Seafeverofcrinan
Mon 16 Jul 2018 12:16

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Sunday, 15 July continued to monday 16 July

After an afternoon spent sheltering from the rain and wind in the tiny melkebukta at Lødingen we eventually stirred ourselves into action about 4pm to look for somewhere to watch the World Cup. This proved more difficult than we expected and with action-woman Rachael having drawn a blank by phone we set off through the wet and wind to the town. The recommended Maria Rosa pizza place had no TV and the hotel would only allow us near a tv if we booked a room! An interesting assignation for 5 people!! At this point we rather hoped that another Karin would appear and invite us to her house but none of the Norwegians we spoke to in our quest took the hint and no one came rushing out of their house to do so either. So we trooped back to the boat to reconsider our options - which were limited.

The marina is part of a small campsite used by camper vans with very smart facilities and we had noticed that many of the vans had satellite dishes. Even Rachael didn’t have the nerve to knock on any van doors and invite ourselves in so we took up residence in a little room with a table set for 6 people in the pot wash building before having to move out to the super smart loos when the owner of the table and guests arrived. Philippe managed to get tv coverage for a short time before being timed out so then we then resorted to French radio. At half time we got really organised and collected wine and crisps from the boat and organised some seats for the full toilet World Cup experience. Then about 20 minutes from the end of the match a swedish van owner came in to use the facilities and made the mistake of talking to us. Next thing he knew Philippe, Rachael and Mary had invited themselves to his van to watch the rest of the match. He was with his wife, sister in law and her husband so the three of us squeezed in on the floor and one seat for the rest of the match. They all spoke very good English and were delightful, very hospitable and obviously thought we were quite mad.

At the end of the match we said our thanks and braved the rain again to get back to the boat and a very quickly thrown together fish supper. Soggy veg and no chips unfortunately but the first potatoes on board for a long time.

A few calculation from the peters led to a decision to leave the marina early rather than late morning so we retired quite early for a full night’s sleep.

This morning we left the marina by 7.30 in yet more mist and gloom but no wind now. We didn’t see much of the Lofoten islands close to but they look very dramatic now poking up through the clouds as we motor down the coast in a rather rolly poly sea. Photo to follow.