67 17.00 N, 14 22.00 E

 

 

Having left Awelina 10 days previously tied up on the dockside in her pay-and-display berth we were glad to see her lying intact and unchanged in the old harbour on arriving at midnight on 10th August. By coincidence, the adjacent berth was occupied by the Belgian boat we’d seen several times on the way to and in Svalbard. The three pots of herbs which we’d left in the cockpit were growing well but there was a slight moment when Fe found a port Navigation light on the back deck which had obviously been cut free from a boat. An anxious examination of the foredeck revealed it was not from Awelina at any rate. We put it to one side as an unexplained mystery and took the chance to have 4 hours sleep before setting off at 5:30 am (Norwegian time) to head south down the Straumsfjord.

 

As we were leaving a chap surfaced from a Norwegian boat at the near end of the dock. "Morning", He hailed us, asking  "did you get the spare nav light I left you? I noticed you have that type and I have no further use for it." How kind; no need for that red Woolworths’ plate any more!

 

We had the wind on the nose again and we started to realise that weather conditions in the fjords are quite unpredictable. The sails are full one minute flapping the next. There is an awful lot of funnelling of the wind - meaning that as you change direction to follow the curves of the fjord the wind also changes with, or rather against, you. However the scenery more than made up for the contrary winds (nothing above a force 4- 5 by the way).

 

The Norwegian marine authorities mount an awful lot of their navigation marks on sticks, and there were a plethora of them at each bend in the sound. Working out which way to go was a large part of the navigation. The tides also gave cause for concern - although searching the net and available literature we hadn't been able to find much information about tidal stream times, directions and strength in the fjords except that there were likely to be several tidal gates and possibly streams of up to 8 knots. Luckily we had set sail at the neap time of the month meaning the streams might be a bit less. This was proven right as time passed although not without a few nail biting moments of "how strong is the tide going to be". We also tried out the chart plotting software using James laptop - the features and zoom options allow more information on the chart but can prove quite stressful when needing information quickly. Although a great addition to a set of navigation tools it does not quite replace the traditional chart and pilot book in our opinion.

 

Just south of Tromsø we were delighted to pass the musk ox reserve; a whole island (Ryøy) has been set aside for these rather bison-like beasts to roam free. They are substantial animals and famously bad tempered so "no landing" signs were posted all along the shore of the island. We were lucky enough to see two of them on the beach as we approached and we followed their progress all along the east side of the island until they vanished from view.

 

Over to the west we could also see the site where the Turpitz was sunkin 1944. We then went through Malangen and down the Gisundet, which has lots of pretty villages on each side. Gisundet exits into the Vagsfjord, during the passage of which Fe baked bread and made cheese scones.

 

We'd worked out that the trip to Bodø was around 225 nautical miles meaning that we'd need 2½ very long days to reach our destination in time to tie up, book the boat in and make our flights on Monday evening. The previously mentioned tides while less in strength appeared (with the wind) to be against us for the whole of the first day. In fact while tacking down the Vågsfjord we realised we were not going to make our goal of anchoring for the night south of Harstad. Instead we settled for a tiny lagoon on Kjøtta island, about 5 miles N. It is a really quiet little place and a lovely anchorage but as we had the hook down at 10.30 pm we were all too tired after the 18 hour day to notice much. Supper (roast lamb) and bed for 4 hours again.

 

Blurry picture of a Musk Ox (on maximum zoom)

 

Fe needs more coffee or more sleep!

 

Fast ferry

 

Four hours sleep for the second night in a row had left us feeling rather grim - so we split the work up. Mike stayed tucked up in bed while James and Fiona navigated out of the anchorage across the rather shallow bar. James then also went back to bed allowing Fiona to enjoy the sunshine alone. After a boiled egg breakfast in Tjeldsund, (the eggs were vintage Longyearbjen and surprisingly were fine), Mike and James took the boat all the way through the sound as the visibility gradually deteriorated. We knew there were high mountains all round from the way the wind funnelled, but only got occasional glimpses.

 

On entering the wider Vestfjord, which is the sound between the Lofoten Islands and the mainland, the visibility deteriorated further with occasional showers and a spitting mizzle that got everything on deck rather damp. The tide here seemed to be at least a knot against us and with the light wind making sailing ineffective we found ourselves motoring at 2000 rpm and being unable to make more than 4 – 4.5 knots in rather a chop. However we couldn’t complain since this area is infamous for dangerous waves (even the admiralty chart has a special warning printed on it), so we got off extremely lightly.

