Renga to Støtt

And improve those winds did at about 2200. So off we went, again with winds on the nose. On the nose they might have been but at least they had dropped somewhat and so we made slow progress northwards towards Støtt, just a few seconds south of 67˚N, which hopefully would allow enough time for our boat insurance to be sorted.

The approach to Støtt is lined with high mountains that leap straight up from the ocean. On the mainland, the skyline is dominated by snowfields and glaciers, including Svartisen the second largest glacier in Norway. The islands offshore rise almost vertically out of the sea and are variously rounded and jagged but, irrespective are very impressive.

Its fair to say that this part of Norway is just stunning, particularly in the orange and pink light of the midnight sun, which Frederieke got to enjoy as she was the first one on night watch after our Polar Circle crossing.

The rounded islands have been scrapped back to bare rock and have little in the way of vegetation other than grasses and low bushes while the jagged islands have deep gullies that hold some soil and have patches of forest and, in the lowest reaches, perhaps even a small farm, squeezed between the mountain and the sea.

We motored into Stott harbour at about 0430, found the Gjestehavn, moored up (after two attempts to squeeze into a berth that was too narrow) and by 0530 we were in bed.