In my last post on this subject (http://paulamdeangelis.blogspot.no/2010/08/art-of-boating-attempts-at-definition.html),
I tried to define the different aspects of “the art of boating”. However, I
barely managed to leave the harbor in that post, so I will in this post discuss
the things that matter when you’ve finally left the harbor and are headed off
on a trip. A lot of important things must be done before you leave, in addition to the routine maintenance. The
engine must be checked thoroughly, as an engine failure on the open sea can be
disastrous. When this happens in a car, you may simply leave it at the
roadside, grab your cell phone and call the towing company. Not so out on the
open ocean. The check includes oil, cooling water, exhaust tubes, through-hull
tubes, and a number of small details varying from boat to boat. Also, one needs
to fill gas and fresh water and bring food for at least a few days. Plan beforehand
where you will refill gas on the way, which requires that you have an overview
of where gas stations can be found along the way. A supply of fresh water is
very important, as salt water is neither good for you nor your engine (if
needed). Also, you need to bring batteries for flashlights and a GPS (global
positioning system). Although I use the GPS frequently, I also have a set of maps
with me, and we have a working compass in the boat. I do not fully trust modern
electronics. If you’re alone, consider how you will tackle “trivial” tasks like
going to the toilet, fetching food and drinks etc, before you leave. When your
wife or some good mates are joining you, there will always be someone who may
take over the helm.
A happy author at the start of a boat trip |
So you’re off, and you get this great
feeling of freedom that I never
experience on land. So now you’re on your way to
somewhere specific, but that doesn’t really matter. It’s the feeling of being
at sea and getting adjusted to the movements of the boat in the waves-- as
though you’re directly connected to nature. After a few hours you automatically compensate for the tilting and wobbling, to such a degree that
when I get back on land, it’s as though the firm ground keeps moving under my feet. It takes about 2-3 hours of sailing to get out of the inner Oslo
fjord. The “outer” Oslo fjord starts when you’ve passed Filtvedt lighthouse
outside of the city of Drøbak; at this point the course is set according to
whether you want to go south (S) towards Østfold or Sweden, SSW towards
Denmark, or SW along the Norwegian coast. The destinations of our trips have
included Fredrikstad, Halden or Strømstad/Koster southward, and Tønsberg,
Risør, or Langesundsfjorden along the west coast. Langesundsfjorden is
mentioned because from here one may proceed up the Telemark canal via an
extensive lock system to Dalen, or alternatively to Notodden, if you enjoy the blues
festival that occurs there each summer.
At this point you also determine whether
you would like to travel along the shoreline and opt for visual maneuvering with
the help of the map, or whether you would like to sail entirely away from the shoreline
aided by compass and GPS. A good piece of advice right from the start: if you
choose the first one, don’t sail too close to land. It’s always good to keep a safe distance from land
in case something happens, e.g. if the engine stops in spite of all precautions
taken. Also, the worse the weather is, the more important it is to stay well
clear of land, i.e. the grounds. This is counter-intuitive; most landlubbers
tend to be drawn towards firm ground. A good
example of this is the route around Rakkebåene (see map):
Map of Rakkebåene, outside of Larvik and Stavern |
You should not follow
the red- and green-labeled routes along land with a larger boat (>30
feet), even though some locals may tell you it’s a walk in the park. Follow the
blue-labeled course south of the light buoy located to the SE on the map, go
westward and south of the Tvistein lighthouse. The Rakkebåene are strange; they get
shallower there well outside of the grounds visible on the map. The waves slow
down the shallower it gets, but since
the energy remains constant, the amplitude, i.e. wave height, increases. Additionally,
outside Rakke, there are currents moving in the SW direction. When it’s blowing
from SW, and old swell from the North Sea also comes in this direction, heavy
and unpredictable wave patterns are often created. A friend of mine used the
word “messy” to describe them. Thus, even if you follow the blue route, this
will not ensure a smooth trip. If the weather is bad, I choose to go further
out. It’s exhausting when the boat bottom hits the water with a “bang” after
each wave. However, old sailors say that it’s not the boat breaking down in
rough seas, but rather the helmsman and the rest of the crew. There is at least
one more reason to stay away from land and regions with grounds when there is
heavy weather and swell: water is blown off the wave crests so the sea looks
white all over. It is exactly this kind of breaking of the water that
you look for to avoid grounds. The latter are thus difficult to identify if all
you see is a sea that looks white all over.
Visual maneuvering is obviously more
difficult in the evening and at night. Here’s where the lighthouses and light
buoys come in handy. The 360 degrees around lighthouses are typically divided into sectors, such that they shine white light in one direction, green in another, and red in others again (can be seen on the map). The coloring is such that you should be in the white sector, while green or red means unclear waters. Along the coast of southern Norway lighthouses
are spread such that you’ll always see the previous and the next one. Often you
see a third one too, and triangulation is possible in such cases. Light buoys
give position, and exposed grounds in fairways may also be equipped with
lights. It’s not difficult to set the course based on the position of lighthouses,
but you need to have a good map. I have also noticed that distances can be misjudged
at night. Also consider that the most difficult part at night may be to sail into
the harbor, especially if you don’t know the surroundings well. I remember the first
time we came into Helgeroa, just outside of the upper left part of the map. It got
dark very quickly, and we had to pay attention to local grounds and islands
that were barely visible. The next morning, when we left in daylight, this was not
a problem at all.
If you’re crossing open stretches of
ocean without sight of land, e.g. over to Denmark, you need to know where you
are. Only 25 years ago this was tricky business, although we had some idea from
the compass course and the speed of the boat. At that time I took my first trip
around Rakkebåene together with a good friend of mine in his sailing boat. We had
only the lighthouses to tell us where we were since it was the middle of the
night (luckily it wasn’t foggy!) Nowadays, the GPS gives you the actual
coordinates. Our GPS does not have built-in maps, since I prefer having an
actual physical map with me on our trips. With or without electronic maps, you’re now all set
for a memorable boat journey.