We travelled overnight to Egersund and docked in what is described as one of the best natural harbours in Norway. The guidebooks say it is a most picturesque town along the western coastline but in the early morning gloom that is hard to appreciate. As we stepped off the ship we were immediately aware of the towns importance in the fishing industry as the docks are surrounded by fish processing works and ships associated with fishing from around the world. It used to be the largest ship landing port per year and in one day landed 20,000 tons of mackerel. Since 2006 Alesund has taken over.
The towns history dates to the Vikings and possibly earlier but many of the buildings today date to after the giant fire of 1843 which led to the town’s reconstruction with wider streets in an attempt to restrict the spread of fire.
Following lunch, we slipped out into the North Sea with moderate seas.
