June 29th – Gale & Sail
The exit from Sto
Main steet in Sortland
Larry's berth in the town centre in Sortland
Unexpectedly a gale blew up very suddenly last night. It started blowing at about 2.15 a.m.; we inspected the ropes at 2.45 but by 4.15 we decided we needed to add to the ropes as we were being blown off and Larry was hanging on one spring and a rather slender stern rope. We were back inside by 4.30 and at 4.38 all was suddenly calm! It blew up again briefly and abated equally suddenly 3 more times. In the morning we were contemplating remaining in Sto for the day but the friendly whale boat man assured us it had calmed down and what’s more they needed the quay on which we were moored for their new whale boat arriving later today.
We had originally intended going to Bo on the SW corner of Langoya but a combination of the weather and the fact that we are running low on fuel caused us to rethink our plans which proved to be very fortunate as we have had a great day’s sailing. Going down the outside of Langoya might have been very lumpy with a less favourable wind. As it was we decided to come to Sortland (68⁰41.8N, 15⁰25.3E)which meant we have been back on an inner route and have had a wonderful day’s sailing – calm seas tacking down wind – North easterly Force 3– great fun and very comfortable. A number of puffins swimming in the water but not much other birdlife – EXCEPT here in Sortland we were walking along the front looking for the fuelling berth amongst a lorry park and other scruffy buildings when we were mobbed by arctic terns and Christopher was hit on the head by one of them. They appeared to be nesting on what looked like a pile of old mooring buoys!
Sortland is quite a major town and we are moored to a pontoon just off the market square with water, hook-ups, and a supermarket within a 100yards plus all major stores – what luxury! It is the first time we have paid for a mooring for at least a week but it is worth it as the hook-up enables us to listen to our CDs of Pavarotti (thanks to Great Grannie).
If you are following this blog you may have noticed it does not get published every day .This is partly because we cannot always get Wifi connections. Sometimes we are lucky and can get free ones but the bandwidth will not always support uploading photos. Having nearly completed the major challenge we set ourselves of going further north to the Lyngen Alps and then back to Bodo in time for Charlotte’s arrival on July 8th we will have some days doing basically domestic things so may not do a daily blog. Also writing the blog and uploading the photos takes time so we don’t expect to do it when we have visitors.
June 30th – A very secluded anchorage
Various views of the anchorage in Neysoy
Initially spent time endeavouring to publish the two previous day’s blogs but the machine stuck on one of the photos and would not let me in either to edit or publish - decided to leave till later. Sortland is a major town so lots of shops and an information centre from whom we got an up-date on the weather, which looks reasonable for the next few days. We stocked up at the COOP and then went to find the fuel berth. It was near the bridge, as we had been told, but quite hidden away and rather shallow. We were just after high tide and manager of the garage, who operated the pump and who met us on the pontoon, thought we had about an hour before we would touch bottom. Since Larry was very low in fuel and fills slowly that did not give us a lot of time to spare.
From Sortland we motor-sailed down the sound with a light wind just off the nose to Neysoy (68⁰28.2’N 15⁰17E) which is just before the start of Raftsund, another narrow passage where it is important to get the currents right. It is a very beautiful little bay, almost land-locked with a very intricate entry zig-zagging past small islands and invisible rocks, which we entered at low tide. There is a fishing boat in one corner which people are working on but otherwise there is nothing to be seen but trees and mountains. All very peaceful and beautiful with nothing to be heard but a few oyster catchers and a cuckoo I had not realised that they come so far North.
July 1st – Day of maintenance
Having been on the go for the last 11 days and having now got back within striking distance of Bodo where Charlo, James, Iris and Albert will be meeting us next Friday, we decided the moment had come to pause. We have spent the day doing basic domestic things like washing, general tidying up and catching up on various bits of maintenance, such as adjusting the tiller, refitting the catches on the forward hatch and touching up the varnish. It was fairly grey all day but quite dry until just after we had finished varnishing! However it was very light drizzle and did not last long so hopefully it won’t have spoilt it. The only drawback to this otherwise perfect spot is that there is no WiFi link and hence no blog. It is now 9.30 p.m. and the sun is finally coming out. The breeze seems quite gentle here but judging by the way the trees on the nearby hillsides are blowing there must be quite a wind in the sound and we have put the GPS on anchor watch.
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