Project Norway 2011

According to the preliminary schedule the start of the trip would be at the end of the May from Turku. Two weeks is hopefully enough for sailing to Copenhagen because I have to fly back to Finland for work. I will be flying back to Copengagen in mid-June with my father and a friend to sail from Denmark to Norway where we should be in week 25. There are basically two route options after Helsingor: in case of persistent westerly winds in Skagerrak/North Sea, the route via Limfjorden would be chosen. Limfjorden is about 100M long strait across northern Denmark that connects Kattegat and the North Sea. This would give better wind angle for the North Sea crossing. Another option is the route via Swedish west coast and Skagen.

In case of good weather we are planning to continue straight to Stavanger which is about 170M from Thyborøn. Possible stopover harbours in the S-SW coast of Norway are for example Kristiansand, Kirkehamn, Egersund and Tananger.   

In Norway we are sailing north up to Bergen before turning back in mid-July. We are planning to explore especially Lysefjord and Hardangerfjord area and the archipelago between Stavanger and Bergen.

/Antti

Hallberg-Rassy 29

S/Y Dolphin Dance is a HR29 nr. 483 built in 1990. It was designed by Swedish yacht designers Olle Enderlein and Christoph Rassy. The model was in production 1982-1994 and total of 571 hulls were built, which is an excellent result. The Hallberg-Rassy yard is situated in Ellös, west coast of Sweden, and like all HRs, the 29 is designed for the North Sea weather conditions. Yachting Monthly wrote on Second Opinion -article (Nov. 96´) about HR29: "With her deep body, long lead-ballasted fin keel and a rudder hung an almost full-depht skeg, the hull looks capable of handling just about anything the sea might throw at it."

HR29 has many great innovations and qualities that would be nowadays too expensive to built on a boat of this size. Also design trends have changed: flat-bottoms, bulb-keels and spade rudders are a norm in modern sailboat design. Furthermore interior space has become more important factor for the buyers. HR29 is a relatively narrow boat (2,83 m) in todays standards and does not have an aft cabin. However the interior layout is very seagoing and settees in the saloon make excellent seaberths.

Foredeck is flat and you get good grip of toerail when working on deck.  The chain locker is arranged for self stowing

HR29 is also a relatively heavy boat: the yard announces the displacement of 3800 kg, which (like in all HRs) is an underestimate. I think that the Dolphin Dance weights at least 1000 kg over the book value. The relatively heavy displacement has it benefits when it comes to a comfortable ride at sea but has a downside effect on light winds performance. With a furling genoa the sail area is about 46 m2. In light winds the use of gennaker or spinnaker is recommended.

For more photos and additional information on HR 29, check out site/tab Hallberg-Rassy 29

/Antti

Pictures

Season 2010

Denmark-Finland

The season 2010 was first with a new boat, so it was about moving down the learning curve and getting familiar with the characteristics of the boat. In May 2010 we flew to Denmark to pick up the boat and sailed her to Finland. It took 10 days from Svendborg (Funen) to Mariehamn, where we had to leave the boat for a week. We were quite unlucky with the weather and after Bornholm we had mostly headwind or no-wind at all. So it was motoring through Kalmarsund and all the way to Nynäshamn.  

Our route from Svendborg to Turku

Svendborg-Agerso-Stubbekobing-Allinge-Utklippan-Bergkvara-Kalmar-Borgholm-Byxelkrok-Idö-Nynäshamn-Furusund-Mariehamn-Degerby-Jungfruskär-Turku

Some pictures of the trip.

Destination Gotland (June/July)

My main summertrip started June 26th towards Gotland. The whole trip was single-handed sailing and the Windpilot Pacific -windvane was installed for the journey. The windvane was put on a real test on a two and a half days beating from Aspö to Visby, when it was steering almost all the time and did a perfect job. I stayed in Visby for two nights and then motored to Fårosund in northeastern Gotland. Beautiful island of Fåro (NE of Gotland) is definitely worth seeing!

 

Sun is rising again after short night of the north. Bound for Visby



Medieval city of Visby. Sun, sea and +25deg - you could easily imagine being somewhere in Greece...



Beach Boulevard in Visby 

Fåro is a remote island NE of Gotland. Beautiful beaches on eastern coast.

Fårö lighthouse is 30m high and located easternmost tip of Fårö. 

Langhammar (NW-side of Fårö) feature rocky beaches with the Ice Age stone monoliths known as rauks. Langhammar was the setting for Ingmar Bergman's film Through a Glass Darkly.

The return journey from Fårosund to Lökholmen (Sandhamn) was downwind sailing in perfect weather conditions. From there I continued through Stockholm archipelago to Åland, where I was joined by my father to sail the boat to Kustavi. Rest of the Summer was spent cruising in the archipelago of Turku and Åland.

/Antti

Beautiful sunset of the Northern Baltic Sea:





 More photos in my Picasa album.

Check this video from trip: