NW Løkta to Tjøtta. 43 km, 6.3 km/hr average speed. Start 1200 arrive 2200.

We were woken at about 0700 by winds shaking the tents so hard we checked on the pegs and lines. All good and no cattle. We went back into the sleeping bags, this sounded like another wait on weather day. by 1000 the wind had subsided and the forecast was OK so we decided to have a late breakfast and get going, aiming for Tjøtta. We wanted to visit the “Soviet war cemetery” where 8000 out of the about 13000 Soviet prisoners of war that died in Norway are buried.

We paddled off at 1200 and found that the currents were favorable so we extended the first leg all the way to the Marina/campground in Sandnessjøen. We are now getting into more densely populated areas (all things are relative) and that means that there are an increasing number of ferry lanes to cross. That was the only thing we had to worry about in calm and sunny weather.

We arrived at Tjøtta at 2200 and set up camp at the beach close to the cemetery, but in respectful distance to a young couple that was camping there. This wasn’t exactly a place to go to seek company and they seemed a bit reserved about our late appearance.

We set up the tents and decided to visit the cemetery before we had dinner.

The cemetery is a well kept and solem place, most of it is occupied by the graves of the Soviet prisoners of war, but part of it is dedicated to the more than 2500 that perished when the prison transport vessel Riegel was sunk.

We walked through the cemetery at sunset reading some of the 8000 names that are listed in alphabetical order on metal plates hung on the stone plates. It reminded us about our midnight visit to Sandarmokh in June 2018 (Day 105). There were actually more Russian war prisoners dead in Norway than Norwegians killed in conflict during WW2 (13000 vs 10000). A lot can (and probably should) be said and discussed about Russia, but there is little doubt that historically Russia must be the most traumatized country in Europe.

Dinner was a short and silent affair. And shortly after midnight lights were out. Tomorrow we have an appointment to talk about our trip in Brønnøysund, thanks to a recommendation from our friend Anders Thygesen. Weather Permitting.

Southern Lurøy to NW Løkta. 27 km, 6.1 km/hr average speed. Start 1900 arrive 2400

When we opened the tents in the morning the waves were breaking white from the easterly wind and it was clear we were in no hurry to get going. The camp was well shielded from the wind and it was a warm wind and it was a warm wind so we spent the late morning and early afternoon bathing and sun bathing.

The weather forecast suggested that the wind would come down in the evening, so we decided to have an early dinner and be ready to go at about 1900. The plan was to use the weather window to cross two fjords to get to Løkta, a short paddle of about 25 km.

The first crossing was from Lurøy to Tomma, fully exposed to the southeasterly wind. The wind was still blowing a bit as we crossed and we leaned on the paddles and pushed on to Tomma.

From the map we expected the paddle along Tomma to be quiet and sheltered from the wind. The terrain made it different. We found that there was a lot of fall winds coming down the steep mountain sides. Fall winds are abrupt winds much stronger than forecast. For a kayaker it’s mostly a hassle and hard work. For the open sailing boats that were used here in old times it was a cap sizing hazard. It was the likely reason Reidun up at Brennsundvika lost her grandfather.

For us it was just and unexpected hassle, but since we had experienced more weather than expected throughout the day so far, we paused at southernmost Tomma to consider weather or not to go across Stifjorden to Løkta or to find a campsite at Tomma

In the end we decided to stick the bows out into Stifjorden and check conditions. It is a short crossing, no more than an hour. We found Stifjorden much quieter than forecast. That is as expected in the middle of the night. So we set across, and even though the wind started to pick up as we approached Løkta it was the easiest part of the day

We found a good pebbly beach. Dinner was long ago and now it was past midnight and we just wanted to get into the sleeping bags quickly. The tents were half way up before we noticed the brown blobs that informed us this was cattle grazing land.

We navigated the tents between the blobs and dived into the sleeping bags. If the cattle appeared we hoped it would be of the friendly kind. Especially Karianne who has a red tent….

As Erling drifted off into sleep he noticed that there was a distinct smell of barn in the tent. Then again after 15 days of paddling it is not clear that this should be blamed on the cattle. Best left unresolved.

