Sandspollen, Scandinavias best natural harbour

Some people argue that the islands outside of Stockholm are better to cruise than the ones in Oslofjorden. In many ways I think they are correct. But the one thing they can´t beat is some of the gorgeous natural harbours of The Oslofjord. The most beautiful in my opinion is Sandspollen.
On our virgin sleepover trip with our new boat Solrun II, a Weekendcruiser from NorDan (7800 version) we chose to spend the night in Sandspollen.


So far so not so interesting you might think. Hang on, the fun starts now. This weekend was rather hot and humid and the weatherforecast predicted very little rain. But just when we arrived the clouds rejoiced and opened their floodgates. In a massive way. At this point I would like to mention that we were not dressed for heavy rain.


But full of optimism we found a lovely spot, anchored and I used a couple of trees to connect us to land. At that time it sounded like a easy and good idea. Also, the trees would give me some protection from the rain since I had to use the grill since all our food was based on having a barbeque.



In between the first rainshowers I was actually able to dish up some really good food, but then the wrath from above really kicked in. It started with daaark clouds and rolling thunder. Then it looked like Flash Gordon had been to kind to a lot of babysitters based on the numerous flashes over the sky. Please do remember how I connected the boat to land. Via ropes to the nearby trees. ..
And what are the 2 things to avoid in a situation like this?
1. Do not be at sea in small boats
2. Do not sit under trees.

We did both. Off course we listened to the news on the radio with its long antenna (I mean if the first two wouldnt do us harm then a radioantenna clearly couldnt do any lightning damage). The weatherman announced that this was not a good time to be in a boat (You don´t say???) and also talked about the surprising but very fascinating weatherphenomenon that occured right in front of us. You see this was a tropical rainshower. Outside of Oslo, Norway. Tropical!? And some people still say that Al Gore is a liar. Visit Oslo is my reply.
After the fun passed, tropical showers of this kind is brutal but short, the sun actually came back for a short while and gave us some nice photops when we explored the natural surroundings. Nice isn´t it?



So even though the trip didn´t turn out as planned we got some really nice pictures and a good story to tell friends. And the boat? Slept like a baby. Next morning we discovered that the battery didn´t serve enough power to ignite the Wallas cooking stove. Thankfully I had brought a gasheater as well. So we got our morning coffee. Did I mention that in weekends there is a boat delivering fresh bread in Sandspollen. How many places do you know of with floating bakeries?

More boat stories will be published over the summer.

Goodbye to our Daycruiser Solrun

For 6 wonderful years our daycruiser Solrun, a Draco 21 SC, has given us and our friends enjoyment in the summertime. We have explored most parts of the Oslofjorden, but have been repeat visitors to Middagsbukta and Sandspollen. The Oslofjord has several small islands that are perfect for anchoring up and having a picnic.
Many foreigners are not aware of how hot it can get here in the summer, even the water heats up rather nicely. 23 degrees are not unusual. My personal limit for jumping aboard is 20. Most of my friends call me a chicken for that...
If you are concidering purchasing a used daycruiser you cannot go wrong with a Draco 21 feet. Unfortunate I was taken by the 3 feet illness (as we call it in Norway). Actually I was hit rather bad so the illness became a dramatic 6 foot illness. The result is Solrun II. More about her later. Below is a image of Solrun, click it to see more pictures of how great it is to have a daycruiser in the Oslofjord.

From Draco