Summer is coming - the North is calling

 May 16th - 18th Kongensvoll - Stokksund - Rørvik

While my touring friends had to turn their bows towards Trondheim I still have a week left on my spring mini holiday. So here I am leaving for the north on may 16th.

If the first day in to be a sign on what to expect for the next months I probably is going to regret the endeavor altogether. Even if the weather wasn't that bad it was damp, windless and coldish. But at the end of the day I arrived at Kuringen marina in Stokksund. Got connected to shore power to warm the boat up - I didn't mention that the heater isn't working did I.

I did take a walk and got a glimpse of the ships being broken up at the salvage yard at Fosen Gjennvinning. 

May 17th the big National day of Norway celebrating the 207th anniversary of the signing of our constitution. Normally this is a big celebration with parades in all cities, towns or any other kind of community that can gather more a few heads. But this year very little of the traditional celebration was possible since we are not allowed to gather outside our own little group - of cohort as the authorities calls it. I woke early and decided to leave really early to have options if the wind would pick up more than forecasted during the day. 

 As I left the dock the grey sky from yesterday was starting to clear and the much debated windmills atop of Hardbaksfjellet was starting to show through the grey.

A little further on a orange glow of the sunrise started to appear.

And before I was ready for breakfast genuine National day weather appeared.

At Buholmråsa I decided to make the day a long one and continue over Folla to Rørvik. Th infamous Folla started mirror flat but after a while the wind as forecasted did pick up and I could set the sails. 

The wind picked up slowly and kept turning more and more into headwind. So what started as a reach ended up with me tacking and with a reefed main.

I'm not very fond of the marina at Rørvik it is always full of badly docked boats and it is always blowing a tricky wind from the north making maneuvering in the cramped port difficult. Today I learned that it seems like it is blowing this 3-5 m/s northerly here whatever the wind is doing outside of the harbour. (the next day I learned that it is possible to get a tricky southerly in the port as well. 

After docking the sailing garb was quickly discarded and I found my best shirt, a tie and a suit jacket and went to a restaurant to at least make a little celebration of the big day.