Alesund

Current Location: Alesund, Norway

Current Coordinates: 62°28'10"N 6°9'30"E

Next Stop: Lerwick, Shetland Islands

Listening: "Beauty of the Rain," by Dar Williams

General Update:

Alesund, Norway is a quiet and tidy port town that looks like something out of a Disney movie. The entire city burnt to the ground in 1904 when gale winds blowing from the sea fueled the flames that were consuming the town eventually destroying all of the old wooden buildings. The city was rebuilt in the "Jugendstil" or Art Nouveau architecture style, which was largely a reaction the the academic art of the 19th century. The style is "characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms" (Wikipedia).

Our passage from Kristiansund to Alesund went relatively smoothly (no sea sickness). We encountered WSW and SW headwinds but managed to stay on course by motoring 95% of the way. Being eager to fly his full sail suit, Skipper was less than satisfied with the conditions at sea. After leaving the harbor at Kristiansund, the first 35 miles of our passage were in the open ocean. The day was clear and sunny and the clouds were huge--part of a high pressure system that was responsible for the pleasant (minus the wind direction) weather that we were enjoying. After reaching waypoint 6 of 18 we had made our way into the famed Norwegian Fjords which were absolutely beautiful. Sheer cliffs plunged sharply into the sea on both sides creating the illusion that Gitana was being swallowed into the landscape. Luckily, she wasn't. The picture below is of the mouth of the Fjord where it is widest.

During a lull I had a very brief conversation with Mike about his "tonal" problems, which went surprisingly well. This happened shortly after Skipper began barking at Jack (who has trouble with numbers and spatial things) trying to teach him how to interpret the GPS and use it to determine and plan courses. I simply pointed out to him that it is often difficult to absorb information when an instructor is shoving the lesson down your throat. The power structure dissolved for a moment. Mike looked at me slightly stunned and then conceded that in the past, "women have told me the same thing, Paul." I guess that makes me either female or correct, which in my experience can often mean the same thing. With this experience I've learned that I would make a terrible soldier, deconstructing and questioning everything all of the time. Don't blame me though, I'm a child of the American "self-esteem" movement. Haha. Also, I'm not trying to demonize anyone, but I am trying to make my account as verisimilar as possible.

We entered Alesund harbor at 2345 Sunday night and managed to find a berth at a floating dock in the center of the town. We tied up and went to bed, exhausted after a long day at sea. The above image is the view back out into the sea from the entrance of Alesund's harbor. The below image is where Gitana is "parked" this week. That's her there in the foreground on the right.


I've been in Alesund now for three days and I'm ready to move onto the Shetland Islands where the dollar is stronger and the beer is cheaper. A typical draft beer costs 65 kroner--that's 13 bucks. This is truly the most outrageously expensive country that I have ever been to. Unfortunately, we might be stuck here for a while for two reasons. First, our autohelm has not been working (Mike describes this predicament with much more colorful language) so we've sent it down to Oslo where some brute named "Frank" is supposedly fixing it. Jack thinks that 'Ol Frank is using what he likes to call the "BFH" approach--the "h" stands for hammer--to fixing our faulty gadget. Let's hope it comes back soon in one piece fixed. Our second problem is the weather. We need strong N or NE winds to blow us over to Scotland, but the forecast is giving us nothing but S and SW winds through this coming weekend. Oh yeh...and because marine electricians and engine technicians are doing some maintenance on Gitana, the galley is closed which means that I have to eat all of my meals in town. As stated, everything is astronomically priced. I'm learning how to stretch a Kroner.

I went up on top of Aksla today. This is the large hill that overlooks the city. The panoramic views remind me of the views from atop Folegandros and Santorini in the Greek Isles, except the weather is much different. It's about 55 degrees and rainy right now. See below.

Being in Norway has given me a much greater appreciation for Norman and Viking Culture and its impact on the west. History teaches us that the Vikings were these uncivilized and barbaric oafs that sailed around and pillaged, destroying everything that they got their hands on. In part, this is true. But history does not tell us how efficient and organized the Nor-men were, how disciplined and tough they were, and what great sailors they were. These guys really knew what they were doing.

History also tells us that the emergence of a quasi-feudalistic system throughout Scandanavia and the arrival of Christianity both led to the demize of the Viking people. But the Vikings didn't simply vanish. Vikings were absorbed into the larger culture and became Danish shop owners, Norwegian carpenters, English sailors, Icelandic fishermen, and so on. Come to think of it, the Normans (of the Norman conquests) were vikings, too. The Normans swept across what is now Great Britain and quickly established themselves as a civilized people capable of creating order. Norman influence even spread to Wales--which is where my surname--"Evans" comes from.

That being said, part of my journey up here in Norway is trying to find the Viking deep within me. The beard is a start, but I think I'll need a few more pounds and perhaps a "BFH," as Jack would say.