the route of our road trip from Åndalsnes to Geiranger on a large wall map.
8/27/2018: Brosundet
Looking northeast along Brosundet, the canal that runs through downtown Alesund. Much of the town was rebuilt in Art Nouveau style following a devastating 1904 fire that destroyed much of the town center.
8/27/2018: Inner Harbor
Looking across the inner harbor from the breakwater. Ferry and commercial docks are on the left and Dirona is moored on the guest docks at right (click image for a larger view).
8/27/2018: Fiskerimuseet
Alesund is a major cod-fishing town with the largest fleet in Norway. The Fiskerimuseet, housed in an 1861 warehouse that was one of the few buildings to survive the 1904 fire, describes the technology of fishing through the ages, along with salt-cod and cod-liver oil production.
8/27/2018: Chandlery
Jennifer checking out the wares in the local marine chandlery. The places looked smallish from the street, but is vast with a huge inventory. We kept thinking we were at the end and found another room.
8/27/2018: Broken Screens
An eye-catching advertisement for a store fixing mobile devices containing broken screens they've replaced. This is only a portion of the pile of broken screens that makes up their window display.
8/27/2018: Lovenvoldgata
Looking west down Lovenvoldgata. The building on the right is the local movie theater, Lovenvold Kino.
8/27/2018: Lyst
We had a great lunch at Lyst Cafe and Bar.
8/27/2018: Uraedd
At the Alesund Museum next to the lifeboat Uraedd. To show that covered lifeboats were safer, the designer Ole Brude and three others piloted the 18-ft vessel across the Atlantic, landing in Gloucester, Massachusetts in January of 1905 after five months at sea.
8/27/2018: Town Model
A model of the city at the Alesund Museum just prior to the 1904 fire that destroyed most of the buildings in the city center.
8/27/2018: Pilot Boat
The Alesund pilot boat is moored near us and is constantly coming and going. It's a busy port.
8/27/2018: Stars and Stripes
This is only second US-flagged vessel we've seen since leaving the UK. The first was Nordhavn 57 Summer Star in Bodo.
8/27/2018: Frozen Fish
These are the only frozen fish you'll find at Sjobua. We had a delicious dinner there.
8/28/2018: Power Outage
The shore power went out yesterday at 1:50pm while we were at the Alesund Museum. When we returned to the boat we plugged into a different socket and were up and running again. The failure happened at around the same time another boat using the same pedestal departed. It's hard to even speculate as to the cause, but we we've gone almost two decades with very few shorepower failures and then, in the last couple of years, we've come across several marinas with very sensitive residual current devices. An RCD is designed to reduce the risk of electrical shock from plugged-in boats and seem to work without problem in many marinas, but seem to be constantly tripping in others.
8/28/2018: Ferry
Fast ferry just pulling off speed before entering the inner harbor.
8/28/2018: Francois Karm
Pilot Francois Karm was following our boat construction years ago and happened to flying through Alesund while we were here. He came down for a visit, and gave us a package of cat toys that has proved most popular with Spitfire.
8/28/2018: Rollo
Statue of Rollo in the Alesund Town Park. Rollo reportedly was from the islands near Alesund and fled to France in 911 where he founded Normandy. He also was the forefather of William the Conquerer.
8/28/2018: Kniven Viewpoint
The famous view over Alesund from the Kniven Viewpoint. We've seen loads of pictures taken from here—the night shots are particularly dramatic.
8/28/2018: Inner Harbour
Ferry make a tight turn in the Alesund inner harbor before departing. Dirona is moored just out of sight behind the white building at bottom left.
8/28/2018: Secure
Rocks heavily secured to prevent them from falling on the path.
8/28/2018: Hoffmann Cafe
We had a nice lunch street-side at Hoffmann Cafe and Bar.
8/28/2018: Atlanterhavsparken
The 1.1-millon gallon (4-million liter) Great Atlantic tank at the Atlanterhavsparken (Atlantic Sea-Park) on the western shore of Hessa, one of the main islands in the island-cut of Alesund.
8/28/2018: Ray
We love rays and enjoyed seeing them at Alesund's aquarium.
