Stavanger
So another new port, new sights to see and new people to meet. One of the first visitors was our new Liaison Officer, Sverre. He was to be a great help to us in the following days and was always efficient and cheerful. Sverre and Alyson The flight taking in the new crew and taking out the old eens was held up by fog at Sumburgh so Sverre, and Alysonthe four who were flying back were forced into enduring another night of revelry in Stavanger. A shame for them but there was nothing they could do about it... Raws family were over for a few days and it wasn't long before they were onboard and firing on all cylinders! The Scollay Clan onboard and leeshing at! On the Sunday morning the news came that the flight looked ok. The four who were flying home packed up the last of their gear and caught the bus out to the airport. The new crew flew in from a cool Shetland to the heat of Stavanger and the sweat was breaking on them before they were hardly 5 mins out of the airport. The harbour in Stavanger Stavanger was as well organised as Aalborg had been. The inner harbour in Stavanger. They had a good word with the Met man and ordered up some ideal weather, up to 30 degrees some days. There was plenty of music to listen to and lots of stalls along the quayside to visit and to buy souvenirs. Stavanger was more maritime orientated than either Antwerp or Aalborg and a lot of work had been put in to get older traditional vessels in port for the four days.

Chapping atThe boat builders of the futureThere was boat building on the quayside, both big and small. A local boat builder was building a clinker built dinghy and there was a stall where youngsters could build model boats and sail them in a pool. There was something there for all age groups. The boat builders of the future

Da Spretland Times – Volume 3

August 11th: Da Swan arrived in Stavanger on Friday o’ last week, ony ta fin screeds o’ folk wanderin aboot da pier seein aa da various attractions dat had been laid on fir da gaddery o’ boats at wis dere. Dat nite wis an eventful wan wi ivry een punishin dir livers wance ageen. Wi haed a spret (in da musical sense,) dat lestit fur maest o’ da nite. Ian o’ Tagon (on his wye hame,) decided dat goin ta wan last pub wid be a scheme… Da ony sneck is dat on tap o his peerie mootie drinks tab, he hed ta stenkle up a new pailing dat he shalled on a wayward, gravity induced, tiddley ower winkie moment fae his restin shair apudda veranda. Dis was acceptable due to Ian an Shirleys 30th wedding anniversary celebrations fur which Ian spruced up his heed wi a grain o’ hair shearin. Da hair shearinDey also wir braaly guid tae da crew in leavin twa cases o’ cauld beverages on da table fur thristy revellers. We wir biddin’ tae twartree pairties on Saturday nicht, ee wis a moraless “toorie-kep” pairty, an da idder wis a Belgian “chocolate” pairty aboard da “Antwerp Fleeyer” (Latin neem: Antwerpus Flyerous Crexious Phlegmis). So in true unselfish Sheltie style wi attendit baith wi guid investigative journalistic intention tae report da on-goins. Da Swan crew & musicians invaded da Belgian boat an leeshed at wi furiously paced tune-age dat gud doon weel wi da neighbourin crew an invited guests. We loused intae dere ample quarter o’ a tonne o’ Belgian chocolate stores, likely glipping mare as wir quota! Wan eyewitness account reported various unken folk doin what could ony hiv been described as a cross atween da trowie dance an da stank dance apudda wheelhouse ruuf.
Da Preikestolen
Twa or tree o’ wis gud on a muckle leg spretting spaegie-fest o’ a mountain climb up Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) a Sunday. Neil ‘Chords’ Georgeson wis braaly exciteable an sprickly be nature, setting off at pace oot ower broos an stanks tae get da maest o’ da spectacular scenery. Da sun wis firin doon aa day scouderin wis ta da point o’ pushkered-ness, certainly no a day fur castin paets! Layin ower an looking doon da edge o’ da muckle stane wis an experience Grant described as “nearly tae rival a venture doon da Sneck o’ da Smaalie”. We were aa gluffed whan Neil whapped a slice o’ cheese oot o’ his sandwich ower da edge, an hit blew up ower da croods o’ touristy folk wi da draft, landing neest tae a Polish fellow. Den we were mare gluffed whan he picked it up an glipped it doon! Laurie “Golden Diary Award Winner – Crö Stenkelling runner up” Goodlad amazingly managed da whole hike wi a sprained ankle, so Tommy didna hitae kyert her aff da hillside lik a bag o paets. Da new crew eventually appeared oot o’ da Sumburgh mist in Stavanger on Sunday an got settled in tae da swing o’ things braaly shun, as da auld crew departed intae da sunset. Laeter dat nicht da young eens gud tae da tail end o’ da Muckle Crews Pairty tae let whit wis left o’ da hair doon eftir playin tunes aboard da Swan. Much Trowie dancing and limb flailing was apparent on da dance floor fae Raw and Bailey Nicol, this eventually culminated in impromptu fruit flingin affair (chapped up maet layed on fur fantin’ sailors). Een o da crew freends!Couper got a sark-foo of saft fruit segments fae a guid piece awa. Nicol came out almost unscathed until a chunk o’ what appeared to be high velocity pineapple saw da end o’ da wenglit plastic beverage receptacle an soaket him fae da eyebroos tae da snirlie once more. Cue more lit-nicht scrapin o’ tunes an plenty vagueness… …Gentle recovery followed on Monday wi Mark, Raw, Martin, Campbell, Jimmy, Sam an Robert gud tae show aff dere pool playin prowess wi da official Crew Friends (very friendly dey wir too…especially wi Martin!). Aabody wandered aroond da streets tae da soonds o’ Sams jungle drummin fur da crew parade at tae-time followed at nicht be da end o’ da festivities wi da fireworks. A lot o fireworks happened dis night Norways answer to Britney Spears appeared on da Swan in da early hours as maest sensible folk wir headin aff tae bed, he loused intae ‘Skelp Me Baby Wan Mare Time’ wi varying degrees o’ success on da high notes! However he did amuse an impress wis we some Norwegian folk/pop renditions an banter although maybe no his drummin skills. If anyone keyns wha dis fellow might be, please inform da noise police aka Willie Pottinger. We left Stavanger yesterday after a week of braaly non-stop spree, shenanigans an oncarry, oh quaat!! Daday has been a skeen riving affair wi da swelterin haet. Da high point o’ last nicht wis whin wi reached twa knots under sail ida race, we aa hed tae haad on tae wir keps…! Spent maest o’ daday driftin an tryin fur mackerel tae pass da time. ( Nicol, Couper & Laurenson ) Neest.

