Our plan to depart from Svolvaer when we wanted to was thwarted when we discovered that we’d been moored in a hole as we manoeuvred slowly astern off the pontoon and touched bottom within just a few metres.  The tide was still falling, just, and we were lucky to be able to get straight back onto the pontoon without difficulty and Rosinis is none the worse for the experience. We eventually left after an early lunch and had a very pleasant sail in bright sunshine as we headed south towards Bodo.  The distance was about 60nm and we planned to head into an anchorage amongst rocks around one of the islands off Bodo rather than go straight into the large marina there.  For Giles, due to fly out from Bodo, this was the last chance to see ‘wild Norway’ and our chosen anchorage promised sea eagles.  Despite the late start we made good progress, switching from sailing, to motor sailing, then motoring as the wind gradually died on us.  To our west was the rugged outline of the Lofoten islands, the furthest visible as far as 60nm away, and to our east we gradually closed with the mountains of mainland Norway, equally impressive.  It was almost dark – something of a novelty for us – as we crept through the rocks to the spot we’d chosen and the anchorage didn’t disappoint: we were completely surrounded by rocks with the huge mountains of Landegode towering above us.

 

During the night the wind strengthened and by morning it was blowing quite hard, the wind accelerating over the high ground.  It was also raining slightly, but we were in no hurry and spent the morning looking for eagles, spotting the same one many times in the distance.  As we eventually set off for the final 10nm to Bodo yesterday we were rewarded with a number of eagles, so the pilot book’s advice proved correct.  Within a couple of hours we were in Bodo, which looked rather drab in the pouring rain.  The town was flattened in WW2 and its modern architecture is in stark contrast to most of the places we’d seen. 

 

This morning it was still raining, but there were chores to be done in preparation for the next stage of our expedition: clothes washing, re-provisioning, a good check of Rosinis while Giles packed.  He headed off just after lunch and I’m now waiting for Chris to arrive this evening.

 

The attached photos show 4 views of our Landegode anchorage and one of a magnificent sea eagle surveying his domain.  This one was being harried by a gull who seemed to resent the intruder, but the eagle just sat there, unperturbed, and looked amazing.