Speeding Norwegian Seafaring Vessels
Thursday, 17th November 2005 by Alex Turnbull
After the rather sedate 15 knot top-speed of the Christian Radich, here's a couple of slightly more sprightly Norwegian vessels.
Firstly, a boat that surely must be going seriously fast to create such a huge wake. It also appears to have performed a rather sudden turn recently...
And secondly, this is one of the coolest wakes we've ever seen on GGSS. But what sort of vessel is making it? Some kind of hydrofoil perhaps? Answers on a postcard please...
Tusen takk Steve, Thomas and Michael.
About the author
Alex has decided that his title will be Senior Vice President of Stuff.
Hydrofoil catamaran i reckon. There are loads operating in this part of the world. The swedish navy even have a stealth hydrofoil battle cruiser (like the one in that James Bond film i cant remember the name of cos it was rubbish)
Heyz my boat does that it makes a bigger wake though 300 hp engine on it..
I saw a similar wake on a boat in the Clarence Strait in AK, and was told by a GGT’er that it was likely a normal speedboat, moving very fast. At high speeds, the wake flares out wider from the bow, and the churn from the propeller is much more noticeable.
My guess for the boat with the cool wake is it is a ski boat. The doesnt look large enought to be a Hydrofoil catamaran and its shape seems wrong. In addition I cant see why a big hydrofile cat would be operating in an area like that, however you can seem lots of recreational boats moored around there. It looks like a nice day to be out there 🙂
It’s a little hard to say, but whatever it is, it’s big, and it’s moving fast. Definitly a cat, but hard to say if it’s a foil. Could be a wave piercing cat.
Here is a link to a hydrofoil cat that looks similar: http://www.mhi.co.jp/ship/english/htm/zenbot01.htm
The extremely convoluted and mountainous coastline of Norway, combined with the concentration of larger towns along the coast, has led Norway to develop a series of “Fast Boat” or “Express Boat” (HurtigbÃ¥t or EkspressbÃ¥t) routes that connect these towns. The boats are typically catamarans and some of the newer boats can do 50 knots. (about 57 mph)
This particluar boat must be the Bergen–Stord–Haugesund–Stavanger Hurtigbåt operated by HSD and headed north towards its stop at Føresvik from Stavanger. The schedule for this particular route can be found at: http://www.hsd.no/upload/Sj%C3%B8-ny%20side%2011.pdf
Couldnt be a hydro foil because a hydrofoil wouldnt make that kind of wake its just a fast boat with one prop and the wake looks wierd beacuase it take the bow spray a while to get to the wake behind it
This is the Flaggruten fast catamaran that connects the cities Bergen, Leirvik, Haugesund and Stavanger together.
And if this is Flaggruten from Bergen to Stavanger… What a h… is it doing in the fjord of Oslo ??? a drunk skipper drunk ????