8/28/2018: Humboldt Penguins
The South American Humboldt Penguin is not natural to this area, but are housed at Atlanterhavsparken as part of a European breeding program for endangered species.
8/28/2018: Otter
Feeding time at Atlanterhavsparken outdoor otter park. The three otters here are incredibly cute.
8/28/2018: Dam
James placing a dam at Atlanterhavsparken. The display is intended for curious children where they can add and remove dams throughout the maze of islands and watch the impact on the flow. James spent a while there too. :)
8/28/2018: Milk Bar
We couldn't resist a pre-dinner drink overlooking the guest docks at Milk Bar.
8/28/2018: Glass Floor
Besides the great view across the harbor, Milk also has views into the harbor through several glass panels in the floor. This is the view straight down through the floor from near our table.
8/28/2018: Kabb
An exceptional meal of the tapas sharing platter at Kabb restaurant.
8/29/2018: Dawn
Alesund inner harbor at dawn as we depart.
8/29/2018: Bridge
Approaching the 17m bridge between the islands of Heissa and Aspoya.
8/29/2018: World Pearl
The World Pearl and World Diamond, mid-sized platform supply vessels, moored at Alesund. They may be "mid-sized", but a 263ft (80m) long, they're pretty big boats.
8/29/2018: Alesund From South
The view to Alesund as we pass to the south.
8/29/2018: Red Sun
A fabulous red sunrise.
8/29/2018: Vegsundet
We pulled off to the side to allow an oncoming fishing vessel to pass through Vegsundet before we proceeded. There was room to pass, but only just. And with several knots of current running in the channel, waiting was a safer option.
8/29/2018: Honningdalsvagen
At anchor in Honningdalsvagen. The scenic cove had good protection from the forecast southwest winds and was a convenient base for a tender run to Geirangerfjord.
8/29/2018: Hydroelectricity
Workers were installing new pipe, on the right, at this hydroelectric station along Storfjorden.
8/29/2018: Underway
We're all bundled up for the tender run to Geirangerfjord in our flotation suits, among our favourite cold-weather boating gear. The suits are similar to ski jumpsuits, but with built-in flotation and extra insulation. We use Mustang 2175s, which are standard issue with the Coast Guard on both sides of the Canada-US border. We can toss these on over light clothing, add a pair of gloves and perhaps some ear warmers and be instantly warm in the coldest weather. This will be one of our longest tender trips ever, at nearly 90 miles return.
8/29/2018: 37.2 mph
We're loving the speed of the new tender. And with the larger actuators, it comes on plane with ease.
8/29/2018: Extra Fuel
The new tender has a listed fuel capacity of ten gallons (39 L), but until we calibrate the tank for the new Maretron TLM150, we don't know the tank fuel tank capacity nor do we have an accurate understanding of the engine's burn rate. So we're bringing along an extra 3.75 gallons (14L). But, even with all the fuel we have on board, we still might learn we don't have the fuel to do the whole trip. So it's possible we might have to stop for fuel along the way.
8/29/2018: Schleswig-Holstein
The German frigate Schleswig-Holstein passing a waterfall near the entrance to Geirangerfjord.
8/29/2018: Mountain Cabin
We saw several cabins such as this one, circled in red, way up in the hills with no obvious road or trail access (click image for a larger view). This one you might land a helicopter at, but many had little or no space. We surmise that people must hike in from some other access point.

Update 2018/09/01: Blog readers Trond Saetre and Benlogis tell us these likely are old farms dating from medieval times and most are now abandoned.
8/29/2018: Scenery
Geirangerfjord is famous for its dramatic scenery. This is the view looking up the fjord to Friaren waterfall.
8/29/2018: Friaren
Jennifer standing at the base of spectacular Friaren waterfall.
8/29/2018: Seven Sisters
Ferry passing beneath the Seven Sisters waterfall opposite Friaren.
8/29/2018: Waterfall
Another beautiful Geirangerfjord waterfall.
8/29/2018: Cliffs
Passing beneath steep cliffs along the south shore.
8/29/2018: Lookout
The lookout we visited by car from Åndalsnes is high up the mountain, circled in red (click image for a larger view).
