Vikingsvågen to Hellershamn

After our gale day, spent ‘mucking’ around until 0100, we were a little late getting out of bed. But we awoke to sun and N winds of 10-15 kts. Our snug little anchorage was looking rather fine under the sunlight and clouds with the rocks and heather and grasses swept and wash clean by yesterday’s wind and rain. Still no birds, no fish, no wildlife to be seen. Weird.

We took our time getting ready and it wasn’t until 1400 that we finally left Vikingsvågen. How did that happen? Oh well, it happened.

Today’s sail took us through a series of north running passages. These lay between tall islands and between them we crossed open stretches which were the mouths of fjords. The first of these passages was between Møymja and Sandøyna. These were low and fertile islands with lots of farms to be seen.

After a pleasant sail across the Sognjafjord we approach some very impressive bluffs. The two islands we were approaching rose almost vertically out of the sea in huge round domes of stone with just the barest amounts of grass and heather running along the fissures and folds in the rock. The passage between them was in places just 100m across and the rock rose vertically from the water a couple of hundred metres. Its grey brown, elephant colouring was stained by water flows and in the folds trees and vegetation burst out exuberantly. In every major fold, at water level, anywhere where there was enough flat ground to grow some grass, a house or, if big enough, a farm nestled precariously. Off each of these were buoys in the water a sure sign that these people still farmed the land and fished the sea.

Clearing this passage we could see, off in the hazy distance, skerries and islets and, looming pale and huge behind them the double hump of Værøyna. Not somewhere we can explore on the trip up north but definitely an inviting place to check out on our return trip.

By the time we reached our destination, Hellershamn, the wind had died, so as we entered through the narrow gap in the low cliffs, the water was mirror still. We motored slowly in with the just 20 m of water on either side before anchoring in a pool towards the end of the passage. Maybe 50 m further along a holiday cottage looked back towards the gap out to the sea. Lovely.

Tonight’s fun was setting up shorelines. Not something we’ve done before but in this tight space, and with the amount of scope we had to use given the depth, any breeze could have pushed us onto the rocks. At first I was thought we could get away without them, Frederieke thought not, and she was right – prepare for the worst, hope for the best. So we tied Yuma ashore for the first time, nice and easy but it took a while to sort out the process and by the time we’d pumped up the dinghy, sorted out our process and got everything done it was, midnight, again.

Coincidence of the day: Frederieke sent a photo of Yuma anchored in Hellershavn to her Dutch friend Caro. One of her photoclub acquaintances owns the house in the bay.