 

A quick calculation showed that our intended anchorage south of the port of Grøtøy would not be feasible since it would be dark several hours before we arrived. Instead we chose a small anchorage between a couple of islets and skerries about 5 miles north of Grøtøy as our destination for the night. As we made slow progress south increasing swells cut our speed even more and the visibility decreased to the point where we had the radar in case there were any ships. We also realised that the unusually high engine revs meant that we were burning more diesel than we had counted on. The three of us syphoned one of our spare 25 litre jerrycans of fuel into the tank, but on measuring the new tank level we were dismayed to find it had hardly improved from near empty. The fact was we needed to top up with diesel to continue south – and we made the decision that we would have to refuel in Grøtøy tomorrow morning. The anchorage was reached at about 10:30 pm again – and after such a long day rolling about was very pleasantly flat calm in a lovely location between some skerries. We planned to wake and leave around six to motor down to the port as we are not sure what time the diesel pier will open. Almost a lie in!!

 

Moody scenery in Tjeldsund

 

Dramatic scenery in the Lofoten Islands

 

Anchorage in Vestfjord

 

 

 

We guessed that the earliest that the little town of Grotøy would wake up and start selling diesel would be 8 am so we set off after a peaceful but short night getting there at 7:30. We found it completely asleep, not a soul stirring despite it being a weekday and the day most Norwegians return to work after the summer holidays. We did find the fuel pump but it was locked and we couldn’t fill up until 10, which meant that all contingency for getting to Bodø and flying home this evening had evaporated. It’s 35 miles of intricate pilotage through the countless skerries and islets. But to compensate it was becoming a beautiful day, and we could now see the mountains and across 40 miles of the Vestfjord to the Lofoten islands.

 

Eventually the town stirred, and after refuelling and using the time to do a few chores while we waited we set off again. Our passage south was somewhat delayed as we could not decide if the overhead electric cables across our route gave sufficient clearance of the mast; it would be very close. The pilot book said 23m, an d our mast is about 18, but then there are aerials etc so there’s no room for error. We weren’t confident of the measurements, the clearance being the difference between two large numbers, both with some scope for measurement error. After circling around we opted for the safe route by returning back out the passage north and going around the outside of Grotøy island, a detour of only about 3 miles.  This caution was rewarded with a magnificent passage full of intricate pilotage between beautiful islands and skerries. The weather was spectacular and we had stunning views and high mountain ranges running inland revealed themselves. To top all this off we were lucky enough to see several huge sea eagles flying and roosting in the islands. These birds seem much bigger than their counterpart in Scotland  - we estimated their wingspan around 5 feet, plus they are totally unconcerned about the proximity of our boat so we had some close up views.

 

As we re-joined the main traffic route south our course straightened out for several miles. The wind being non existent we chanced a swim off the boat. One at a time Fiona and James jumped in and had a quick swim to the front of the boat and back. Mike was not persuaded by the lovely hot weather however and elected to remain on board, albeit wearing shorts. The water was surprisingly refreshing and not actually cold despite us still being 60 miles north of the arctic circle.

 

The remaining 18 miles of the passage took us past the rugged island of Landegode which has many peaks falling steeply into the sea – there were no signs of habitation on this island and it actually reminded us somewhat of the Isle of Rhum off the west coast of Scotland. We had an uneventful passage until at Bodø where we were dragged into civilisation with a bang; a huge marina, busy port and many cranes/building sites on the water front. After some confusion and the usual pay and display arrangement we were moored safely on a visitor’s pontoon behind the fuel dock. Handy for filling up when we return. We headed off to make the most of the last of the sunshine by having a beer or two. Mike was shocked at the cost – around £8.00 for a pint. We nursed them awhile before heading back to the boat to clear up and pack since tomorrow is another 5:30 am start back to the UK. Thank you Vanessa for sorting out the rebooking of our flights– you are a star.

 

Awelina tied up alongside in Grøtøy

 

Grøtøy ferry and fuel dock – not a soul about

 

View across the bay at Grøtøy with early morning clouds

 

Smokey mountain

 

Sea eagles survey the passing traffic: “’oos that down there then?”

 

We think the trolls live here

 

Sleepy skipper

 

Too much scenery to watch

 

Smiley Mike declining the opportunity for a swim

 

This pint cost 8 quid and is not even full !!

 

Bodø marina in the last of the midnight sun. Winter is only 8 weeks away.