Northwards into the Arctic to Bodø

We really liked Kristiansund.  It is tucked in between four closely spaced islands to provide many docking possibilities.  In times past it was known as Fosna denoting a hidden place.  One can imagine it was well hidden from passing marauders.

The prevailing wind during June and July in these parts is N to NE, which is exactly where we are headed, so progress has been very slow, especially with a contrary tide, which is getting more significant as we move north.

On the first night out of Kristansund, we tucked into an anchorage on the SW tip of the large island of Hitra.  Studying the forecast on Windy, it looked like the wind was more reliable further west, so we passed outside Hitra instead of the more usual passage inside.  This worked well until we passed downwind of a wind farm.  This seemed to suck all the energy out of the wind.  This is obvious when you think about it, but we were surprised at how big an effect it had.

On the second night we reached the tip of Husøya and tucked in between some off-lying islets.  On the Sunday, we took a day’s rest and did not move until Monday when the wind turned SE, which was a much-appreciated change.

Our next passage started very well with the fair wind and we sailed right through the very spectacular Stokksund – twisting gorge-like inside Stokkøya.  After another twisting sound at Bressaker, the wind failed us.  We made for an anchorage at Nesvågen – a very beautiful spot.  In the morning we found our anchor had dragged – no doubt due to the copious weed and the shift in the wind overnight – and it was ‘all hands’ to set off straight away.

Finally, the weather broke and we had two days of wind SW F5-6, which made for rapid runs north.  Long hours of concentration were needed to avoid unwanted gybes.  The down-side was that it rained almost continuously with poor visibility and no views . 

We stopped overnight at Torghatten.  In Norse mythology, a giant troll tried to shoot a beautiful ogress with an arrow.  The king of the mountains deflected the arrow with his hat.  When they all became mountains, the king’s hat became Torghatten, with the arrow hole right through it.

We had a third day of weakening SW wind , and as we got further north on 24th June we crossed the arctic circle.  The sun will now stay up for us for some weeks!

We managed to sail all the way into the  Holandsfjorden, which is incredibly spectacular.  Svartisen is the second largest glacier in Europe, covering 370 sq km. One of its arms – Engenbreen – reaches down to the Holandsfjorden – or rather it used to.  Since the start of the 1900s it has been retreating at a rate that has now reached 75m per year – most concerning.  Nevertheless, it is still an awesome site.  On our second day in the Holandsfjorden, the clouds cleared away to reveal the full splendour of the glacier and the surrounding mountains and extensive snow fields.  We cycled and walked to the foot of the glacier which is now bare rock.

Over the next two days, we sailed up to Bodø – the major city in Nordland.  Here we are catching up with things like this blog and restocking.

That’s the news for now

love Ynskje & Tony

Our track log is here.