Haugesund 23/06/2026
Hoisted the Q flag (literally a yellow duster my DIL had brought us in Whitehills) then went to check in at the police station – Strandgata 17, 5528 Haugesund. It’s a short walk from the guest harbour. They have the EES biometric face and fingerprint scans, and I had mine taken, but they were not even interested in looking at Catherine’s Irish passport. I should have had our civil partnership lines and checked in as a family member of an EU citizen, which would have meant I wasn’t logging any Schengen time. Norway is fully aware of this rule, and we will be entering this way next time.
Logging the boat in
I had emailed the district border police in Stavanger before we left at post.sor-vest@politiet.no and contacted them when we arrived. They were insistent that I had to register the boat on the Sea Safe system, which is a beaureaucratic nightmare designed for big ships and professional crews). They told me the only reason I could avoid this was if it was impossible, in which case I should supply full boat details (Vessel information (name, flag, mmsi/imo, callsign), Pax/crew list with their full names, d.o.b, nationality, passport number and visa if necessary, arrival/departure time and date, arrival/departure port.)
I informed them it had been impossible to register on Sea Safe, sent the required details and they accepted it. Most cruisers I subsequently spoke to said they had not been told to register on Seasafe, seems I just got a jobsworth. If it happens to you, I recommend the impossibility route.
Haugesund Inde Kai Guest Harbour
This is just beyond the 22. 5m bridge. There are fingers inside the outer floating breakwater, but it is tight if you have an unmanoeverable boat so we went alongside on the outside. Payment is via the GoMarina app, NOK 350 for a boat under 10m and extra for electricity and shower. It is right in the centre of town, handy for checking in.
After checking in we mostly rested today, catching up on sleep. I walked to a petrol station to replenish the diesel.
24/06/2026 – Haugesund
Quiet day wandering around Haugesund. We bought Haugesund t-shirts, had an ice cream and Catherine bought a pair of trousers and a pair of shorts. I set up the laptop in the evening to watch the Scotland-Brazil game, but wished I hadn’t.
We had hoped to meet Erik Anderaa hee, (the publisher of the NBJS sailing channel, an d one of our heroes) but it turned out he had left three days before we arrived to circumnavigate Svalbad.
Here’s a few pictures of the town.
