Day - 13: Monday, June 8, 2015
Starting Location: At Sea En-route to Oslo, Norway
Interim Location: Oslo, Norway
Ending Location: At Sea En-route to Copenhagen, Denmark
For those who have sailed into Oslo, you will know what I mean by "that was a long sea detail", about 50 miles north into the Oslo Fjord. That said, the fjord is relatively wide but from time to time required speed reductions and tight turns around rocks and islands. It's a scenic entry or departure for sure.
Arrival at the Oslo Marine Terminal was at 0800 as scheduled. As one might expect, Norway is a boating country. One of the guides postulated that 15-20 percent of the population has a least one boat. With that, today's tour and this post will be mainly about boating and exploration.
This morning, underway near to our pier was the "tall ship" Christian Radich a three masted sailing ship many have seen at tall ship events in the U.S.
Our guide and driver for today. That's one good looking driver, well versed in Norwegian highway signs no doubt.
Today's tour would take us to see museums dedicated to four real boats/ships of historic significance:
The FRAM was used by Norwegians searching for the Northwest Passage and in the race to the South Pole completed in 1911 by Roald Amundsen.
These sailors ventured forth on multi-year journeys with plans to live on the ice packs through multiple winters as necessary.
The Viking boats were recovered from ceremonial graves preserved in the peat environment of the Norwegian earth. As the story goes, the best of the boats was likely ceremonial, thus all the intricate carvings, nevertheless for something made of wood to last for 1,000 years or so is remarkable.
In addition to the museum tours we were driven in and around Oslo to see the old buildings, palaces, museums, cathedrals, forts, etc.
By 6 PM the port day was over and the M/S Marina was away from the pier headed back down the fjord en-route to Copenhagen. Here are some sights and more boats encountered along the way, well okay, I'll include a bird as well.
Interim Location: Oslo, Norway
Ending Location: At Sea En-route to Copenhagen, Denmark
For those who have sailed into Oslo, you will know what I mean by "that was a long sea detail", about 50 miles north into the Oslo Fjord. That said, the fjord is relatively wide but from time to time required speed reductions and tight turns around rocks and islands. It's a scenic entry or departure for sure.
Arrival at the Oslo Marine Terminal was at 0800 as scheduled. As one might expect, Norway is a boating country. One of the guides postulated that 15-20 percent of the population has a least one boat. With that, today's tour and this post will be mainly about boating and exploration.
This morning, underway near to our pier was the "tall ship" Christian Radich a three masted sailing ship many have seen at tall ship events in the U.S.
Our guide and driver for today. That's one good looking driver, well versed in Norwegian highway signs no doubt.
Today's tour would take us to see museums dedicated to four real boats/ships of historic significance:
- A Viking ship dating from about 1,000 years ago
- The FRAM, a ship for exploration of the Arctic and Antartic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Kon Tiki, the raft of Thor Heyerdahl used for his ocean crossing voyage (Peru to Polynesia) in 1947 to prove his theories as to how islands and continents were populated and settled when the only motive power for boats was wind, currents and the brute strength of man.
- Ra II, the raft Heyerdahl used in 1970 to cross the Atlantic.
Guess we don't need to visit Easter Island.
The FRAM was used by Norwegians searching for the Northwest Passage and in the race to the South Pole completed in 1911 by Roald Amundsen.
These sailors ventured forth on multi-year journeys with plans to live on the ice packs through multiple winters as necessary.
The Viking boats were recovered from ceremonial graves preserved in the peat environment of the Norwegian earth. As the story goes, the best of the boats was likely ceremonial, thus all the intricate carvings, nevertheless for something made of wood to last for 1,000 years or so is remarkable.
Then there is the M/S Marina, true a few more conveniences than the Viking ship, the Kon Tiki, the Ra II or FRAM but certainly less exciting and adventurous in its mission.
In addition to the museum tours we were driven in and around Oslo to see the old buildings, palaces, museums, cathedrals, forts, etc.
Sailing races were going on in the harbor, I watched three or four heats of competitive racing including the raised voices, the assessing of penalties, etc.; the #281 boat generally prevailed with better starts and tighter tacks.
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| "Opti" Sail Racing Mighty Cold Water |
On to Copenhagen.
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