From the hard to the water

It seemed a little crazy working on a boat in the middle of an Arctic winter, and many of the locals who came down and spoke to us said as much. It seems the ice normally melts in the bay any time between March and beginning of June.
So it wasn’t looking promising for our leaving at the beginning of April after our work contracts ended 31st March.
However, we decided to remain optimistic…
When the temperatures started getting unseasonably warm during March, we may have been the only ones happy about it!
Every day was looking more and more promising that the ice would be ready, but the boat was still far from being ready for the water. Given our first trip would be along the coast of northern Norway in the Barents Sea, we needed to go through every single system on the boat to make sure nothing major failed, a task not made easy by the freezing temps! Turns out there was plenty to fix, and Kirkenes is not the easiest place to get boating supplies!
After a hectic month, we got the last coat of paint on the hull and the replacement engine throttle/gear mechanism the day before she got a lift into the water. Cutting it fine, but that seems to be a bit of a trend…
We were also the first boat to go into the water in the harbour because as everyone else knew, it wasn’t boating season yet.Read more