Wednesday 5 August. 51 km, 5.2 average speed. Buholmråsa fyr to Stokkøya marina. A long hard slog. Fall winds hampered progress. Start 0815 arrive 2130
When we got up in the morning the wind was down and the sea outside the lighthouse was calm. We got on the water just before 0900 and we were quite optimistic as we paddled off. Yes, the wind was forecast to increase throughout the day, but it should be sidewind not headwind.
Or so we thought. After about an hours paddle we had to think again. Just outside Sandbergvik we were hit by strong fall winds and we struggled to make any progress at all. Way above the forecast.
We hadn’t reckoned with the terrain. We soon found that fall winds were common off the steep hills along the fjords. We also were reminded that the wind tend to turn and follow the side of the fjords. Today that meant headwinds where sidewind was forecast.
The conditions weren’t bad, but they made for another slow day of hard paddling.
And a long day. We paddled for 51 km all the way to Stokkøya. The last 15 km before Stokkøya had no good tenting sites, so it was either short or long. We opted for long.
Not that there were all that many splendid campsites at Stokkøya either, but there was a marina and we hoped to find places for the kayaks, tents and maybe a “service house” with kitchen
And yes, it was a big marina. With a wooden platform where we could pitch the tents and a barrack with a kitchen and a shower that only Karianne managed to make work.
Everything was OK, but compared to the lighthouse it of course felt as somewhat of a downgrade
And just as we sat down to eat the rain started to pour down. As we ducked into the tents in the rain around midnight, we decided to make a minimum stop out of Stokkøya. Tomorrow we plan a 46 km paddle to Grandholmen just outside Storfodna. WP.
The Russian - Scandinavian Kayak Expedition 2018 -2022 