Vågaholmen to Sjonøy. 43 km, 6.2 km/hr average speed. Start 2010 arrive 0400.

The wind shook the tents during the night, but no action necessary. We could just sleep on, and sleep on we did. Morning bath and coffee wasn’t until after 0830. Looking over the coffee cup toward Nordvernes we could see the fjord covered in white caps. No paddling anytime soon.

Reading the weather forecast it seemed that tomorrow and possibly Wednesday would be equally windy. Vågaholmen is a nice place, but maybe not the place to spend a whole holiday. Time to considered night paddling.

The wind is almost always lower during the night than during the day. And that is also today’s forecast. The wind should fall off at about 1900 and be OK till ca 0700 on Tuesday. So there is a window allowing us to cover some km.

A decision best taken after breakfast. We went to the waiting room/cafe and ordered “karbonadesmørbrød”. Over breakfast Stein made some investigations, didn’t he have an old friend from the Norwegian parachute association that had moved here?

Soon Jørn joined us at the table. He and his wife Kitt had moved up from Hemsedal and built a house here when Kitt took up the position the most senior administrator in the Rødøy municipality. (Rådmann). Soon we had an invitation and a plan: After work hours we would have dinner with Kitt and Jørn and then we will paddle off and see what we can do.

Decision made. We went to take down camp and pack the boats, so everything would be ready for a quick start. Then we went to wait some more in the waiting room. We read up on the news and concluded that we didn’t miss out on much.

To kill time some of us sampled what was a new culinary treat for us: Soft ice waffle. The waitress at the cafe looked a bit surprised when we wanted a knife and a fork to eat it….it was the best idea we could come up with. Maybe the locals have another trick, but unfortunately we didn’t see anyone else in action with the waffles. Another one of life’s mysteries that we will never know the answer to. And so the hours went, the wind persisted and the forecast rain arrived on time. Hard to believe we would be paddling today.

First things first. After work we were picked up and driven a couple of km to Kitt and Jørn’s house, a spectacularly located and built house with a westward view across Rødøyfjorden

A three course dinner was soon on the table, tasty and in expedition quantities. Kitt and Jørn are both outdoors people, they know what it takes to fuel up.

After dinner Kitt and Jørn drove us to the kayaks and at 2010 we thanked them again for their hospitality and paddled off to ward Rødøyfjorden.

Now the seas were calm and we made good speed. For the first hour the sun warmed and it was quite hot in the dry suit. But as the sun set it bacame more comfortable and soon after sunset the boats were covered in dew.

It was a nice paddle also because land was never far away and there was something to look at. That’s good after midnight when we got tired and it started to feel a bit like a slog.

At about 0100 we passed the arctic circle at Tonnes, so now we are officially in warmer climes.

At about 0230 we passed Klungervika on Lurøy, a stop recommended to us by Carl Dons, who had received great hospitality there when he rowed Brønnøysund to Vågaholmen last year. We concluded it was the wrong time of day to test that hospitality, besides we wanted to get to the southern part of Lurøy to be ready to catch any weather window to get across to Tomma.

And so it was that at 0400 we paddled into a small cove just at the southern tip of Lurøy. With a nice landing beach and a view due south to Tomma. Not that we stopped much to admire the view as the sun rose and painted Tomma in hues of pink. We just got the tents up and ourselves in a horizontal position. Lights out, sunrise or not.

Femris to Vågaholmen. 58 km, 6.1 km/hr average speed. Start 0720 arrive 1900

We got up at the alarm at 0500, looking forward to an easy day’s paddle followed by some more easy summer days. Just to enjoy our good meteorological luck we checked the weather forecast as we had a first cup of coffee. Just as we were admiring the weather a new forecast came in… the screen changed and now strong winds were forecast for the afternoon and the whole of the following day. Ouch. In stead of lazy happy go lucky paddling we needed to decide on where to spend a day waiting on weather. The best place appeared to be Vågaholmen, if we could cover the 58 km before the wind set in.

