Cruising Norway: Exploring Stavanger Bay and beyond

Norway’s stunning west coast stretches over 1,000 nautical miles in a cruising extravaganza of navigable sounds and dramatic fjords, protected from seaward by layers of skerries and picturesque islands. There are anchorages galore and the scenery is spectacular, especially where mountains fold close to the sea. The midsummer days are almost literally endless and time slows right down when the sun only dips for a few short hours. Boating is a way of life for most Norwegians and it’s normal to hop into a fast launch to get to the shops. Many houses have their own jetties and getting about by water is completely natural. Ferries are used for commuting and even the smallest villages have good mooring places and facilities for visitors. Norway’s big landscapes are sparsely populated and cruising here you feel an uplifting sense of space and room to breathe. About five million Norwegians occupy a country nearly three times the size of England. Enjoying the great outdoors is part of their culture, especially among boat owners. Stavanger Bay is an ideal taster for this amazing country, the nearest corner of Norway to the UK. This beautiful expanse of sheltered water is peppered with islands, and enticing rias lead away in all directions. The lively port of Stavanger is near the entrance and you’ll find many attractive yacht harbours in rural surroundings. Cruising to Stavanger Bay The mouth of Stavanger Bay lies 250 miles east of Orkney and larger boats with a safe range can cross the North Sea during a calm spell. Most visitors arrive in Norway from the south-west Baltic, which is easy enough for us to reach in coastal hops via Holland and the Kiel Canal. Stavanger Bay has cruising potential for many relaxed seasons, and efficient yards for wintering safely. Stavanger is a fantastic landfall after a North Sea crossing. To port, the jutting island of Karmøy forms the outer arm of this grand gulf and colourful Skudeneshavn (pictured above) is a handy port-of-call on its south tip. Offshore to the north is the mysterious profile of Utsira, a familiar name from shipping forecasts. It’s strange to see this legendary island in the flesh and to learn that over 200 people live here. The crouching south promontory is ten miles beyond Karmøy and may not lift until you are further in. Between the two entrance points, low Kvitsøy Island is circled by a maze of close-packed skerries, an effective natural breakwater for the bay. In the days of sail, pilot boats were based out here near the open sea. Now a radar tower stands behind the harbour, the hub of Stavanger’s traffic control centre. Further inshore you’ll see the humps of Rennesøy and Mosterøy, the two largest islands in the middle reaches, and beyond them the looming coastal mountains – an impressive backdrop for the inner sounds and penetrating fjords. Even in June the highest peaks still have traces of snow, an exotic sight from deck level. Boats arriving from the south make the 40-mile coastal hop between Egersund and Tananger before rounding Tungenes point to enter Stavanger Bay. In gentle weather this is a fabulous run past a long coastal plain, with fertile green slopes falling to gleaming white beaches. This is prime Norwegian farmland and the sun glints on acres of glasshouses for tomatoes and fruit. The first 25 miles from Egersund are exposed to the North Sea, but then a buoyed passage leads inside islands and skerries to Tananger Harbour (pictured above). The last short leg up to Tungenes is pretty well protected by Kvitsøy. Rennesøy & Mosterøy These two sizeable islands form the hub of an archipelago extending north from Stavanger. Between them is a broad strait with magnificent vistas on either side, the finest route in from the sea. Rennesøy’s quite steep rocky cliffs turn a bit dour when the sun goes in, while cows and sheep graze placidly on Mosterøy’s lush farms. You’ll often see this mix of craggy granite and soft pasture in the bay, wild remoteness nicely blended with cosiness. Mosterøy is joined by a causeway to a smaller island where a rambling 13th century monastery commands a restful valley. Monks always had a nose for real estate. At the east end of the strait you emerge into more open water scattered with smaller islands. Up ahead, the mainland above Tau Harbour climbs to an impressive range of hills, their peaks soaring to real mountains. To the south-east the majestic Høgsfjord (pictured above) glides inland beneath even loftier heights. Southward you glimpse Stavanger itself, and threading the kaleidoscope of channels are the bustling ferries which link all the islands, villages and towns. Exploring Lysefjord Five miles east of Stavanger, the wide mouth of Høgsfjord has a seductive quality, beckoning you in with the promise of excitement and adventure. The trim white lighthouse on Tingholmen Island (pictured right) is understated for such an imposing stretch of water, but cruising inland you soon feel the grandeur of the scene. There are rocky headlands patched with firs and close-fitting islands with intriguing gaps. Up ahead a frieze of mountains draws you on, with glacial scars etched in shadow and cliffs rising sheer from the fjord. You see solitary timber houses at the water’s edge, dwarfed by their vast background of rock and hardy spruce. Grassy oases are dotted with sheep, and clusters of redwood cabins look