One might think, we were cruising tropical waters! However, the bare mountains with snow covered tops and the crew packed in multiple layers of clothing, might suggest glacial instead of tropical waters.
Today we spotted the first eagle on this trip!
Sailing leisurely along Leka we heard a bang and the genoa started to come down! The halyard had broken, so we had to get the sail down. We decided to motor to Brønnøysund as we thought there must be a repair shop for the fishing boats that can fix this. Unfortunately after consulting with the local chandler we found out that no one could press a new talurit on our broken wire. The captain decided therefore to splice the broken wire rope and started searching the internet for instructions on wire eye splices.
Harbour day in Brønnøysund
The broken genoa halyard.
It looks like mess, but it is a good start of a Lock-tuck eye splice!
A couple of hours later the splice looked like this!(left). A little whipping and some self vulcanising tape finished it off and then we only had to get it into the mast. ONLY!
It was not easy at all and it took us at least 3-4 hours to get the halyard in the mast. 2 times up the mast and down with the main before we managed to get a thin line down the mast and could pull the halyard through.
Further investigation revealed that the talurit was lying on the pulley and probably broke because of the awkward angel for the steel rope.
The guest harbour was full because of a music festival and people were partying until the early morning (04:00)!
Brønnøysund-Herøya
The seven sisters -well only 5 of them are visible and they are all wearing a veil!
The guest harbour of Herøysundet
We motored a bit before we tested out the sails, the splice of the halyard survived the first day!
We had rain showers for most of the day and little wind. For our followers who see a lot of sunny pictures - it is thanks to Photoshop!
This is how it really looks!
From the harbour we could follow the instable air masses - sometimes sunny and sometimes heavy rain and other times the wet air condensed and covered the mountains in mist.
Herøya-Glein
Rescue operation at high sea today! The first mate spotted a boat in distress and we managed to get close and throw a line over. The boat had lost the engine and we towed them against wind and current the 2 nm back to their harbour!
We found the harbour ok, so we stayed there for the night.
We tried to pick some blueberries, but they were not ripe yet nor were the numerous cloudberries!
Later the captain fixed the broken outboard of the boat we rescued and as a thank you for the towing we were invited for dinner by the rescued German couple!
Glein-Nesna
The weather forecast was strong gale 20m/s so we went to a more protected harbour. Not much to see today in the rain showers!
The harbour at Nesna is fully equipped and even has 2 slipways to get the boats out of the water for maintenance. The friendly harbour master invites you continuously for coffee in the clubhouse. With a harbour fee of only 100NOK this is a really good deal!
Although the waves and the wind came in through the opening in the breakwater we could enjoy a quiet nice in the gale!
Nesna-Rødøy
Today the wind was up to 100km/h and even with only 1.5 square meter sail we were doing full speed 7-7.5 knots! (full sails are 85 sq.m.). We also past the polar circle, which means we are further north than Iceland now!
It was nice to moor at the floating stage at Klokkergården and have dinner at their restaurant.
Returning to the boat later that evening we noticed the the quay had moved at least a meter due to the gale and the waves coming from the side. Instead of having to be awake all night waiting for the quay to drift off, we decided to move the boat to the lee side of the bay alongside a fishing boat.
There we could enjoy a calm sea and a good nights sleep - and did not have to pay the 300 NOK they were asking for at Klokkergården!
Rødøy-Ørnes
Sorry to bring the same motif again, but this is what we saw today: nothing - except one harbour porpoise! (below)
The rookie sailor's corner
I am wet and cold!
Why can't I go below deck?
I promise not to chew on the pillows and the duvet!
The gale has left, but it is still raining and the weather forecast does not promise any improvement!
We had a whole day of rain, and besides getting completely wet, we were also very cold.
The guest harbour at Ørnes was not very large, but we found a nice, calm space and the harbour had a salon with kitchen, were you could enjoy a cup of hot tea - or something else.
Ørnes-Selvågen
The captain ordered no rain for today. I told him, that his is not good enough, and unfortunately I was right. We had drizzle the whole day and got completely wet again.
To the right you can see how it looks when a beach is trying to climb up a mountain.
During the night the wind increased to up to 17kn, instead of the 5kn predicted by the weather forecast. So we did not sleep to well.
In the morning we were greeted by sun and discovered, that we have ended up in paradise!
During the night the wind changed to north and with the north wind the clouds disappeared.
Selvågen-Bodø
The seagulls are dancing and the sun is shining, and it is a a tiny little bit warmer. We had a lovely sail towards Bodø.