Florø to Silda
After filling up our water tank in the morning, we were heading north out of Florø’s complicated harbour approaches. Clearing the islands and skerries to its north we unrolled the genoa and with a steady breeze on the port quarter headed smoothly and quietly up the channel north and then north west.
The islands here were relatively flat and bare but as we got further northwest in the afternoon they started to rise up until we were sailing under a rain and towering cliffs through narrow cuts and fjords.
By mid afternoon the rain was light but driven by a wind that gusted upto 24kts. When it came on the nose it was time to motor, which we did West to Maløy and then north through the narrow channel to Silda, a small island about 8nm north of Maløy. This is to be our jumping off point for our rounding of the dreaded Cape Statt. While there are gales warnings today and tonight, tomorrow is predicted to be calm with seas moderating late morning and afternoon. Hopefully those predictions are right.
The good thing is, the Norwegian weather and sea forecasts are incredibly detailed, in particular for sections of the coasts known as ‘coastal danger areas’ such as Statt. Being the one more affected by weather and sea state, I (F) had done lots of reading in our cruising guides and downloaded several websites to get the best information possible for sailing in Norway.
Out of all of them, the BarentsWatch webpage is by far the best. For every bit of coast along Norway, it has detailed wind speed and direction, as well as ‘bølgevarsel’, i.e. wave warnings (wave heights and directions), and plenty of other useful information. For locations like Statt, it goes into even more detail, and provides information on the time of day and location that ‘kryssende bølger’, crossing waves, are likely to occur. In light conditions, these are just plain uncomfortable to sail or motor through; in heavy weather and seas, these are dangerous and should be avoided if at all possible.
Looking towards Statt from Silda
So passing a location like Statt safely, and preferably also with the least amount of discomfort, takes detailed passage planning by checking out the weather forecasts and predictions for ‘bølgevarsel’ and ‘kryssende bølger’.
After dinner we took a leisurely stroll around Silda. Despite there being a couple of score houses on the island, all nicely kept with tended gardens and fresh firewood, we saw no one and no evidence that anyone was on the island. Creepy.
But the walk out to the northern point was pleasant and the soggy scramble to the peak afforded lovely views of rain shrouded shorelines as well as glimpses of distant sea and headlands, including Statt. Oystercatchers were piping along the shoreline and blackbirds and chiffchaffs called in the protected gullies.
Everywhere we went there was evidence of pine trees being culled, presumably because they are feral. In the coves with flat ground and soil there were upright stones which we guessed were markers of old fields and property.
All up a nice walk.
