Hummingbird

We’ve had several days of passage crossing the North Sea in our two watch teams. For some of the crew we’ve now had our first experience of sailing in Force 8 storms! It’s been a mixed bag of weather; we weren’t really expecting it to be a smooth ride, but we’re certainly getting through a […]

Hummingbird blog Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose….. After a brief fogbound sojourn, Hummingbird left Stavanger under blue skies and bright sunshine. A quick fuelling stop and then it was (fairly) straight out into the North Sea under Andy’s meticulous pilotage. A last fond look at the Norwegian coastline as we set a […]

Tuesday 17th We woke early to Robert’s hearty porridge, which set us up for our first day’s sailing. Some dashed ashore for showers and we all prepared for departure. We hanked on the No3 Yankee and Staysail and prepared lines for departure. Hummingbird left the pontoon perfectly, helmed by skipper Mike. Of course this is […]

Day 4 Wednesday Motor Sailing to a Glacier After our day at rest in Bolga, we were eager to make way to the glacier. Weather was still a bit challenging, as we discovered when we slipped lines from the pontoon and were blown around a bit in the marina. However, Roger (at the helm) was […]

It was a dark and stormy night on the Norwegian island of Bolga for Hummingbird and her crew. The winds whistled through the rigging and sang us all to sleep. We awoke to a rough sea, dark and low stratonimbus clouds, pelting rain, and Force 7 winds gusting to 8 on the Beaufort scale. Skipper […]

Day  2 started early for the crew of Hummingbird amid a windy forecast.  Graeme expertly reversed Hummingbird off a windy leeward jetty and through a gap into the sea.  Heading into the open sea we were surrounded by the amazing Norwegian mountains .  Sailing under a fully reefed mainsail, yankee3 and the storm jib, the […]

3 or 4 times a year we get a group or family charter the boat and it’s always a magical time for the children as they have an almost swallows and Amazons experience sailing through islands, shooting off in the dinghy, hiking up hills and catching fresh fish. As one of them said today ‘I […]

Optimistic we’d get a cracking long sail across to Landegode, we weighed a large amount of very secure chain and cheerfully left Mortsound via a neatly navigated small channel. The wind increased steadily along with our clothing from T-shirt’s to jackets, wellies, oilskins and a first outing for the Lofoten islands beanie.  Foredeck work was […]

The crew awoke this morning in Stromoy to another picture perfect blue sky and the opportunity to explore ashore again. The rib was lowered and the crew shuttled to secluded bays of crystal clear waters. From there they variously took off up the hills, blazed their own trails that even sheep wouldn’t risk, explored amazing […]

After some enjoyed the 24hour light into the early hours last night, some got up nice and early to take on the 400m hike to a ridge line overlooking the fjord for amazing views. Upon return we enjoyed fresh salad and sandwiches in the gorgeous sun. Debbie then briefed us for the afternoon ahead before […]

So, we made it, after 5 days of sailing we made the crossing from Iceland to Norway. The straight line distance was about 700 nautical miles but the weather threw us a few curve balls so we had to tack, gybe and occasionally hoist the iron sail (engine). Sailing at such a high latitude afforded […]

The past 24 hours have seen us continue to enjoy good sailing all through the night with winds lightening and eventually veering through today which eventually meant a little low revs were needed from the engine in order to ensure we arrive at our destination before the NE winds fill in. Killer whales where the […]