October 1997. Because of the unseasonably warm weather we usually had docks to ourselves, especially during the week. It was a bummer, though, that since it wasn't normal cruising season, most amenities for cruisers were closed. We ran into this most places we went. Early October 1997. We enjoyed the late summer weather. It was unusual and we took advantage of it. We found it wonderful that we had most places to ourselves, but it did rain--a lot! On a few occasions we ran into local sailors out for a weekend cruse. They were taking advantage of the great, late summer weather as well. Sept. and Oct. 1997. Spending September and October cruising around the dense scattering of islands between Bergen and Stavanger was a marvel. Having daylight until after 10 PM was very convenient. We could easily island hop from one anchorage to another without much stress. There was always a safe harbor when bad weather threatened, and with the absence of other boats, we didn't have to fight for a spot or a place to anchor. So many harbors, so many anchorages, so many islands. Apart from the fact that winter was so close, and we didn't know where we were going to spend it, we had a great time!!
One of our favorite anchorages--Paraket. It had an "S" curved entrance lined with granite walls. We had the place to ourselves. It was one of the first places in Norway where we used large metal rings pounded into the granite walls to secure Bijou. There wasn't enough room to anchor. Provided good protection for anything Mother Nature threw at us. August 1997. We successfully crossed the North Sea to Norway, arriving on Saturday, August 9th, 1997. We spent August thru October cruising the west coast. Everywhere we went people remarked at how long the summer was lasting. We were lucky!! We enjoyed the long days with the sun shining brightly until after 10 PM. Our U.S. flag flying on Bijou's spreaders always drew comments. Not many people venture to Norway from California!! Stunning vistas, incredible landscapes and friendly, helpful people made our choice to venture north a decision we were glad we had made. Fedja, north of Bergen. Cool little town. Because during most seasons, the weather is more challenging by this time, most amenities for boaters are closed for the season. With this unseasonably warm, pleasant weather, they still closed so we were often left with no services. BUT that also meant that no one was out cruising around so there was plenty of room to secure Bijou, often without having to pay anything. July 1997. High on our "to do" list was to transit the Caledonian Canal in Scotland. One interesting feature of the Canal was Loch Ness. Lori was probably more excited about that than Carl, but, hey, if we happen to see "something" on the way through--how cool! The main difference would be--Lori would have the camera ready just in case. We hung out in Oban until we were ready to start our transit. We spent 7 days making our way through the locks, stopping at Fort Augustus, anchoring in Lock Ness and near Uhrquardt castle, and others. We debated if we should spend the winter here or carry on to Norway. In the end, we kept going. Norway was calling us. We found the Canal had great amenities and was secure. The Canal had 29 locks, (8 in one place called Neptune's Staircase), 8 aquaducts, and 10 bridges. We shared some locks with other boats and some we went alone. We could easily have spent more than the seven days we took to make the transit. July 1997. We left the Emerald Isle behind and headed for Scotland. Lochs and islands everywhere, along with beautiful scenery and interesting water. We spent some time on the West Isles of Scotland. Our American flag was noticed in many places and that sometimes brought people out from their lives ashore. That happened in Loch Sween. A fisherman brought us a bag of prawns-yummy. And a young lady sailed by and invited us up to her mom's house. Her mom used to sail quite a bit and she offered a shower and a place to do laundry. Oh my!! We took her up on it and as we sat around chatting, sipping beer and marveling at the view down the length of the loch, we found out "mom" was Briget Hasler, wife to Blondie Hasler of single handler fame. Carl was very familiar with his sailing adventures and he was stoked that we were there! So not only were we mesmerized by her presence (Blondie had died some time ago), but we got a shower and we were able to do two loads of laundry! We scooted into Loch Sween to get out of the bad weather and we had an experience that we never could have planned.
June and August 1997. We spent a couple of months moving up the east coast of Ireland and then over to Scotland. We had a wonderful time and met friendly, very helpful people. One place really made an impression on us--Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland. Gorgeous area. We befriended Peter Whelan over a beer at a local pub and he drove us around the area to see the sights, i.e. Glendalough and environs. Gallway Hookers Festival in Porta Ferry, Northern Ireland. We entered Bijou in a race and we came in third overall out of a lot of sailing vessels. We were very proud. Also on show were old vessels that added a lot to the event.
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