Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you!... (Crowded House lyric) Bodø, Selvågen, Rodøya, Træna and Sandnessjøen (25 June to 1 July 2015)

The most surprising description for the weather that we were getting this summer came from a harbourmaster, a very young man who described the weather as definitely 'bipolar'! Even the Norwegians find the temperatures too cold. (11ºC are almost regarded as a heat wave).  Local sailors haven’t seen so much snow on the mountains at this time of year for many years. Even the coastguard, who intercepted us again (now for 2 years in a row) on Ch.16 a couple of days ago wished us a better summer on our way south after we had dutifully responded to their enquiries!

Our crossing from Svolvær in the Lofoten to Bodø (67º 17’N 14º 22’E) started well, with a light breeze from the north. We even tried to set our cruising shute, however there was not enough wind to fill it properly and had to give up after two frustrating attempts (having only wetted the sail, rather then having filled it with some air). Gradually the sky became greyer and greyer, the visibility dropped to a few hundred feet and it started to rain… the wind at that point picked up, backed and was blowing straight at us (which I had warned of before we set of). We had a really wet and uncomfortable ride (the worst so far) the rest of the way. We were happy to arrive in a nice town and wait for the weather to improve.

Since then, the places we have chosen and our planning according to the wind and weather have been spot on (well mostly…).

Selvågen hidden behind the rocks

Selvågen (S Fleina) (67º 06’.2N 13º 51’.8 E) was a wild anchorage in between skerries where we even watched some ‘real’ sea-eagles flying around the rocky slopes. (I have to explain the word ‘real’ here. On an earlier RIB trip on the Lofoten  we saw sea eagles who were regularly fed every day and waited for their Take Away). We were totally alone amidst these barren hills.

Rødøya – Klokkergården (66º 39’.8N 13º 03’.7E) Rødøya is a mountain island that you

'red' rock of Rødøya

can see from a long distance away because the rock formations are red (-ish) and very dramatic. Klokkergården at its feet is a small hotel that runs the guest pontoons. It is a charming old house, restored to its former ‘glory’ with an immaculate dining room (complete with white linen tablecloths, flowers and candles) and very tasty food. The restaurant was closing early on Sunday but they still offered us their famous fish soup if we came quickly. We must have looked really hungry, almost starved.

view from the top

It was an imperative (i.e. the skipper’s imperative) to climb the 443m high mountain (any mountain) and see the breathtaking views from the top. We climbed the following day about two thirds of the way. The climb was really steep and we (I) reached the platform out of breath, sweaty but elated. (just to the skipper’s liking, in view of returning back to the gym in good form to impress our coach). 

spot Easy Rider from the mountain

After our small ‘ordeal’ someone told us that going up the other side of the mountain would have been much easier! The views were incredible indeed!

I don’t know why, but since we started our journey, one of the group of islands that I set my heart on visiting was Træna (E Husøya) (66º 29’.7N 12º 05’E).

(The skipper set her heart on Træna because further west there isn’t anything else between you and Greenland…)

 It is a magical group of mountains rising perpendicularly from the sea and that look totally surreal. They are at the fringes of the coast some 20nm offshore.

approaching Træna

Whether we went or not depended on a good day and good visibility… As you can imagine there were big debates (we really never debate, the skipper decides…) on board Easy Rider on whether or not the weather would be good enough to go. At one point I had given up hope, because the forecast was changing its mind all the time.

In the morning, we checked the weather again and like by magic, the day was going to be sunny and the winds light from the north.

(The day and the mood on Easy Rider were saved…)

We did sail to Træna (and left the Arctic Circle on our way South) in the end and it was breathtakingly memorable! The small clouds were casting shadows on the mountains and we watched the ever changing light and shadow spectacle as we came closer. Husøya is a thriving small fishing village within an extensive archipelago. It was so nice to visit.

ER in Husøy

Unfortunately the nice weather was only there for a day and we knew that we would have to leave the next day before strong south-westerly winds and rain were going to arrive.

Træna idyll

We managed to sail to the mainland in time, just as the weather was closing in before the first drop of rain started to fall.

Now we are in Sandnessjøen (66º 01’.4N 12º 38”E) on the island of Alsten at the foot of the Syv Søstre (Seven Sisters) mountains. (Now, if I would have counted the times the skipper pointed at the Seven Sisters and photographed them, I probably would have reached a minimum of 77 Sisters overall…).We didn’t see the mountains on the way up because the peaks were shrouded in clouds. Being on the inner lead, we were going to pass them again on our way south. We had a wonderful full view of them from far away, maybe even better than when you get very close. It looked absolutely spectacular when they  (now 84) started to disappear in the rain!

77 Sisters in the rain