Moving further north and crossing to the Lofoten Islands

17/6/25 to 21/6/25

The morning of the 17th June was wet in Selsøyvik!  The rain had persisted all night but was due to ease after lunch temporarily so we spent the morning catching up on boat jobs and food prep.  Then, about 1230, as predicted, the rain started to ease and we took our opportunity to make a dash for it.

At this point, Evolene, was fairly boxed in.  She was the furthest boat along the pontoon next to the main walkway (starboard side to), with a boat behind her and a row of boats on the next pontoon to her port side.  The gap in between the two rows of boats was the width of Evolene plus approximately a metre either side i.e. not much!  Also, it is difficult to steer when going backwards until we get some speed up.

As we were preparing Evolene for departure our neighbours behind were walking past and asked when we were planning on departing.  When we told them we were aiming to go shortly, they looked somewhat apprehensive despite our assurances that all would be fine and then hurried back to place a few fenders on their port side!

Lines prepared for slipping and our own fenders strategically placed, Stuart calmly used the forward spring to manoeuvre Evolene's stern into position and allow us to sternboard out of the pontoons, wholly uneventfully and much to the relief of our neighbours who were clearly impressed with the boat skills!  

We set the genoa and enjoyed a downwind sail to the island of Bolga, arriving just before the rain strengthened again.  Back in Nesna, our neighbour recommended we should visit Bolga and walk up to the cave that provides impressive views across to the other side of the island, much like Torghatten.  The sharp peak of Bolga is an old sailing landmark for shipping and the island still supports about 100 inhabitants, largely through fish processing.  The cave is called Bolgbørra and whilst it's not the easiest to find (locate the cemetery first and then follow the track up the side) it is well worth persevering and is only a short walk from the visitor pontoons.

Once on the track it is easy to follow, with regular blue markers, and it winds its way through lush, fertile woodland, crossing over a stream and then there is a fun, near-scramble up to the entrance of the cave.  A bit more clambering up the rocks at the cave's mouth and sure enough, you are greeted by spectacular views of the landscape northwards.  (Like Torghatten but even more fun as off the beaten track!)  Whilst you could continue down the other side and round the edge of the island back to the boat, time was pressing on and we had a weather window in our sights to head to Lofoten the following day, so it was back to the boat to warm up, enjoy the superb shower facilities (best yet) and sort ourselves out for the next day.

Climbing up to Bolgbørra 

Through Bolgbørra 

The alarm woke us up at 0530 and we were on our way to the Lofoten Islands shortly afterwards.  The winds were light initially and it was all a bit gloomy but thankfully the wind filled in as we got further out to sea away from the wind shadow of Bolga.  Soon we were enjoying a consistent blow of 15 to 20 knots from the south west and we set the sails on a broad reach which more or less held for the full journey.  With the low cloud persisting, we enjoyed an atmospheric arrival to Lofoten, with land only just coming into sight when we were 4 miles away!  We had completed the 70 mile crossing and with an average sailing speed of 7 knots we were alongside the visitor pontoon in Sørvågen by 1600.

The pretty harbour was exactly like you see in the postcards.  Beautiful, red, wooden houses, overhanging the water bridging the shoreline and reinforcing the integral connection of life with the sea, all framed by stunning, jagged, snow-dappled peaks behind.  It really is a magical place!

Sørvågen 

The next day was a short motor further up the coast to the tourist centre of Reine.  We had heard very mixed reports of this place from a sailing perspective.  The sudden immersion into a substantially inflated population with the associated increased commercialism can be quite jarring and the visitors pontoons do not have any additional facilities beyond water and electricity.  But everyone is very welcoming and as one local shopkeeper described - the harbour area is very relaxed and has not yet been developed (perhaps surprisingly) into a fully functioning tourist marina, which we think adds to its charm.  One thing to note as a result, though, is that payment is by cash only and there are no ATMs in Reine itself.  Fortunately we did have some Kroner and Euros to pay with but it was somewhat unexpected as everywhere to date had been card only.

Reine is a small fishing village (with circa 300 inhabitants) and so beautifully picturesque, in one of the most stunning settings in the whole of Norway, that it is easy to see how it has become so popular with visitors over the decades.  In addition, the mountain on its southern edge can be easily 'climbed'.  To accommodate the increasing number of visitors and reduce the number of accidents occurring, a continuous staircase of stone steps has been installed by sherpas to guide visitors to a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the village and surrounding fjords.

Reine from Reinebringen mountain

Racks for drying skrei (cod) which will often be exported to southern Europe to make dishes such as Baccalà.

In addition to exercising our legs on Reinebringen, we have now recommissioned our inflatable double kayak and enjoyed a shakedown explore of our local surroundings.  We'll stay here tonight for midsummer and then head back into the wilderness tomorrow!

Kayaking on Vorfjorden

PS - the time of next sunset is....17 July!