'Ship of Swing'

28 July 2014

Update by captain Maarten:
“After the tour through the Lysefjord and the sight of the Preikestolen from below, we dropped anker in a beautiful little bay just west of that fjord. Nice swimming, playing Tarzan with the forecourse-halliard, BBQ on and the fish we caught on it. After dinner, when we had enjoyed all the good things cook Job had prepared, we gave the last sausages to the other ships in the bay.
The next morning we heaved anker early to leave the fjords around Stavanger behind and set course to the Bømlafjorden. Everyone enjoyed the sight of waterway and the bridge on our way in the Haugesund. After that you’re at open sea again, but a few miles higher we went in the Bømlafjorden. There are a few big towns there like Leirvik, but we wanted a typical little Norwegian village, so we went exploring and tight up on a quay in Førde. There we went for a nice walk into a forest/park filled with wooden sculptures made with a chainsaw by an artist living there. After a quiet night we went on our way again. To be able to enjoy the scenery to the max, we rounded the island of Huglo almost completely during lunch. What a perfect example of how beautiful Norway really is!
After that we went up the Langenuen to find a nice place to spend the night. The first few bays were not to our liking, so we searched on and dropped anchor behind the island of Rusøya, in between Vernøya and Kuvagen. Another beautiful bay and a nice walk on Vernøya where we met some sheep walking around. Then there were only the last few miles to go to Bergen, which was a beautiful trip again. Passing many little islands, two bridges and seeing more and more sailing vessels, also on their way to Bergen. There, just outside the harbour, we had to wait for our turn for a moment and then, while the Dutch national anthem was playing on the quay, we sailed in. Now we all had some time left to see Bergen before the group had to fly home the next morning. And since it wasn’t only the last night for the guests, but also crewmember Ben was leaving us for a few months of school, we wanted to make a small party. We put some music up on deck and started to move our feet. That attracted the people on the quay and soon they started dancing there as well! That’s how a small party for Ben became a party for the city of Bergen. The people liked it so much, that later, as the organisation told us, we were called ‘The Ship of Swing’.
By now there is a new group onboard for the race to Esbjerg and we are waiting for wind near the starting line. Let’s hope it comes before the start at 10 o’clock.”