Fire and Ice - Part 1
Sailing from Norway to the Shetland Islands | 7-11 August 2019
In August 2019, I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to embark on a sailing voyage from Norway to Iceland, a total of around 800 nautical miles. I had never done a sail of this length before so was incredibly excited. The trip was to be split into three legs, with the first being from Bergen, Norway to Lerwick, Shetland Islands.
The boat was a traditional, Gaff Rigged, Pilot Cutter named 'Jolie Brise'. Built in 1913 in Le Havre, France, she holds a huge amount of history within her wooden hull and red sails. She was the winner of the inaugural Fastnet Race and the last vessel to carry the Royal Mail under sail. Needless to say, I would have been happy just looking at her, let alone crewing for her first voyage to Iceland!
We flew into Bergen and on arrival to the port, left our kit bags on deck and went to explore. Our time in Bergen was brief but quite a contrast to where we'd be heading next.
The next morning, bright and early, we set off motoring through the fjords. A wash of gold covered the sky and the air was quiet with only the low rumble of the engine churning below us. Rocky outcrops surrounded us, speckled with houses of every colour as the cool nordic breeze swirled gently around the mast. There wasn't much for us to do at this point so we passed the time chatting about what we were looking forward to most and soaking in the scenery. The hours flew by, waves rolled past, and soon we were split into our watch groups, as the sun set, ready for our first night sail. Watches consisted of three groups of three crew members who would keep watch for 4-hour periods.
Unfortunately, some bad weather was closing in so we prepared ourselves for a rough passage across to the Shetlands. First came hoisting the Mainsail and because Jolie Brise is a traditional small Tall Ship, she does not have any winches so everything is done by hand. We "sweated and tailed", unfurled some of the headsails and headed out, leaving Norway in our wake.
We were 'chased' by the storm, all the way there. The sailing was very exciting, frightening at times, but the moody sky and intermittent bioluminescence kept spirits high. We pressed on through the dark, fuelled by tea and chocolate digestive biscuits.
Time flew by and as the sun rose, Lerwick came into view. The land was low lying, bordered by rocky cliffs and beaches. It was a familiar landscape yet somewhere I had not been before. The morning air was crisp and soon we were moored up ready to shelter from the impending weather. We remained in Lerwick for another day whilst the wind and rain swept through. We went exploring to keep ourselves busy and having our feet on solid ground was certainly a welcome feeling (even if it was a bit wobbly!) Our day on land was filled with trips to the cliffs, sea swims and a visit to the most northern fish and chip shop in the UK!
Moored across from us in the harbour was 'The Lord Nelson', a now decommissioned square rigged, sail training yacht. We were fortunate enough to be given a tour and meet some of the crew. The remarkable thing about 'The Lord Nelson' is that it was specifically built to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Wheelchair users were able to go up the mast, out on the bowsprit and those who are visually impaired could steer the boat and navigate around her decks using a talking compass and tactile strips or braille. It was an eye opening experience to see an organisation taking an activity that many would assume to be inaccessible and implementing measures to make it more accessible.
After investigating Lerwick and the surrounding area, we settled down for the night, ready to rise early and set off towards the Faroes.
The first couple of days exceeded my expectations of what this expedition would entail. Although our stops in both Norway and the Shetlands were momentary, I fell in love with their character and exposed landscapes. I became more and more excited about what lay ahead I will certainly be back to soak up more of these locations and explore further into the diverse scenery.
The journey from Bergen to Lerwick took just over 24 hours and we covered a distance of roughly 250 Nautical miles.