Josin’s cruise 2021 / 9

From Bodø to Harstad.

We spent three days in Bodø, the last two kept in by the wind, which blew steady 25 knots in the harbour, easing during monday night and tuesday morning sufficiently that further boating was in order. Even the fresh-shrimp trawler didn’t appear. Chilly temperature, only 10 degrees, so on with all wool layers available.

We set off late morning, hoping for a sail, but the wind hadn’t just eased, it had dropped almost completely, so we motorsailed the short distance to Hjelløy, (67 32.8 / 014 39.3) just west of Kjerringøy, where there is a mooring buoy in a snug bay. Quiet night.

Wednesday morning was still overcast and chilly, and it was almost drizzling too, so a short motorsail to Nordskot was enough before the cold creeps up “from the toes and ankles, calves and knees and then bit by bit”….. Thankyou Belloc. Rigged up the wind vane self-steering during the evening, in the hopes…..

1st July, thursday, started promisingly with a forecast of sunshine and a usable SW wind to take us up the Vestfjord. it happened! So we started early, seven o’clock and enjoyed a roly-poly sail all the way to Lødingen, (68 24.7 / 16 00.3), 45 nautical miles. The seas build up well in a SW’er in the Vestfjord, they have a very long fetch into a narrowing space. The wind was on the port quarter, but the waves were from dead aft, combining to create a cork-screw motion in Josin. Not comfortable! Must admit I was a bit weary of the continuous movement, and so were both the wind pilot and the autopilot, neither of which could cope properly, so I had to steer the boat myself at times. Oh dear!

Managed to take a pic or two before the motion prohibited photography!

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Leaving Norskot. Mountain tops with hats. The “Hammarøy Skaft”, a very tall peak.

Good long late-afternoon rest in Lødingen, before much clicking and reading and calculating the probable currents in the somewhat narrow fjords leading to Harstad, which I didn’t “time” last year. Found out that I needed to cover nearly 20 nm before 09:00, or wait 12 hours. That was a challenge, but up and at it and away just after 5. Took more time than usual to untie as the next-door motor cruiser’s skipper had multi-coiled and knotted his thick ropes on top of mine, (etiquette says that those that come after, tie up under existing ropes, but that guy obviously didn’t know). Disturbed him though, as a sleepy head appeared at a window, looking worried as i strived. I bowed and waved as we left.

Friday turned out to be a very succesful boating day. We sailed, windvane steering a lot of the time, with needed help from the engine in the most current-turbulent places, making fantastic progress in marvelous sunshine, (though still chilly). I had hit the tides and currents just right, as a lot of the time we had 2 kts with us and over 3 kts at the narrowest places. Whoooooosh!. Fun!

We arrived sufficiently early in Harstad (68 48.1 / 016 32.8), that the dawdling motorcruisers hadn’t left yet, but there was just space left for Josin: (Pic taken later). A new standard in “Houseboats” maybe?

Need to stay in the area of Harstad for a few days until the gennaker sail arrives from Elvstrøm Seil after repair, but first some fresh bread and a trip to the delikatessen in the town square here, and a long snooze.

Alls well