100,000km of coastline…We Decided Where We’re Headed! - Ep 289

Approaching the rugged coastline of Møre og Romsdal, Steph and Tyler Sexsmith steered their expedition vessel toward the four-island harbor basin of Kristiansund in northern Norway. Cruising under the banner of Sailing Jibsea, the Canadian voyagers faced a classic high-latitude landfall challenge: distinguishing the northern island enclave from its namesake municipality of Kristiansand hundreds of miles to the south while searching out a safe fairway through intricate approach channels.

Glassy water masked tricky navigational hurdles along the waterfront. With heavy weather brewing offshore across the Norwegian Sea, the crew needed a safe berth to moor, stage overdue domestic chores, and chart long-distance hops toward the Lofoten Islands.

Harbor Approach and Pier Docking at Kristiansund

Closing on the waterfront, Steph and Tyler spotted a bridge span that seemed to offer direct harbor access into the inner basin. As the vessel drew near, yellow marker buoys barred the fairway beneath the span. Rather than testing unknown overhead clearance or localized dredging hazards, Tyler swung the helm away, tracking the marked outer channel to round safely into the designated commercial fairway.

Mooring conditions were dead calm. A neighboring cruiser caught their forward docklines as they nudged alongside the pontoon. The pier hardware presented an unusual setup: small welded metal eyelets instead of standard horn cleats. Steph fed the mooring warps directly through the narrow rings, noting that threading lines through tight metal eyelets in a howling crosswind would test any shorthanded crew. Once secured, Tyler quickly assembled their folding bikes for a two-minute sprint to the local skate park—his first session on a skateboard in two years since leaving Toronto.

Kristiansund Geography and Post-War Cod Heritage

A post-dinner stroll across Kristiansund revealed an unconventional city layout spread across four principal landmasses—Nordlandet, Kirkelandet, Gomalandet, and Innlandet—stitched together by bridges, sound channels, and passenger ferries. While a smaller marina sat directly in the commercial core, their pontoon provided a quiet berth just ten minutes away on foot, granting easy shore access before incoming rains swept the coast.

Home to roughly 24,000 residents, Kristiansund built its commercial prominence as the premier Norwegian export capital for klippfisk—salted and dried Atlantic cod processed across bare coastal rock flats. In April 1940, German air bombardments devastated nearly the entire harbor quarter. The modern waterfront the crew explored reflects extensive post-war reconstruction, blending working shipyards with clean Scandinavian quays.

Offshore Planning for the Lofoten Islands Run

After topping up their diesel tanks at the Kristiansund fuel dock, Steph and Tyler set their sights north. High-latitude cruising requires strict adherence to weather windows. Rather than inching slowly through every winding fjord, the crew committed to three major offshore jumps—including legs of 170 and 270 nautical miles—to make landfall in the Lofoten Islands before late-season gales arrived. Any bypassed sounds and anchorages could be explored at leisure during their southbound return.

Steaming out of the island archipelago into the open coastal fairway, the crew motored past an islet preserve once central to the historic klippfisk trade, now repurposed as a coastal guest haven and waterfront restaurant, before finding workable wind.

Whisker Pole Tactics and Three-Sail Downwind Trim

The offshore breeze proved fickle. Settling between 11 and 17 knots before fading toward 5 knots dead downwind, the breeze repeatedly robbed the headsail of clean airflow. With their lightweight Code Zero sail blown out and decommissioned on an earlier leg, Tyler went forward to the bow locker to rig the whisker pole.

Deploying the pole to wing out the genoa to starboard with the mainsail out to port, boat speed crept from 5.2 knots past 6 knots. Sensing dead air between the two primary foils, Steph hoisted the staysail into the central slot, trimming the small inner sail goosewing style. The three-sail trim immediately grabbed unused apparent wind, adding half a knot of clean forward drive across a flat sea state.

Down in the galley, Tyler turned out a quick passage dinner: egg pasta with chicken strips in cream sauce for himself, and a seafood pasta with shrimp, clams, and tomato sauce for Steph. A favorable tidal current running between 6 and 8 knots swept Jibsea II effortlessly along the coastal fairway at 5.5 to 6.5 knots speed over ground.

Quiet Marina Shelter and Midnight Twilight at the Washhouse

Seven hours of quiet downwind sailing covered 55 nautical miles in an eight-hour passage. Watching barometric drops and forecast coastal gales, Steph and Tyler bypassed an exposed anchorage, sailing two and a half miles past a sheltered inlet before doubling back into a quiet marina basin.

With gale-force gusts due by morning, the inexpensive pontoon offered secure tie-ups and an essential cruising luxury: a working laundry facility. By 11:50 PM, the sub-polar sky remained brilliant with midnight twilight, daylight lingering endlessly beneath cloud cover as Tyler and Steph loaded their fleece layers into the dryers before turning in.

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