So off we went and as usual we picked the shortest route and the longest crossings. We had gotten the currents right, we paddled with about 6.8 km/hr for more than 20 km until we got past Kunna. Until then no wind, but as we crossed from Kunna toward Støtt the wind picked up a bit, tailwind! Things were good and Vågaholmen seemed within reach.

Things were good and the soon got better. As we crossed toward Støtt a boat came towards us and pulled up alongside Stein. Another friend from the military (fortunately there seem to be and endless supply…). Vebjørn was on holiday nearby had followed our tracker and came out just to say hello ….and recommend the fish soup at Støtt for lunch.

Stein had been to Støtt while paddling with Per W twenty years ago, then the community was on the brink of extinction and no fish soup to be seen. What a difference 20 years can make for industrious people. There has been a shop on Støtt continuously for 300 years. Twenty years ago it was just open and the couple running it had their kids pursuing careers in Southern Norway. Then their daughter decided to move home invest and attempt to make Støtt a tourist destination. It was a success. The shop is still there, and a guest harbor and a restaurant and accommodation. Yesterday they had served a five course dinner for 70 people.

If the lunch buffet we sampled was an indication the 70 guests had had a fantastic dinner. Both the famed fish soup (creamed with a touch of saffron) as well as the two variants of bacalao were excellent. We would have enjoyed staying even longer, but we had some wind to try to avoid and the tide had turned and currents would tend against us.

We paddled out across some “kayak only” shoals and set course for Meløy, navigated the small islets west of Meløy, set across to Åmnøy where we took a last leg stretch at about 1730, 8 km to go, blue skies and none of forecast wind in sight. It was scheduled for 1800. We started to hope yr.no had gotten this one wrong.

Don’t underestimate yr.no. As we crossed over toward Sleipnes the 7 m/s headwinds appeared literally out of the blue. An hour and a half later we finally entered the harbor of Vågaholmen, the center of Rødøy municipality. We were well reminded of why we don’t try to cover distance in much over 5 m/s headwinds. Since the wind force increases with the square of the wind speed 7 m/s is twice as hard as 5 m/s and more than enough…

One more thing about strong headwinds: it becomes impossible to hear almost anything approaching from behind. We suspected that there might be and Express boat route here and as we paddled we kept looking over our shoulders to check. Fortunately no Express boat. Karianne came up with the obvious explanation; “it’s Sunday”. But of course.

Sunday it was, we had made it to our destination and as we came into the harbor there even was a small crowd waving enthusiastically at us. It is always good to meet people who know to appreciate serious ocean paddling!

Except the cause of the enthusiastic waving was that, Sunday or no Sunday, now the Express boat was right behind us. We paddled hard port just in time to avoid interfering with the Express boat’s schedule.

In addition to a shop Vågaholmen also had a small guest harbor with access to shower, washing machine and toilet, and even a small cafe. A good place to wait on weather. The campsite at a sandy beach wasn’t bad either.

We cooked a late dinner and looked forward to a good nights sleep. Weather permitting. We had taken precautions against the forecast gale force winds when we pitched the tents, but the soil was sandy and loose so the pegs would take only so much. By now we were to tired to care anyway…

Bodø to Femris. 36 km, 6.2 km/hr average speed. Start 1050, arrive 1800.

The rain did pour down, good to be inside for breakfast. In the end we couldn’t postpone any more and we went out to pack the boats and get going.

On the outside a happy bunch were gathering for a kayak course. The instructor’s name was Sigurd, he is (you guessed it) another acquaintance of Stein’s…So time for a few more wise words about all things kayak, but in the end we really couldn’t postpone anymore and we got going

Just getting out of Bodø harbor was a long 6 km slog, but finally we had a good view of Saltfjorden. We made an exception to prove the rule and chose a shorter crossing (and a longer total) todivide they day up in more comfortable chunks. Almost without discussion. Conditions were perfect, calm seas an a bit of following current.

Next we followed Sandhornøy to Leksnger where we took one last break before we paddled over to Femris. Karianne’s family has roots here at Gildeskål, and As we paddled along the Sandhornøy Karianne tried to recognize places from her childhood. But too much had changed. For every house there were 10 cabins.

