Sailing Along – the Netherlands to Norway

This voyage was the first of two tall ships races Sorlandet is taking part in this summer.  The race started at noon the day after we left Harlingen.  It was supposed to cover 350 nautical miles but got cut short as the winds weren’t very good and the race organizers wanted to make sure the fleet had enough time to get into the next festival port (which would have to happen under motor which is illegal during the race).  When the race started we could look out in any direction and see tall ships under sail – amazing!

During the race we had to tack a few times which involved the whole crew.  Galley department was assigned the fore course sheets as they are the lines closest to the galley doors. After our assigned line was set Nadia and I helped out hauling on other lines before going back to the galley.  Being part of a sail manoeuver like that is a great feeling, everyone is working together and when it’s done well it’s got a really rhythm and beauty to it.

Our voyage crew for this leg was heavy on the U25’s as for races there is a rule that a certain percentage of your crew needs to be between 15 and 25.  We also had quite an international crew, 13 countries represented, which led to our winning the International Friendship Award for this race leg!

(and if anyone is paying attention to the itinerary I e-mailed out before I left you'll notice I'm a bit behind on the blog.  Sorry!)