I headed out this morning by boat, with the intention of spending the
morning lounging at the Childrens' Beach. Going by mototboat from
Mariehäll is a rather straightforward process. The only real concern is
minding the traffic as you pass through the guest harbor, and the rocks
to the south of Tallholm. But this aside, you can go straight from
Mariehäll to the Childrens' beach through the sound, in straight line.Once you pass the island of Tallholm, you will want to stop your motor, pull it up, and start rowing. This is for several reasons: safety for any swimmers, the depth of the water, and the fact that you can row it right up on the sand. Then, just jump out and pull the boat up on the beach.
The depth of the water is such that you can literally walk from the Chldrens' beach out to the islands just in front! And the seabed here is a fine sand, and so it is a pleasure to walk. As it is shallow, the temperature of the water is rather agreeable as well. All in all, it is indeed a perfect place for children to play...
On a side note, I took this time to file the propeller's blades to be nice and smooth, following my previous encounters with rocks.
A Helping Hand
On my way back, I was going to stop by the general store to pick up some groceries. Right when I reached the bridge that one must go under, I had to stop the boat and keep circling, as there was a clueless woman who was rowing herself and a man (who appeared to be sleeping, or really drunk, or just lazy, being that his limbs dangled over the sides of the little pneumatic annex, and that he did not seem to care that his wife/girlfriend was doing all the work and that they were holding up traffic waiting to pass under the bridge.
Finally, a woman that was behind me got impatient, and decided to lunge forward, passing me and going straight for the bridge. This action seemed to get the attention of the woman rowing the boat finally, as she moved out of our way. I really suspect that they may have been a bit drunk...
Anyway, as irony would have it, the impatient woman in the faster motorboat encountered an engine failure just on the other side of the bridge, and so she and her (grand?)daughter were drifting aimlessly in the channel; she could not get her engine started again.
So I tossed here a line and pulled her (not without a brief incident with the bridge!) back through the guest harbor, behind the SilverPilen ferry (the captain was waiting for us to pass before casting off - that was much appreciated), and to the Statoil station where she could ask for technical assistance with her engine.
As someone who owns a sailboat and is used to that form of transportation, I was really amazed to see how totally useless motorboats are once they have engine failure: they really become useless floating bodies that are at the mercy of the waves, wind, and current. Even when being towed, they lack the means of controlling their heading...
Reflections
I took a photo this morning at 3:45 AM, to share with you the unique atmosphere, as it is really well lit, and the sun is rising. You would think that, it being 4 in the morning, that everyone would be sleeping. But no. I have seen people out on a walk, motor scooters passing on the street, an occasional motorboat...
