We’re pointed south towards the Shetland Islands and Scotland. The plan is to top off our fuel tanks in Maloy, Norway, and then make the short hop (185 miles) to the U.K.

We are ahead of the normal cruising schedule with a majority of yachts going in the opposite direction. This provides a wonderful opportunity for boat watching, one of our favorite things to do. The vessel above is a Colin Archer design, formerly part of the Norwegian Rescue Service fleet.

There has been a rally of traditional Norwegian vessels and some of them are headed north now. We have passed several dozen of these fishing designs converted to yacht service. This is a great demonstration of going uphill, against a stiff breeze and steep sea. There is a lot of fine spray off the bow, which looks impressive, but not much magnitude to it. Avoiding excessive beam is one of the keys to motion control and comfort.

Another rally member, this one a converted whaler.

Sailors are in the minority it seems. But what could be more pleasant than a sunny downwind sail?

This modern trawler has a fine (narrow) bow and moderate beam aft and she makes little fuss going uphill.

We are not fans of roller reefed headsails or in the mast furling for mains and this is why. Both sails are now poorly shaped which will heel the boat excessively and retard forward progress. It would be much better to have a conventional main with slab reefing and a cutter stay with a second, smaller headsail hanked on for breezy days.

Compare the volume of spray from this small power boat to the earlier shots of the much larger vessels. This looks dramatic but indicates way too much volume forward for these conditions.

Along with seeing lots of boats we have also seen the first sunsets and sunrises in several months. We’ve even had our running lights on.

We’ll close with photos of a modern Viking cruiser.

Get rid of the house, add oars and weapons, and this could be 800AD.

Hide the women and children, bury the valuables, and head for the hills. Or, maybe these are friendly Vikings.

A poorly lit photo of our digital barometer taken an hour after passing the Vikings. It has dropped four millibars in the last six hours. In lower latitudes this would indicate storm force winds, but at higher latitudes it takes more of a pressure gradient to generate wind. This will be good for maybe 20 knots. As the low is east of us, this means northerly winds, with which are very content.