homely on a sunny day. Seven miles into Høgsfjord, where a car ferry crosses, a deep inner ria veers off to port past inviting green slopes and a high suspension bridge. This is the famous Lysefjord and beyond the bridge (pictured above) its sides become more precipitous. Not far into the fjord you can anchor off the south shore at Vika (pictured below), a wonderful bay behind a sheltering island. There’s a landing here and some rather fine houses in a soothing park backed by hillside forest. Ferries from Stavanger take tourists to see an incredible outcrop called Pulpit Rock – the Preikestolen – a flat granite plateau perched 600 metres above the fjord on the north side. This breathtaking vantage point is popular with walkers, and keen boat crews may land by dinghy a mile above Vika and hike up to the Pulpit (pictured below) for vertigo-inducing views of the fjord. We were content to gaze up from the deck at precarious specks sitting on the edge with their legs dangling over. Lysefjord cuts 20 miles inland in an almost dead straight ravine, its mountain sides rising to 900 metres and depths plunging to an eerie 400 metres. You pass a cascading waterfall and navigation ends at Lysebotn village in a pleasant green valley. There’s a visitor pontoon here, though vulnerable to savage downdraughts in strong winds. Exotic island gardens Hidle Island (pictured below) is unique in the archipelago because 30 years ago a Stavanger family established three acres of luxuriant gardens on its mile of weathered granite. They started by planting a windbreak of pines and then shipped in thousands of tons of soil for the flowers, shrubs and more delicate trees. The gardens flourished and now cover 15 acres, meandering across different layers past tranquil pools and trickling streams. It’s worth visiting this extraordinary tropical oasis, either by ferry from Stavanger or with your own boat if you book in advance. The tiny harbour is on the east shore, where a waterside restaurant faces the fjord and the mountains behind Tau. For visitors, Hidle is really a restaurant with gardens, so you reserve for lunch or dinner and enjoy a guided tour of the gardens before you eat. Chef André Mulder produces a sumptuous seven-dish buffet and the whole experience costs about £90 per person at current exchange rates, including the ferry trip. You can visit the Stavanger Harbour booking office at Skagenkaien 35-37 or see: florogfjare.no . Stavanger harbour The word ‘Stavanger’ has quite a harsh sound, and somehow you expect its harbour to be hectically industrial and discouraging to pleasure boating. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Yachts and motor boats come and go among all the ferries, coasters, tugs and supply ships that use the port. The city waterfront is a vibrant mix of traditional houses, converted wharves, smart apartments and café terraces. There are several marinas for visiting boats near the old quarter of Stavanger, a warren of cobbled back streets, neat timber cottages and cheerful flowerbeds. The harbour suspension bridge is a striking feature and below it the yacht club marina has views of all the comings and goings, especially the ferries which land nearby. The liveliest berth is at the head of a north-facing dock called Vågen, which has visitor pontoons opposite a row of restaurants and a popular disco. This is a fascinating billet for boat watchers, especially in the early mornings when glitzy multistorey cruise ships edge in. Right on the harbour outside Vågen is a stylish glass-fronted building with what seems like part of an oil rig attached. The award-winning Norske Oljemuseum tells the buccaneering tale of Norway’s highly profitable oil industry, from the first wildcat prospecting in the 1960s right up to the present and the astonishingly high-tech prospect of remotely operated gas rigs on the sea bed. Anyone with an interest in ships and the sea will find this imaginative exhibition completely absorbing. Out to Kvitsøy Guarding the outer reaches of the bay, Kvitsøy Island appears impenetrable on my Admiralty 3539, ringed by a labyrinth of islets and shoals. The route doesn’t seem much simpler on a detailed chart, but the south-east pass is well marked for the car ferries that rumble across from near Tungenes Point. Squeezing through the first gap in the skerries, you enter a different world of linked moats and lagoons enclosed by whale-shaped rocks worn smooth by ancient glaciers. On a grey day this austere seascape is a tad forbidding, but in sunshine the sparkling leads are enchanting as you zig-zag towards Kvitsøy’s hexagonal white lighthouse with its peeping red top. The complexity continues right into the harbour creek, a really snug haven because all the twists and turns keep the sea out. Visitors moor at a T-shaped jetty, which has loos and showers, water, electricity and a general store nearby. The harbour looks magical, with its jumbled white village, boathouses and slightly ramshackle fishing sheds. Kvitsøy is renowned for its lobsters and you see piles of pots and floats on the quays. There is actually a lobster museum, which celebrates the seamanship involved when pots were laid and checked under sail in these intricate waters, all year round. N.B. My thanks to Gunhild Vevik and Hans Olav Sandvoll for their help with this article.

Exotic island gardens

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