12-Aug-2007 -- This CP lies off the coast of a small island called Stolmen on the west coast of Norway, just south of the city of Bergen. Fancied this one for a while as is the closest to my home and is also the only unvisited one in this part of Norway. Tried two years ago in sea-kayaks with my brother but we failed because of a 2 m swell. Came back this year with Katharine, again in kayaks. We drove from Bergen, took the ferry to Hustoff and drove to Stolmen. There was a fairly strong north wind when we arrived which did not initially bother us as we paddled out in the lee side of the island. However, as soon as we headed into open water we were blown about severely and I was, once again, thwarted.

We camped, as originally planned, on a tiny unnamed island nearby, lit a fire and drank two bottles of wine. Awoke the next morning to 2000 midges trying to get in to the tent, not normally good news but telling us that the wind had dropped. Got up, dodged being eaten and jumped into the boats. Paddling out, there was a reasonable swell but no wind, perfect. Got to the approximate area within about 15 minutes and then tried to home-in. If you have ever tried to manoeuvre a large sea-kayak to a fixed point, in a fairly big swell, some strange currents and a GPS that seems to have a mind of its own, you’ll know it is frustrating and somewhat amusing. After about two hours of zig-zagging back and fore we got a method that seemed to work and hit the spot and took the required photos. Highlight was a visit from a pod of dolphins who were probably highly intrigued by our random wanderings.

Packed up the camp and spent the rest of the day paddling in this really beautiful area. Bottled out of trying to explain to the sweet old lady in the café at Kvalvågen why we had chosen this particular spot to visit, she was just delighted that we had come and so were we.