There are various chunks of the Norwegian coast which the pilot books warn about and just north of Ålesund is one of them. it is known as the Hustadvika. It is a part of the mainland, so you have to go round it but it is a gradually shelving rocky area with a smattering of rocks and skerries just offshore. Given that the next nearest piece of land due west is probably Greenland (we are still just south of the southern tip of Iceland) any swell coming in from the west has a pretty good fetch!
So, with a good forecast, I persuaded (did they have much choice?) the new crew – Tim and James – to head straight off early morning to do the passage around it. Unfortunately, a good forecast was also a calm forecast and so we had to motor all the way, but it was a nice easy run. There was some swell off the main Hustadvika, so I decided to take the ‘outer passage’ as opposed to the ‘inner passage’. There wasn’t too much difference in distance, but there definitely seemed to be less white water breaking on rocks which felt like a good thing. The ‘inner, inner passage’ was never on the cards as it weaves through the rocks by the shore, but in the end it was an easy run.
The last section took us past the Atlantic Ocean Road. This is a five mile stretch of road running over 12 bridges connecting a string of islands. It has been used in various commercials and is classified as a National Tourist Route. The Guardian even called it one of the top five road trips in the world.
For us there was just one route through the highway – the Storseisundet Bridge. This cantilever bridge is the only one high enough for us to pass under and we headed under that and through to a harbour on the western side of the island of Averoy – Smenessundet småbåthavn. This had a very small section for guests on the end of their pontoon and they were very welcoming. In total the trip took nine and a half hours to do 56 miles, but …. sadly all under engine!