It was an excellent day for the Parade of Sail, enough wind to set sails and the sun shining down from a clear blue sky. In the Parade of SailIt seemed like every pleasure boat in Stavanger had come out to see the fleet off. Gibbie put the fishing line over the side while we were waiting and caught some mackerel for a supper. The race for our class - Class B - began at 6.30pm. The race wasn't a direct line from Stavanger to Cuxhaven but had a waypoint in the middle of the North Sea to increase the distance to 380 miles.

We had a good start and were over the line in second place to Morning Star. The wind was fair and we slipped along well in company with theGoing nowhere slowly rest until the faster boats slowly pulled ahead and the fleet began to spread out. The calms that had dogged us in the first race came back to haunt us again. The wind dropped until we were at a standstill like a toy boat in a basin of water. The fishing line Gibbie had hung over the side was hanging plumb. For 24hrs the wind was either calm or no more than a force 1. The next 24hrs our max wind was force 2. Our boatspeed during that time was either zero or 1kt occasionally reaching the dizzy heights of 1.5 kts. Meanwhile Jens Krogh from Aalborg, who was in our class and ahead of us, had found a light breeze and was in the lead making a steady 4kts.

Good sailing!As we neared the waypoint the wind steadied to a NE force 3 and a few hours after rounding the waypoint it picked up to a splendid F4-5 and we were clipping along at up to 7kts at times. That next day (Fri 13th) we had some of the best sailing so far, fair winds, good speed and blue skies. Ideal conditions. It made a welcome change from what we had before and gave the crew a chance to see Swan sailing well.

Asgaard 2We closed on Asgaard 2 when the sun was well west and the lads came on deck to play them a set of reels as we went past. We were too far apart for them to hear us so we held the VHF up to the band for a blast of fiddle frenzy. "We want more!" came back from Asgaard! The serenadersThe lads fired off again and the crew of Asgaard were soon seen birling on the afterdeck. A great moment. Had this ever happened in the Tall Ships races before? We'll need to see them again in Cuxhaven for another session..
The wind wasn't to last though. Gibbie went below to make a cuppa at 9pm when we were making 7kts. In the time it took the kettle to boil and he came up with the cups we were wallowing along at less that a knot. It was as if someone had switched off the wind for the night and turned in.

Aug. 14th: Because of the light conditions the course had been shortened by 5 hrs to allow all the ships to get into Cuxhaven in time for the opening day. At 2.30pm any vessel which had not crossed the finish line was to pass on their position at that time to Race Control and make good speed for Cuxhaven. At 2.30 with 94 miles to go our position was logged, all sails except the main were lowered, and our trusty Cummins was fired up.