If tall ships under a full press of sails is something you’d like to see, there will be a tall ships race in Stavanger, Norway this summer. Maybe you can moor nearby and check it out.
John and I have a longstanding interest in collecting books on historical and present-day exploration of the high latitudes, or “death and destruction on the ice” as we call it.
We report in the 2010 Edition of the Norwegian Cruising Guide that “…all along the Swedish [west] coast you will find clean, reasonably quiet harbours, many of which are located in old lovingly restored villages, with nominal mooring fees…”.
It has long been the practice for cruisers to leave their boats in Norway over the winter, giving them the opportunity to more extensively explore this magnificent coastline. These intrepid sailors benefitted from Customs regulations granting them a 12 month VAT exemption, with the option to apply for a further 12 months (§6.1). Their boats generated business in coastal communities and some of the crews went on to publish articles on Norway in leading boating magazines, helping to promote Norway as a tourist destination.
Norway is known as a very expensive place to visit—something Norway Tourism is well aware of. So, to help visitors on a budget, they have come up with a list of fun and interesting things you can do in Oslo for free. Maybe, if you save enough by doing these free things, you’ll be able to splurge on a beer afterward (a really expensive treat!).
We have good news and we have bad news (don’t you hate it when people say that?!).
As usual at this time of year, we have created the story of our year in photographs over at Attainable Adventure Cruising.
All the best for the Holidays and 2011,
Phyllis and John
Norway has eight (8) UNESCO World Heritage Sites, most located in places you can visit by boat:
Due to various things beyond our control, John and I haven’t returned to Norway by boat since 2003. But, due to the high quality and volume of contributions by Hans Jakob and Eli, our Norwegian Correspondents, and many, many of our readers, the Norwegian Cruising Guide has not only stayed up to date, it has grown exponentially since we took it over in 2001.
Some of you may have read Jimmy Cornell’s article on Norway regulations in the November issue of Cruising World magazine. Though we are very happy to have these issues brought out to the sailing readership in the hopes that this will encourage Norway to rewrite these regulations, there are a few notes to add to Jimmy’s piece, which may help make Norway appear a little more friendly to visiting sailors:
