My father once said, "if you can sail small boats well, then you can handle any sized vessel." He'd taught me the basics of sailing during my early teen years on the Bohemia River found along the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
I started with a 14 foot Sunfish - a well-known mono hull on which many have their first sailing experiences. After weeks that entailed countless hours sitting adrift in windless conditions (and a few close encounters with the boom), I began to understand how to read the wind, tack, and have a lot of fun while being powered by the wind. I eventually graduated to a catamaran with a very different sailing dynamic than the Sunfish. Fast, responsive, but yet easy to maneuver, this boat expanded my nautical playground.
This exciting activity captivated me during my high school years. I dreamed of going on a windblown excursion of my own one day, similar to those I read about in sailing magazines.
Fast forward a few years and I had changed my course from two to three-dimensional sailing: exploring the beautiful and wild world of paragliding!
Freeflight exposes you to inspiring individuals, unique landscapes, and bold challenges. Enthralled by the global paragliding scene, I headed to the coastal town of Iquique in Chile’s Atacama desert in search of consistent flying conditions. Many pilots from around the world make a Hajj here to fine-tune their skills.
One such person, Guri Malla Norheim Storeide - ended up being my sister-from-another-(norwegian)-mister. Already a competent and sponsored acro pilot based out of Bergan, Norway, Guri traveled to Iquique to dial in her new wing and work on maneuvers. Staying at the same flight park, we quickly became good friends but after a few memorable weeks, it was time for me to go. I said goodbye, warmly but indefinitely promising that we all visit each others’ homelands. I left with the hope that I would see my new friends again, but unsure if, or when the stars would align.
About seven months later, I got a call from Guri!
She wanted to sail her 33 foot catamaran as far north, along the Norwegian coast, as possible during the summer and asked if I want to help crew the boat.
Well, I booked my plane tickets that day and arrived in Kristiansund three months later. She met me at the airport and while we picked raspberries as we walked to the boat, I mentally prepared for what was surely going to be a life changing three (later extended to four) weeks.
I had never spent a night on a boat before this trip;-)
Our goal was to go make distance as the weather allowed, but also, not to sacrifice the spirit of adventure and spontaneity for the sake of devouring nautical miles.
Tentatively, we aimed to tag the Arctic Circle and then sail back to Bergen, where Guri lives... in her boat. As someone who had never sailed on salt water and had a significant history of motion sickness, I was quite out of my element. But, that was the point of this trip for me..... I wanted to see what happens when I placed myself in an unfamiliar environment, way outside my wheelhouse. It was time to put that adage from my father to the test: equipped with gumption, the humility to learn from others, and enthusiasm, anything was possible!
We set sail the next day after downloading bathymetric maps onto our phones using wifi from the local mall.
A decent tailwind pushed us from the harbor, on a course, through rocky sounds. Guri took the helm while kindly acquainting me with the specifics of her boat. We passed glacier formed fjords and distant mountain ranges partially enveloped by dense marine clouds. At times, dolphins cavorted in our small wake. Eventually, Guri went below deck to cook dinner, leaving me on my own at the wheel. The lessons from my earlier years came back as I took command, trimming the sails and altering the course when necessary. We ate our warm meals while still underway in a slight drizzle and then anchored just after sunset, which was at 10pm. Laying in bed that night, I imagined that the next weeks would be a breeze.
It poured sideways the next day and I became unbearably seasick. The medication I took to mitigate the nausea, combined with jet lag, put me to sleep for eleven hours after a rough day of broad reaches on a rough sea.
This certainly balanced out my initial elation but, all part of the adventure!
What ensued was a full immersion into a completely foreign pace of life. Guri and I confronted sheets of rain, stagnant winds, dauntingly strong winds, the stress of living in close quarters, and sometimes even the monotony of being at sea.
However, we never lost sight of how unquestioningly fortunate and rare this excursion was. We anchored out in archipelagos, casting nets and fishing for food. We hiked forested mountains where water from streams does not need to be filtered and berries grow prolifically. Guri practiced her free diving and I birded to my heart’s content (white-tailed eagles are amazing!!!). She taught me much more about sailing techniques and life aboard the boat. We resupplied in and explored the towns of Rovik, Bronnoysund, Sandnessjoen, and Molle.
With enough good weather and sheer determination, we made it to the Arctic Circle. By the end of the trip, we had spent a total of twenty-three days on the boat together. All I can say is that, arriving this far north by boat, piloted by just the two of us, was undoubtedly the highlight of my life.
Guri and I became even closer through the experience, and I think of her as the sister I never had. We turned the boat around and made it to Bergen after exhausting days in the worst type of weather. This trip reinforced that wonderful and unexpected things can happen when you embrace friendship, open yourself to new opportunities......
......and don’t fall overboard;-)
Guri’s friend Bjarte, who is a very accomplished sailor, joined on the push back to Bergen. He instituted the policy of a mandatory beer every time we safely made it to a dock. We started stopping at docks a lot more frequently. Some traditions are very easy to incorporate;-))
Jacob Glass
© 2026 KAVU
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)