Norway 2024 Skjervoy 3

After the big storm the weather forecast told us that there wouldn’t be a lot of wind so I decided to go on the sailing boat again in order to fly my drone. Couldn’t fly it on the small boat because it was not allowed (OK with me – I just needed to know that). So we went out early again but somehow I stayed inside most of the day. We didn’t see a lot of whales and it was much windier than the forecast had said. No drone and no whales. So around noon it was decided to sail back to Skjervoy.
BUT – you never know what the weather is doing. While we were sailing back there was a big wave that was faster than us and from behind it went over our dinghi that was behind us. And it broke off the gas tank which with one of the next waves went over board. The fins and masks that the snorkellers from the sailing group had left in the dinghi were swimming around in the dinghi. So the captain had to go back to the wind-free zone to assess the damage. When all of this was done it started to get dark and I started to realize that something was VERY wrong… and finally I was right. We were not able to go back to Skjervoy that day. So there were several problems because three persons who didn’t have a bed on the boat had to be accomodated. And those three persons didn’t have a toothbrush with them. 😉 It took me some time to come to terms with that. I was in a really bad mood and stayed for myself for a while because I didn’t want others to be hurt by me. 😀 At 3 PM it was dark and I had nothing to do. I hadn’t brought a book (never thought I would need it) so in the end I played Sudoku on my mobile for the rest of the day. We slept in the main area of the boat which was surprisingly comfortable but I still didn’t sleep that much. My biggest fear had been to feel the need of a toilet in the middle of the night – the toilets were all attached to the cabins and all cabins were occupied. The captain told me I could use his if I needed it. But then it was not necessary. The next morning we got up early to a beautiful morning. And cake… that the captain’s girl friend had baked for me. Because it was my birthday. 🙂
After breakfast I went out to fly my drone. It was wonderful drone flying weather. And I had some experience by flying it. But as soon as I had sent it up I realized that my experience was not enough. Flying a drone in COLD temperatures from a sailing boat is not what I had done before. Very soon I got the message that the batteries were low and the drone would land where it started… NOOOOOOOO! I was in panic mode by then. In my mind I saw it landing in the water and I was about to say farewell to it. But then I finally succeeded to crash it on the boat. I didn’t care that it crashed as long as it was on the boat. In the end I had to exchange the rotors and it was good to go again. 🙂 So all well but I won’t fly it again from a boat that is not stopped in one place. At least not until I have more experience.
We saw some whales. When the orca and later the humpback jumped it was of course in a moment that I was checking my camera so I didn’t see it. 😉 But the sky had wonderful pinkish colors. I was relieved when we started to get back to Skjervoy.
Once I arrived back at the hotel I could greet a friend who had come in the day before. We had dinner with the Northern Explorers Anja and Sven and then a farewell drink with the sailing boat group. It was not very late then and we started to check for northern lights and I think by now it is a tradition that I see northern lights for my birthday. When we detected that we had clear skies and the lady (aurora) was dancing we got in the car and drove over close to the bridge to the island that Skjervoy is on and took pics. That was the only evening in my two weeks this time that I actually had some aurora. And some colors. But it was COLD. So when the activity slowed down we finally called it a night and went back to the hotel. So all in all it was an interesting birthday. 😀