8/29/2018: Geiranger Docks
We shed our flotation suits at the Geiranger guest harbour for lunch and a walk through town. Without a cruise ship in port, the town is a lot less busy than when we visited by car from Åndalsnes.
8/29/2018: Naustkroa
We had a delicious lunch overlooking the water on the back terrace at Naustkroa.
8/29/2018: Versteralen
The Hurtigruten Versteralen arriving into Geiranger from Alesund.
8/29/2018: Disembarking
We knew that the Hurtigruten ferries made a five-minute stop at Geiranger in the summer to disembark passengers, but we couldn't see how—there's not a fixed dock large enough to handle them. Cruise ships tie off in open water on bow-and-stern moorings, but that would take some time organize. We were curious how the Hurtigruten dropped off passengers on its daily stop. Here's the trick: the Geirangerfjord headed out to meet the Versteralen, who slowed down while they did an underway passenger transfer.
8/29/2018: Mushroom
Giant "fairytale" mushroom along the Geiranger Waterfall Walk.
8/29/2018: Waterfall Walk
Looking down into Geirangerfjord from the Waterfall Walk, a beautifully-built staircase along the Storfossen waterfall.
8/29/2018: Storfossen
Storfossen gushing and cascading beside the Waterfall Walk.
8/29/2018: SeaWalk
When we visited Geiranger by car, the cruise ship MSC Preziosa was moored on offshore buoys and the SeaWalk with its blue floating supports was extended alongisde to allow passengers to disembark. Today the SeaWalk is folded up against the shore.
8/29/2018: Switchbacks
A view to the switchbacks we drove down to reach Geiranger from the lookout.
8/30/2018: Hours
In the nearly nine since we purchased Dirona, we've really wound the hours on our three engines. The main is at 10,016 hours, the gen is just over half of the main engine hours at at 5,515 hours and the wing is 10% of the main engine at 900 hours. In some ways the wing hours are low at only one hundred hours per year, but we've seen ten-year-old wing engines with less than fifty hours. Diesel engines like to be used.
8/30/2018: Peaks
We departed the anchorage at Honningdalsvagen in the dark and are just starting to get enough light to make out the dramatic craggy peaks at the entrance to Hjorundfjord.
8/30/2018: Hjorundfjord
Beautiful scenery as we cruise south through Hjorundfjord.
8/30/2018: Slogen
The pyramid-shaped peak of 1564m Slogen visible on the left in the distance as we reach the mouth of Norangsfjorden. We're planning to hike up it tomorrow—even from here it looks pretty high.
8/30/2018: Stalberghornet
The sheer face of 4212-ft (1284m) Stalberghornet lit up in the morning sun.
8/30/2018: Sunbeam
A beam of morning sun lighting up the base of Stalberghornet behind us.
8/30/2018: Helganeset
The waterfall Helganeset cascading down a sheer cliff beside us from 2930ft (893m) up.
8/30/2018: Oye
The view to the village of Oye at the head of Norangsfjorden.
8/30/2018: Anchor Fouled
The anchorage at the head of Norangsfjorden is spectacular, but the holding seemed poor. Our standard approach is to pull back on the anchor at 1,250RPM so we know it can hold in roughly 40 knots of wind, even though it hasn't had a chance to settle in yet. At Norangsfjorden our usually-reliable Rocna anchor dragged at anything more than idle. We brought it back up and found out why: we'd wrapped the chain around the anchor while setting.

We're normally careful to be backing while we lower chain to avoid this problem, but obviously didn't get this one right. It's the first time this has happened, but this is why you really do want to test the set of an anchor. Two days from now, 40-kt gusts are forecast. Had we left the anchor like this, there's just about a guarantee we would have dragged. When dropped back in and set properly, the anchor held as well as it usually does. The holding at Norangsfjorden is excellent.
8/30/2018: View West
The fabulous view west down Norangsfjorden from our anchorage at the head.
8/30/2018: Bruvik
The ferry Bruvik passing under the waterfall Helganeset, on the south side of our anchorage at Norangsfjorden.
8/30/2018: Peaks
The craggy peaks soaring above the north side of the anchorage. 1546m Slogen is hidden just behind them.
