Arctic Springtime

Back in Tromsø, we prepare the ship for our next visit - an 83-year-old mother/mother-in-law (Traudi) and a friend (Teresa) from Switzerland. We also take advantage of the sunshine and go skiing on our "local mountain" (Kjøjen) - probably for the last time for the season.

After Traudi and Teresa have spent a few beautiful and sunny days in Oslo, the adventure on the Aegir continues. The wind and wave prospects predict a good "80-plus cruise". As always, the weather offers us everything - except snow. Our first anchorage is in the Balsfjord. We have good sailing wind out of the fjord. The wind freshens up nicely and the crew is still doing well.

Fishing fever breaks out on the way to Arnøya. We pull a total of nine fish out of the water. Traudi hooks the catch of the day: a turbot!

Life on board has a perfect rhythm. Whenever possible, Teresa and Christine go into the water. Sailing and fishing are great fun for everyone. Cooking together is part of the programme. Everyone pursues their personal activities on board (reading, knitting, sewing, photography, writing) and simply enjoys the great landscape.

As another highlight, we receive an invitation to brunch on Norwegian National Day (May 17th ) in Hamnes on Uløya. The crew of another sailing ship waves the flag and sings the anthem. Christine has baked a plait and delights the hostess with it. The whole village celebrates together in the middle of a museum, which is also used as an inn. We are integrated openly and warmly.

After this beautiful experience, we slowly head back towards Tromsø. In Tromsø we let the last days come to an end. Here the crew experiences even stronger winds and rainy weather during a walk on the beach. Because of the many clouds, we don't see the sun at night, but the bright nights still make us night owls.A

On a wonderfully sunny and warm day, the visit leaves us and we use the favour of the weather to dry laundry outside. We are also busy with our next trip. We plan to sail to Longyearbyen on Svalbard. We have the permit and the final preparations are underway. The satellite phone is working to receive weather data. A weather backup by Joy in Switzerland is set up. We start provisioning for our planned longer trip. An inventory will help us to keep track of everything.

t skis, the clothes become summery, at 17 degrees and sunshine woman lies on the sauna with her bikini and the bars invite outside for a drink. We are now looking forward to new things and leave Tromsø further north. Now it's time to wait for a suitable wind window and then tackle the crossing to Svalbard.