We found ourselves a nice beach at Femris. It was still raining, but Stein the “tarp master “ set things up so we had an early and comfortable dinner.

We didn’t linger. Tomorrow we hope to catch some following current from the falling tide. So lights out at 2100 and alarm at 0500. All set for a long days paddle tomorrow. WP. ( and the forecast is good)

Brennsundbukta to Bodø, 47 km, 6.2km/hr average speed. Start 0655 arrive 1645.

A special day, if we manage to get to Bodø as planned Arne will leave us. For good reasons, but a pity nevertheless. We got up at 0500 and looked out Brennsundvika. The view has been voted the the best view in Norway we were told by Reidun and Frank. We were mostly concerned about the weather. It looked good, but as Frank had explained we wouldn’t know till we were out of the bay

A bit of anxiety sped up the breakfast and packing, so we managed to be on the water just before 0700. As we got out of the bay the sea was still calm and just a very light breeze. Nothing like yesterday. Encouraged we set off toward a cluster of small islets called Karlsøyvær. We got over no problem, but the islands themselves were a maze, the all ran east west an we were paddling south. A number of eagles sat on the top of islets apparently viewing our efforts with skepticism. The shouldn’t have gotten their hopes up, after a short break we found our way out.

True to tradition we decided on the long crossing of Landegodefjorden. It went without incident in calm seas, but it was long, about 16 km. As compensation we found a spectacular beach on which to have our second break for the day. The sun was out and we made it a long break.

When we got going we agreed on one more break before Bodø, but as usual we changed our minds – a break would add distance. As a result we paddled into Kvalvika and Bodø kayakclub’s boathouse with a loft where Karianne, Stein and Erling would sleep for the night. Again Stein’s wide network in the Norwegian kayaking community saved the day. Thanks to Brian!

Now a lot happened in short order. Ingvild arrived with the minibus and oversupplies were put in there. Arne’s kayak were emptied and put on the roof. Reidar from the kayak club came to offer assistance. Our friend and founding member of “Pinsekameratene padleklubb” Steinar was also in Bodø and came down.

We had expected to arrive much later, and because of that any plans of giving a talk on the trip to members of Bodø kajakkklubb had been canceled. Reidar decided that the plan should be resurrected on very short notice.

So while Ingvild, Arne, Karianne, Steinar and Erling went to buy and prepare dinner, shower and wash clothes, Stein stayed behind to give the talk.

Dinner, showering and clothes wash was done in an apartment Ingvild had kindly been loaned from a former colleague. Stein arrived just in time for dinner (second serving)

We did not stay long, it had been a looong day already. We bid farewell to Ingvild, Arne and Steinar. And then we bid farewell to Arne one more time. A great member of the team, he has a bit unorthodox packing habits, but never a word of complaint or frustration.

Lights were out at 2300 hrs. No alarm. Tomorrow it will pour down in the morning, we are tired and plan for a short day of about 36 km to Femris. WP.

Manshausen to Brennvika. 22 km, 5.7 km/hr average speed. Start 1030 arrive 1645.

It was raining and the wind blew hard as we got up in the morning. We packed the boats in time for breakfast at 0900. After another excellent breakfast we were ready to go at 1030. We bid goodbye to the Caroline, Stian and Vince from the staff and Karsten from M/S Irene.

The tail wind pushed us forward at 3 km/hr without us paddling. Good. But we were a bit anxious about what lay ahead. The wind was blowing North to south. We had planned four crossings to get into shelter behind Karlsøyvær. The start of the crossing is easy as we leave the north shore of the fjord because the wind has no space to build waves. What is interesting is what the waves are like at the south shore of the fjord, and that we will only know when we get there.

The first crossing proved the point. Easy peasy at first, a bit more challenging toward the end.

Next crossing likewise. It took us to Helsnessund, where we had a shelterd lunch in the house of the local boating association. A nice break from the wind and rain.