8/30/2018: Calibrating
On our tender run to Geirangerfjord we purposely ran the tender near dry. Now we are carefully filling the tank in one-gallon increments to calibrate the new Maretron TLM150 fuel gauge. The tender is listed as having a ten-gallon tank, but the usable capacity from lowest engine pickup to a fully filled tank is 9.2 gallons. Tank capacity is just about never the amount listed in the marketing literature, so it's always worth checking.
8/30/2018: Fine-Tuning
James fine-tuning the just-calibrated fuel level, using a laptop to remove unused calibration points. He's also backing up the Maretron TLM-150 calibration map so, if we change it in the future, we can just load the calibration we just completed.
8/30/2018: Film Crew
A film crew setting up on shore at the head of Norangsfjorden.
8/31/2018: Morning
Looking west down Norangsfjorden from the anchorage at 6am. The days are getting shorter and shorter as summer is ending.
8/31/2018: Norangsfjorden
The spectacular anchorage at the head of Norangsfjorden. Our tender is tied off on the guest dock at the left of the picture.
8/31/2018: Slogen Trail Head
At the trail head for the hike to Slogen. At 5,131 ft (1564m), this will be our highest mountain hike yet.
8/31/2018: Bench
Enjoying the view from a bench at 1300 ft (396 m) on a beautiful clear day.
8/31/2018: 2,324 ft
Another great view from 2324 ft (708 m) up on the trail to Slogen.
8/31/2018: Parking
Slogen is a popular hike. When we passed the trail head car park at 8am this morning, only one car was there. By 10am, seven cars are now parked there.
8/31/2018: East Face
The sheer east face of Slogen, described in the 1953 booklet Rock Climbs in Sunnmore as a "horrible and dangerous route which has been made only by two English and Swedish climbers. The mere fact that they survived and lived to tell, makes on believe in miracles."
8/31/2018: Break
Taking a break at 2,855 ft (870 m) up. The waterfall Helganeset, that tumbles down beside our anchorage, is visible on the opposite shore. We're about even with the top.
8/31/2018: Switchbacks
The trail has been quite steep to this point, but at 3107 ft (947 m) we started up a series of even steeper switchbacks to reach the top of the ridge visible above. From there we'll turn left to reach the summit. Another climber, wearing red, can be seen working down about halfway along.
8/31/2018: Ridge
We still have another 1,187ft (362m) of altitude gain ahead of us, but reaching the ridge top at 3944 ft (1202 m) is a major milestone.
8/31/2018: Goal
From the ridge, we can now see our goal of the the summit of Slogen. If you look closely, you can see at least five other hikers making their way to the top (click image for a larger view).
8/31/2018: Lakes
Beautiful lakes visible from the ridge as we continue on to the Slogen summit.
8/31/2018: Crowds
We can see at least six people on the summit already. Nobody passed us on the trail, so likely many overnighted at a nearby mountain hut and hiked up this morning.
8/31/2018: Dirona
Dirona is a white speck anchored 4,948 ft (1508 m) below us (click image for a larger view).
8/31/2018: Nearing 5,000ft
Taking a break and enjoying the view northeast at altitude 4,977 ft (1,517 m). We're starting to take breaks more frequently as we near the top. Partly because we're nearly a mile above sea level but mostly because it's heavy going.
8/31/2018: Climbing
Climbing up the rock face on the final portion of the ascent to the summit of Slogen. The road we started on is way, way down below in the distance.
8/31/2018: Slogen Summit
The spectacular view at 5,131 ft (1564m) up from the Slogen summit. Wow! (Click image for a larger view.)
8/31/2018: Patchell Hut Trail
We returned down by following the ridge farther east toward the Patchell Hut. This is looking back west to the Slogen Summit from partway down. This route is further than the route we took up the mountain, but the terrain and views are surprisingly different.
8/31/2018: Meadow
The scenery along the trail to the hut was quite different, with mountain meadows rather than cliff views. We enjoyed it.
8/31/2018: Patchell Hut
The Patchell Hut is a popular Norwegian Trekking Association cabin, reconstructed in 1996, with 23 bunks and even 2 gas cookers. We took a shortcut to reach the trail back down to the road, so didn't go all the way to the cabin.
8/31/2018: Slogen View
Looking back to Slogen from the trail leading south toward Oye from the Patchell Hut.
