Stavanger was an undisputable highlight. But after a few days, the weather looked suitable to continue south. There are very few places to stop along Norway’s exposed southern west coast. It was interesting to realise that the Norwegians very rarely sail out to sea! Most of their boating is done inside fjords or skerries.

By now we had learned we shouldn’t be alarmed by new Norwegian friends’ warnings – we had rounded a variety of headlands that locals had warned us would be treacherous but our lifetime of sailing in the UK meant these supposedly major challenges were just a normal bit of coast for us (minus the complication of tide!).

The Kemp family are proud of their new mooring skills. Photo: Amy Kemp

We departed Stavanger having planned two long day sails. We first sailed to Rekefjord, but unfortunately arrived with a torn mainsail. The children loved watching mummy winch daddy up the mast to repair it; I was mightily aware of how tall Zina’s mast is and of how lost we’d all be without Daddy.

I didn’t enjoy the evening one bit! But Super-Daddy fixed the sail and the next day we were off again.

Sailing Norway’s South Coast

That evening we arrived in Mandal, a popular holiday destination, famous for its sandy beaches. Over the previous days, we had noticed the landscape changing – the Norway we’d now arrived in was dotted with typical white wooden houses, and mountainous terrain was replaced with lower lying rocks and pine forest. Christmas trees everywhere!

Zina tied to the rocks in Kristiansand. Photo: Amy Kemp

Having spent weeks in deep water, on the south coast the possibilities for anchoring became more frequent; it wasn’t long before we found ourselves having to learn new skills. In many places along this stretch of Norway, you’ll find a lovely quiet little hidey-hole, surrounded by rocks.

There’s no room to swing on an anchor however, so the locals carry rock pins. They drop their stern anchor, motor forwards and knock a pin into a rock to lash their bow to. There’s no tide, of course, so once you’re secure, you can relax.

The Norwegians make it look so simple; we watched several boats tying to rocks before we decided to have a go. Our first attempt happened in Kristiansand, where we spent a happy weekend spontaneously celebrating midsummer with a family whose children the boys made friends with when they joined some after-school Optimist racing.

The Kemp children loved navigating the Blindleia. Photo: Amy Kemp

We dropped our stern anchor… motored forwards… and then realised Zina’s bow was so high, no one could reach to jump to the rocks. Our baby-proof netting also wasn’t helpful.

We motored backwards again to think some more. After some quite heated debate about how exactly we’d manage things – young boys have quite a different risk profile to me – we managed to get Barnaby safely on to the rocks.

But he still couldn’t get us tied on. It was nothing short of a pantomime. In the end, Blaise rowed to the rocks, climbed up to Barnaby and somehow they secured us. Later however, the wind changed and we had to reset again – during that spectacle, our stern anchor got stuck in its locker!

Over the coming weeks we had plenty of opportunity to practice; we also got a bow ladder! But in the end we came to realise perhaps our inexperience wasn’t the problem. It’s just not possible to man-handle a 25-tonne boat very easily.

Article continues below…

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Places to visit on Norway’s South Coast

We would really recommend the south coast of Norway – we had a marvellous time. Grimstad, Arendal, Lyngør, Risør and Kragerø were all super – and our two Optimist sailors continued having great fun at clubs along the way.

Amy and family. Photo: Amy Kemp

An absolute must-do – we think – is the Blindleia, a 12-mile-long inland waterway between Kristiansand and Lillesand. We couldn’t do the entire length because of Zina’s air draught – but we managed most of it. The scenery is spectacular; it winds through tiny villages, vast nature reserves, and some very narrow rocky passages – some just 6.5 metres wide and we had only half a metre beneath the keel!

Skauerøya island – inside the Blindleia – is in our top ten favourites. We spent a very happy time playing in the pine forest, hiking over the rocks, swimming in the clear water and cooking on the community BBQs. It’s a magical place, if you’re ever nearby.

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