It couldn’t wait until Saturday, too much to tell. Bodo was essentially flattened during the war during a 2 ½ hour bombing raid. They rebuilt very quickly and the central harbour area is currently having a concert hall constructed so the area is surrounded by building works. The airport is a 10 minute walk away; the main ferry and cruise ship terminal is also 10 minutes in the opposite direction so it is quite compact and very convenient to get around but lacks charm. There is a military base very close. Fighter jets are guaranteed to take off around 10am in pairs. Wednesday we saw two from the skerries, Thursday there were two, Friday there were five. Seems like a lot of money to burn in half a week, but the neighbours are causing a bit of a ruckus at the mo.
Nonetheless, we are tied up close to the activity at one of the guest piers, surrounded by motor boats of all sizes as well as a few yachts. The purpose of spending a few days here ahead of our guests arriving is to get some boat work done. This has been reasonably successful so far. Refilling the gas tanks has been on the captains mind for ages- every time the stove is turned on I am slightly nervous that I’m going to finish a bottle then we won’t have any gas for the rest of the trip and it will be impossible to cook and so on and so on.......
The place to fill your gas bottles in Bodo is about 1 km away, take said bottles on a folding wheelie trolley which all boats will have. Have a chat with a couple of people en route to make sure you aren’t on a wild goose chase, then meet the lady at the desk who says: I can do that for you and is able to find the perfect fitting for the gas bottle as she is so used to having people come from all over Europe asking the same question. All I can say is, it’s a lucky thing we came to Bodo: the epicentre of Northern Norway whether travelling by ferry, camper van, or fighter jet (see below for more info). Everyone on board can rest assured they will get a cup of coffee in the morning and a hot meal in the evening.
Our family will understand the B&Q outing, on the trek back from the propane provider there is the BEST DIY store you will encounter: Biltema. These are the words of our fearless leader of the day (and the captain of the vessel). I’m inclined to agree with him as we managed to pick up some items that were much needed and had been on the list for a while. Although, I think there should be an egg timer limit on any DIY store visit as there should be in charades.
Next stop, very close to the boat was the welding shop and we hoped that Project Bowsprit may be completed. This has been on going since Alesund and since we spent what seems like an inordinate amount of money on a sail we can’t use, this was a worthwhile stop. We left Roervik with a fitting that wasn’t quite right and needed some work. James, Logan & Rolf know all about this project.
Luckily we met a very enthusiastic Pole, who said he could help us. Two days later, he shows up with the parts and welding equipment and now we have everything in place. The Captain has to go back to the workshop to pay and rather than being charged the welders time plus materials we are charged welders time, materials plus the workshop managers annual holiday budget. So be it. At least we can use our fabulous Code Zero.
The rest of the days jobs continued, then the phone rang around 4.15 whilst Geoff had his head in the loo, Bel answered. It seemed an odd call from the welder “I’m at your boat and there is no-one home”. He was on the dock in his civvy clothes wanting to speak to Geoff. Turns out he was very embarrassed about what had happened and wanted to apologize with a bottle of rum. Geoff poured the rum but they weren’t big enough, so had to pour more. Damian was a great guy and wanted to say sorry, he came to us with a gesture which Geoff embraced. It was a very interesting interlude (more fuzzy for some than others) and we learnt a great deal about a young man from Poland who had worked in Sweden prior to coming to Norway and was about to become a father.
The really fun part of the day was that Dick & Ginger, Alchemy, sailed in. We had them over for drinks and a catch up which was so much fun. They have been sailing north as we have been sailing south. We may see them in the UK again next winter.
The marina is very busy this evening, and there seemed to be ‘no room at the inn’. Except when there is a familiar hull motoring in with what looked like a British flag: it was Toby & Helen on Kalula. They are now rafted alongside and have family visiting including an 84 year old mum who have all climbed across both boats with a certain amount of fear and trepidation.
Jobs completed:
Refill gas tanks for cooking
Port side saloon porthole seal
Woodwork in saloon (on list for 4 years)
Bar across port side book shelf to stop books flying out
Aft head repair (again)
Starboard side hatch seal repair
Bow Prodder (hopefully!)
Nonetheless, we are tied up close to the activity at one of the guest piers, surrounded by motor boats of all sizes as well as a few yachts. The purpose of spending a few days here ahead of our guests arriving is to get some boat work done. This has been reasonably successful so far. Refilling the gas tanks has been on the captains mind for ages- every time the stove is turned on I am slightly nervous that I’m going to finish a bottle then we won’t have any gas for the rest of the trip and it will be impossible to cook and so on and so on.......
The place to fill your gas bottles in Bodo is about 1 km away, take said bottles on a folding wheelie trolley which all boats will have. Have a chat with a couple of people en route to make sure you aren’t on a wild goose chase, then meet the lady at the desk who says: I can do that for you and is able to find the perfect fitting for the gas bottle as she is so used to having people come from all over Europe asking the same question. All I can say is, it’s a lucky thing we came to Bodo: the epicentre of Northern Norway whether travelling by ferry, camper van, or fighter jet (see below for more info). Everyone on board can rest assured they will get a cup of coffee in the morning and a hot meal in the evening.
Our family will understand the B&Q outing, on the trek back from the propane provider there is the BEST DIY store you will encounter: Biltema. These are the words of our fearless leader of the day (and the captain of the vessel). I’m inclined to agree with him as we managed to pick up some items that were much needed and had been on the list for a while. Although, I think there should be an egg timer limit on any DIY store visit as there should be in charades.
Next stop, very close to the boat was the welding shop and we hoped that Project Bowsprit may be completed. This has been on going since Alesund and since we spent what seems like an inordinate amount of money on a sail we can’t use, this was a worthwhile stop. We left Roervik with a fitting that wasn’t quite right and needed some work. James, Logan & Rolf know all about this project.
Luckily we met a very enthusiastic Pole, who said he could help us. Two days later, he shows up with the parts and welding equipment and now we have everything in place. The Captain has to go back to the workshop to pay and rather than being charged the welders time plus materials we are charged welders time, materials plus the workshop managers annual holiday budget. So be it. At least we can use our fabulous Code Zero.
The rest of the days jobs continued, then the phone rang around 4.15 whilst Geoff had his head in the loo, Bel answered. It seemed an odd call from the welder “I’m at your boat and there is no-one home”. He was on the dock in his civvy clothes wanting to speak to Geoff. Turns out he was very embarrassed about what had happened and wanted to apologize with a bottle of rum. Geoff poured the rum but they weren’t big enough, so had to pour more. Damian was a great guy and wanted to say sorry, he came to us with a gesture which Geoff embraced. It was a very interesting interlude (more fuzzy for some than others) and we learnt a great deal about a young man from Poland who had worked in Sweden prior to coming to Norway and was about to become a father.
The really fun part of the day was that Dick & Ginger, Alchemy, sailed in. We had them over for drinks and a catch up which was so much fun. They have been sailing north as we have been sailing south. We may see them in the UK again next winter.
The marina is very busy this evening, and there seemed to be ‘no room at the inn’. Except when there is a familiar hull motoring in with what looked like a British flag: it was Toby & Helen on Kalula. They are now rafted alongside and have family visiting including an 84 year old mum who have all climbed across both boats with a certain amount of fear and trepidation.
Jobs completed:
Refill gas tanks for cooking
Port side saloon porthole seal
Woodwork in saloon (on list for 4 years)
Bar across port side book shelf to stop books flying out
Aft head repair (again)
Starboard side hatch seal repair
Bow Prodder (hopefully!)
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