8/31/2018: Creek
Skirting a creek at altitude 1346 ft (410 m). The trail from the hut started out on a reasonably gentle slope, but gets more steep toward the bottom.
8/31/2018: Pavement!
You know it's been a long hike when walking on pavement is a relief and feels almost like resting.
8/31/2018: Avanti
The 200ft (60.97m) super-yacht Avanti had arrived and anchored behind us while we were on our hike. Sometimes Dirona looks big in context and other times very small. Next to Avanti, Dirona looks decidedly on the small side.
8/31/2018: Parking Lot
The parking lot at the Slogen trail head was nearly full when we walked by. We passed several other groups of hikers on our way down from the summit to the ridge.
8/31/2018: Hotel Union
The Hotel Union in Oye was established in 1891 and has had many famous guests over the years, including Kaiser Wilhelm, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edvard Grieg. The peak behind is near the top of Slogen.
8/31/2018: Slogen Hike Profile
The speed (blue) and elevation (green) profile from our Slogen hike. The initial quick blue blip to 15mph (24kph) is our dinghy run ashore, then we're walking at about 4mph (6.5kph) on fairly level ground to reach the trailhead. Our speed fell to between 1 and 2 mph (1.6-3.1kph) as we ascended the steep slope to 5,131 ft (1564m). We took a less-steep return route and made closer to 3mph (4.8kph), then up to 4mph (6.4kph) as we reached the road to return back to the tender.
8/31/2018: Peaks
We love those craggy peaks above the anchorage to our south.
9/1/2018: Stad
We've been watching the weather for a good time to round the infamous headland Stad. Conditions there can be so dangerous that an escort service is provided for small boats and funds have been approved to build the world's first full-scale ship tunnel through the headland. The winds are looking pretty high for the next few days, but it looks like we might be able to round early on Tuesday, three nights from now.
9/2/2018: Reflective Tape
We've noticed that in heavy fog and other conditions of restricted visibility the first we see of another boat often is the reflection from the moving open array RADAR. So we decided to put reflective tape on the back side of our open arrays. The rotating RADAR antenna will catch any ambient light and a moving reflection catches attention effectively.
9/2/2018: Our 'Gruten
Starting September 2, the Hurtigruten coastal ferries switch from their summer run to Geirangerfjord to a cruise down Hjorundfjord. Today was the first day of that switch and we were excited to see "our 'Gruten" the Kong Harald arrive. This is the ship we travelled on from Kirkeness to Tromso in late June.
9/2/2018: Disembarking
Shortly after the Kong Harald arrived, the Hjorundfjord moored alongside and began taking on passengers.
9/2/2018: Kong Harald
Once the first load had set off for shore, the Kong Harald anchored a short distance up Norangsfjorden and stayed there for several hours while passengers disembarked or just enjoyed the view from on board. The 13m bar just east of their anchorage likely blocks the ships from travelling all the way to the head of Norangsfjorden.
9/2/2018: Replacement Hinge
One of the hinges on our folding teak patio table corroded and broke a few weeks ago. We replaced it with a stainless steel one brought back from Seattle.
9/2/2018: Utility Boat
A utility boat from the Kong Harald was at the head of Norangsfjorden on a training exercise and the crew stopped by to say hello.
9/2/2018: Viddal
Out on a tender tour of of the area, this is the view to the village Viddal nestled beneath high mountains along the east shore of Hjorundfjord.
9/2/2018: Kjerringkjeftane
3,372ft (1,028m) Kjerringkjeftane soaring above the village of Finnes along the west shore of Hjorundfjord.
9/2/2018: Waterfalls
Twin waterfalls near the head of Hjorundfjord.
9/2/2018: Power Station
A high volume of water flowing through the hydorelectic power station at the head of Hjorundfjord.
9/2/2018: Notabreidsta
The village of Notabreidsta at the head of Hjorundfjord. Norway has no shortage of spectacular scenery.
9/2/2018: Saebovika
The Hurtigruten Kong Harald made a pass through Saebovika before departing the area.
9/2/2018: Slogen
Clouds catching on the summit of Slogen. Looking at it from down here, it's amazing we were above the bottom of those clouds two days ago.