All posts by : Jessica

Curious to know exactly what we’ve been up to since Norway? Well, REALLY enjoying our time in Scotland is the answer!!

As we make our way down to Plymouth for the winter, we wanted to give you an update on the journey so far (or most of it). Tune in to hear a little more about our current plans, and watch some of our adventures from the Orkney Islands, crossing over Scotland, and touring the Isle of Skye.

Cheers from Norway!!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

Thank you SO MUCH to our Patrons. These amazing supporters help keep us on the boat, our camera equipment up to date, and the videos coming. Without our patrons, these videos would not be possible.

To join the Patreon ranks, please visit http://www.patreon.com/mjsailing

or

Buy us a beer through PayPal!
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Thank you!,
Matt & Jessica

We accomplished our first goal of sailing from Florida to Norway and next it was time to check off our next goal of getting to the Arctic Circle. Listed as any latitude above 66°33′47.8″N, we knew we could have made it this far north without checking that off our bucket list.

Starting near Kristainsund, we have our first hike off the boat, traipsing through some wetlands, but getting spectacular views on the way. We’re treated to a great evening in the cockpit while Georgie burns off some of her energy and take in an 11 pm sunset.

While only planning to make a day trip north, we find the winds are supposed to be favorable and if we kept going, we’d get to the Lofoten islands in 48 hours. We are left awestruck as we pull into Værøy for the night…but ready to get out and explore the next day.

Cheers from Norway!!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

Thank you SO MUCH to our Patrons. These amazing supporters help keep us on the boat, our camera equipment up to date, and the videos coming. Without our patrons, these videos would not be possible.

To join the Patreon ranks, please visit http://www.patreon.com/mjsailing

or

Buy us a beer through PayPal!
https://www.paypal.me/MJSailing

Thank you!,
Matt & Jessica

You can’t always see the beauty each country has to offer by staying close to shore. Sometimes the best things are just a little further inland.

While the boat sits in a marina in Ã…lesund, Norway, we rent a car for the day to explore the mountains, waterfalls, and an epic winding road.

While we only had the one planned stop of Trollstiger Road, which winds down a mountain with 11 hairpin turns and a waterfall rushing through it…we also came across a lot of unexpected beauty. And no shortage of waterfalls!!

Cheers from Norway!!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

Thank you SO MUCH to our Patrons. These amazing supporters help keep us on the boat, our camera equipment up to date, and the videos coming. Without our patrons, these videos would not be possible.

To join the Patreon ranks, please visit http://www.patreon.com/mjsailing

or

Buy us a beer through PayPal!
https://www.paypal.me/MJSailing

Thank you!,
Matt & Jessica

There is one spot in Norway infamous for bad weather…heavy winds and seas. Our next step was to get around it.

Not being familiar with the area or knowing what to expect, we’d heard from enough people to take caution here that we wanted to listen. Waiting for a day when both winds and seas were low, we woke up at dawn to motor ourselves around this headland.

Waiting for us on the other side was the cutest town ever, Alesund. With its colorful Art Nouveau buildings lining the canals, and spectacular overlooks…it was yet another bucket list destination checked off for me.

We had that pesky little problem that we sailed into Norway without being able to visit a customs agent, so in this week’s episode we make another day passage up to the town of Florø. Here we make a visit to the police station to clear in, which means we’re finally legal in the country and can get off the boat to go exploring.

Even though we’re in an industrial harbor, the town is incredibly cute, and just outside of it we find nice hiking trails which lead us to a lake full of ducks, WWII barracks, and amazing overlooks of the surrounding fjords. That is…when the fog isn’t rolling through. Make sure you learn the best duck calls for beginners to have a great time at the lake.

It feels great to finally be sharing our Norwegian adventures with you…we hope you enjoy them!

Five years ago we had a dream to sail to Norway….and it has now (FINALLY) happened!! It was a long road to get here, and the sailing part only takes up about 18 months of that time. First we had to find the right boat…and then spend nearly 3 years getting her ready.

If you’re not familiar with our story, we were sitting in the Azores in 2014 with plans to sail to the Mediterranean…until we talked to many sailors making their way down from Scandinavian countries. “Hey, why don’t we do that instead?”, we thought.

After a few weeks of searching online, we found an aluminum boat back in Florida…in our price range…but in need of much love. Instead of continuing east at this point, we pointed our bow south and spent the next 6 months working our way back to Florida.

What we found waiting for us needed a lot more love than we thought…but now the dream of sailing Norway was so strong that we couldn’t let it go. A 9 month refit turned into 30 months, and in December 2017 we shoved off.

Now, after sailing her down to the Caribbean, crossing the Atlantic in 2018 and spending a winter in the Azores, we have finally made our miles north and sailed into the fjords of Norway. We’re very excited to spend the next few months here, and the feeling of accomplishment is pretty surreal!

Thank you so much for following along on our adventure!
Cheers from Norway,
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

We’re so happy to bring this episode to you because now are are getting to the really exciting cruising footage of NORWAY!!

Before we can enjoy the country and all it has to offer though, we need to make it across the North Sea. We’d heard these can be troubled waters, and although things started out fairly smooth, although with some surrounding showers, we quickly found the motion of the ocean out here wasn’t agreeing with us.

We spent about 40 hours of this 50 hour passage flat on our back and barley able to move….but it was all worth it when we arrived to Norway and the sun started shining brightly.

Cheers from the North Sea!!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

Thank you SO MUCH to our Patrons. These amazing supporters help keep us on the boat, our camera equipment up to date, and the videos coming. Without our patrons, these videos would not be possible.

To join the Patreon ranks, please visit http://www.patreon.com/mjsailing

or

Buy us a beer through PayPal!
https://www.paypal.me/MJSailing

Thank you!,
Matt & Jessica