Arrival: Austre Seli / Seli Vestre 58:00.414N 006:59.941E
Pelagia
Frans & Sarah Toonen
Thu 7 Aug 2014 15:05
| Thursday 7th August 2014. Wind Southwesterly F5 decreasing to F3. 75.5nm, 6.1 engine hours. Another long day. Bad weather is expected on Saturday as the tail end of hurricane Bertha it expected to settle into the North Sea. Storm force winds are forecast and so we must get to a sheltered harbour on Friday. This would be best on the west coast as passing around the southerly point of Norway will not be possible for many days when the storms arrive. The sailing highlight of the east coast is the Blindleia which is a narrow inshore passage between Lillesand and Gamle Hellesund. The route is lined with very smart summer houses where the financial elite of Norway relax in summertime. The scenery is stunning and whilst the houses are cute the route must have been outstanding when it was just rocky outcrops and trees. We could not transit the whole route as there is one 19m cable and we have an air draft of 21m so we had to miss out the section behind Justøya. After leaving the south end of the Blindleia we kept to open water off shore and made good time passing the most southerly point of Norway at 1715. We found an anchorage on the chart just west of Lindesnes point which we rounded at 2020 in bright sun but with very impressive cloud formations. The rocky islands looked very bleak and uninviting so we were taken completely by surprise when we rounded Austre Seli’s northern tip and entered the anchorage to find a tiny lagoon surrounded with smart houses of all colours. Many had flowers and trees in remarkable contrast to the islands bare rock. It was like being in a Disney cartoon as the houses were so smart they didn’t seem real. There was a tiny municipal dock but 2 boats were there already so we anchored in the middle and had to use nearly 30m of chain as it was deep water. With the length of our swing at 45m we could see several houses at close quarters as the wind slowly changed direction. Through there? Are you sure? Check the chart! |
...that’s close! |
Blindleia is where the Norwegian well-off spend their summers, most have their own jetty... |
…or a private beach complete with diving board. |
Lindesnes headland, now we head north again. |
At anchor in Austre Seli. |