Crocodiles in San Blas
We’ve now spent 4 months enjoying San Blas and much to our surprise crocodiles are a bit more prevalent here than we first thought. When we came to San Blas we read that they only stayed close to the mainland, in the rivers there, but have since discovered that they...
Visitors in San Blas
San Blas is the closest thing you get to paradise in the Caribbean and we’ve been lucky to be able to share it with a good group of visitors spread out over the months we’ve been here. With the visitors we’ve been able to explore the islands, the snorkeling spots, and...
A ”small” change of plans
When we left Norway we had a straightforward plan: fly to Trinidad and get Stella Polaris ready for adventure. From there we would sail to Panama, go through the Panama Canal and then sail south stopping on Easter Island, before heading to Patagonia, Antarctica, etc....
Visitors from Norway in San Blas
This was the first time we were getting visitors from Norway in San Blas, and safe to say we were looking forward to it. Bente, Maren and Frode met us in Shelter Bay Marina, just outside Colon. We hadn’t been gone from Norway for more than a little over 3 months, but...
A taste of Colombia
“If you haven’t drunk our coffee, you haven’t been to Colombia”, I was told by our guide Jose. So in spite of not being a big fan of coffee, I got a taste of Colombia and enjoyed it. Not enough to become an actual coffee drinker, but enough to appreciate the couple of...
Sailing to Colombia
Sailing to Colombia took us 53,5 hours from when we lifted anchor in Spanish Water on Curacao, till we were securely tied up at Marina Santa Marta in Colombia. This meant that we averaged 6 knots in a nice downwind sail. The area around the north coast of Colombia can...
Drone Crash
When someone asks you if you want collision avoidance on your drone, answer yes, if not I foresee a drone crash in your future ... You might not fly into your mast, but you WILL crash ... sooner or later. Take my word for it! I'm now saving up for a new drone, this...
A week on Curacao
You don’t need an engine to get from Bonaire to Curacao. You could float there in your bath-tub if you so desired, because you have wind, waves and current helping you along. We checked out from Bonaire on Friday evening and let go of the mooring Saturday morning...
Relaxing on Bonaire
After the month of working non-stop on the boat on Trinidad and the strenuous maiden voyage, we needed to kick back and enjoy ourselves. Relaxing on Bonaire is the perfect remedy and a great way to forget about time. Bonaire is a wonderful place to come with a...
The maiden voyage
The day had finally come to leave Trinidad for our maiden voyage. We had finished all the pressing projects, had provisioned and were eager to get on our way. The final thing on our list was to check out. We planned to check out at 15:00, because if we were checked...
On the hard in Trinidad
When the plane touched down on Trinidad, Margrethe and I knew we had a lot of hard work ahead of us. I guesstimated that we would need the rest of the month to get Stella Polaris ready, but hoped we would finish faster. Having your boat on the hard in Trinidad usually...
The adventure begins
The adventure begins when there is no turning back. The doors closed. The stewardesses walked down the aisle checking that our seatbelts were fastened. Then we pulled away from the gate. All I could think was: what have I forgotten? As far as I could discern I hadn’t...
Sailaway Party
When we first started talking about having a sailaway party, we guesstimated that somewhere between 30 - 50 people would be a realistic headcount. We talked about having it at a few different venues and after some deliberation, decided to go all in, and both get a...
Powderdreams – Verbier 2016
At the beginning of March 2016, Margrethe and I headed to Verbier in Switzerland to do a bit of skiing. We were hoping for good conditions, but were a bit worried about the rumors of little snow. We lucked out as the video shows: It started snowing when we got there...
We’re going sailing
It's finally official: Margrethe and I are going sailing. I have been dreaming about and planning a new sailing trip, since I got home from the last trip in 2010. Margrethe wanted to explore the globe from the ocean after sailing in Croatia and Hawaii. She caught...
Sailing Norway’s West Coast
A lot of people have asked me if I've gone sailing Norway's West Coast and to my great shame, I haven't sailed here nearly as much as I would have liked, but during the summer of 2015, I put that shame to rest. I've sorted through my pictures and put them together...
An EPIC midlife crisis
As most of you know, I’m turning the big 4-0 next year. I’ve heard rumors of people doing crazy shit when they turn 40, only to blame it on a fabled “midlife crisis” (it sounds better in Norwegian: 40-års krisen). I feel it’s only right that I take advantage of the...
Sailing Lysefjorden and Climbing Flørli
With a promising forecast Margrethe and I cast off from Sokn, to sail into Lysefjorden to enjoy the sights and to climb the 4444 steps at Flørli. When I say “promising forecast”, I mean that they weren’t forecasting gales or blizzards, which is apparently as good as...
Circumnavigating Denmark
I rounded up a great crew for my first sailing trip with Baluba: Helge came along with me from Stavanger, Martin flew in from Tromsø, Kjersti was on her way home from Spain and Kristian joined us straight from his annual canoe trip, before flying to Ibiza. Our goal...
I’ve bought an Ovni 435
In March I made a video summing up the sailing trip from Stavanger to Sydney. It proved too much to handle for a poor sailor. I couldn't take not owning a boat, so I went into high gear, analyzing boats, talking to boat owners, looking at potential itineraries,...
Freediving Vigdel
Videl is one of my favourite spots to go freediving in Stavanger. The advantage of freediving at Vigdel is that it's close to town and easily accessible. It was our first proper trip this year, because we'd been plagued by bad weather earlier, but the end of April is...
A new sailing circumnavigation
I needed something motivational, while I save up for the next trip, so I threw this video together. I write that a new sailing circumnavigation is in the planning stage, because I've been halfway around the World in the past year with the oil tanker I'm on, but that...
An Arctic Adventure at Finse
It was time for new adventures at Finse, exactly 5 months after our last trip there. This time my dad (Bjørn Erik), brother (Martin) and I were joined by Peter and Maren for what was going to be a weekend in Amundsen's tracks. I arrived at Finse on Friday evening,...
A look back at 2013
This has been a quite a year ranging from highs: Getting my deck officer license, getting a great new job, traveling to a bunch of fun places, to lows: Splitting up with Kjersti, not being able to sell either the house or the apartment, as well as having to move into...