Sailing the Fjords: The Ryfylke fjords, Ryfylkefjordane

Klosterøy, Ryfylke west.

The Norwegian West coast includes four counties; Rogaland in the southwest, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal in the north. This is what sometimes – at least in the tourist folders – is called Fjord Norway. In Rogaland, Ryfylke is the gate to this coast of fjords and skerries, and offers a magnificent archipelago suitable for sailing. This is my home water. North of Ryfylke lies waters normally beyond the reach of my sailboat – not due to lack of seaworthiness but due to her owner’s lack of time off. I have experienced some stretches, though, as far as north of Sognefjorden. In this blog, many nice spots and waters will be briefly accounted for, unfortunately leaving the coast farthest to the north in a temporary limbo. And to be earnest, you don’t have to sail that far. The west coast from Ryfylke and onwards has plenty to offer those sailors that don’t like hurrying away.

Høgsfjorden in Ryfylke, seen from Idsal.

Most foreign sailors coasting Norway, either head for the South coast, the famous fjords in western waters or towards adventures further north, in Nordland and Troms, Finnmark or even Spitsbergen. If they, due to haste, pass over the archipelago disclosing itself east of Kvitsøy (59.05’N) they will miss a unique sailing experience. Maybe the fjords in Ryfylke and Haugalandet do not always measure up to the smoother and sunnier South coast – Sørlandet –, but on the other hand, they are much more unspoiled, with surprisingly mixed waters.

Økstrafjorden.

Early morning in Vatsfjorden, north of Ryfylke

Ystabøhamn / Kvitsøy

In changing weather, even the most common seascape or landscape, is suddenly metamorphosed by a “light from within”. Like in the works of Ryfylke-painter Lars Hertervig, the most common crooked pine three or crag suddenly becomes signs of mystery. Throughout your voyage in Ryfylke, green fields, wooded hills and impressive mountains will alternate. In the inner areas, cliffs rise from the fjord, leaning towards you at the edge of precipice. Most famous is Pulpit Rock and base jumper’s favourite, Kjerag, both in the staggering Lysefjorden. But mostly the Ryfylke archipelago – like its people – put on a far more amiable attitude, producing peace in mind.

Heading for Ryfylke

Utstein Monastery and Mastrafjorden.

Situated north and northeast of Stavanger, Ryfylke is surely where the Norwegian fjord adventure begins. Moreover, finally appearing north of the rough and unprotected coast of Jæren, the fjords offers more sheltered and safer waters suitable for sailing by all means: Few underwater rocks, fair winds, no declination, slightly any tide. In this maze of inlets and islands, you are also offered plenty of beautiful natural harbours and even guest piers. In spite of growing popularity, Ryfylke still has plenty of space - and the locals are not tired of tourism. They meet the yachter with prudent curiosity, friendliness and a helping hand.

Pulpit Rock, Lysefjorden

For many foreigners Lysefjorden is the obvious destination, and with good reason, though this narrow fjord is not ideal for sailing. Ryfylke’s abundance of broader and open-ended fjords, on the other hand, offers the true sailing paradise with multitudes of sailing routes. After all a Norwegian fjord – in keeping with the Old Norse word – means a water body used for passage and ferrying, and need not be "a long, narrow inlet with steep sides (wikipedia). The shape alone does not define a fjord, and thus the Norwegians seemingly name as fjord almost any part of their coastal waters. This versatile naming is not that weird. In earlier times the inhabitants of the coast were bound together by the sea. They rowed and sailed, thus letting their traditional routes define what to be named fjord also in the charts of times to come.