We left Lillesand early. This section of coast seems to attract stronger breezes in the afternoon and, with the wind likely to be on the nose again, we thought an early departure would make life more comfortable. The theory was good, the practice, less so! Fairly quickly we had a healthy force 4 gusting 6 on the nose, making it fairly uncomfortable for while on the more open stretches. However, four and a half hours later we arrived in Lillesand.
Lillesand means ‘little sand’ and became very prosperous on the back of the shipbuilding industry. It gained privileged port status in 1821 and there were then nine shipyards with a local fleet of 95 ships by 1895. However, in common with many of these small towns, the use of steel to build hit the town hard. All their shipyards were small-scale and not sustainable for the economies of scale required to build in steel. Unemployment and poverty drove many people away – principally to the United States and in particular around New York. Many families there with Norwegian roots can trace their descendants to either Arendal or Lillesand.
There is still a small port with a single quay and we were slightly surprised to wake up the next morning and see a large coaster moored up loading bulk materials.