After a long break it was time for the third crossing of about another hour. The conditions had not improved. As we approached land and a narrow sound to pass the wave height increased and we got reflex seas from two directions making the waves “confused”

We got through OK, but we decided that the fourth and most challenging crossing over Folda to Karlsøyvær should wait till tomorrow. Instead we took the advice of several well wishers an decided to investigate Brennvika.

As we paddled into Brennvika, we saw a person at the beach. Karianne paddled ahead and before the rest arrived at the beach she had explained our situation and one of the owners, Frank had offered us shelter in the boathouse. A premium boathouse for our purposes, even with a huge dining table.

As we chatted with Frank he expanded that his wife Reidun’s grandfather was lost as sea just where we had struggled. He also told of some trips over Folda back to Bodø which had given him pause for thought. That dispelled any doubts about making it a short day and stopping at Brennvika for the night. Thanks for the hospitality Reidun and Frank!

Soon dinner was on the table and at 1940 it was lights out. We plan for an early start, the alarm is set for 0500. Tomorrow is a long paddle of about 50 km to Bodø. WP.

Rest day at Børge Ousland’s guesthouse in Manshausen.

We had a good nights sleep and an excellent breakfast before we started to look over kit and dry batch #2, including the wettest pieces, the tents.

We have a lot of tents. Altogether the camp can sleep seven, as follows: Arne has a double tent and a bivvy bag. That’s three. Stein has a double tent. That’s five. Erling and Karianne has a single tent each so that’s seven. This points to an element of this years stage of RSKE, not only is the expedition fully supported, it is also severely over supplied. We could surely cook for at least seven (four pots, two kettles, two frying pans, three stoves, nine liters of fuel….) the list of duplicates can be made longer. We never had time to fully coordinate packing. Ame’s visit to the post office in Finnsnes on day two helped, but clearly there is still room for improvement.

We have a plan. Arne will leave us in Bodø on Friday. His eldest son is getting married and he plans to attend. Sad for us, but hard to argue with the priority. So Arne’s wife Ingvild will meet us in Bodø on her way back from Lofoten. They have a minibus. That should do the trick. So we have spent some time sorting out stuff to send back with Arne.

Arne, Karianne and Stein also rowed across to Randi Skaug’s place less than a hundred meters away. Randi is a very experienced mountain climber and polar explorer and she has also paddled the entire Norwegian coast. Lot’s to talk about over a waffle lunch.

Finally we found time to go to Nordskott, get some supplies and also take a walk to the local graveyard. It may sound like a strange destination, but a lot of condensed history can be read or at least imagined from the tombstones. The graveyard at Sørskott was from about 1940. Fortunately none of the tragedies at sea we have seen further north had happened here.

We had dinner with a new friend Karsten Myhre who came up here with his shining wooden yacht. He and Stein both had their careers in the Army, have common friends and a lot to talk about.

After dinner we had a short nightcap on board m/s Irene, before we started to pack the boats.

We are a bit anxious about tomorrow. The forecast says 11 m/s northerly winds. Our destination is Kjerringøy. It’s a tail wind, and most of the distance will be in sheltered waters so waves should be OK. That is the assumption, tomorrow we will see. If one or more of us gets uncomfortable crossing Folda, it will be a short day and a long dinner. WP

Lundøya to Manshausen 33 km, 5.5 km/hr average speed. Start 1030 arrive 1700.

It was a very wet night and morning, the tents felt like 1 kg heavier than usual as we packed them. Nothing but the tents got truly wet, but everything is a bit damp. It will be good to dry things up, particularly the down sleeping bags. Anyway, it was the first time in the three years that we broke camp in pouring rain, so no complaints.

As we paddled out of the cove we were very eager to feel the wind, the wind would shape our day. Fortunately the wind was a lot weaker than forecast. Maybe 4 m/s against 7 m/s, that means only a third of the wind force. Again the forecast had missed on the high side. No complaints about that either.

We paddled through the islets and skerries west of Engeløya in light winds and light rain. Best to be in the kayaks, but lunch is also necessary so we stopped at the remains of Batterie Dietl, one of the largest forts built by the Germans during WW2. Or not built by them, but rather by 2000 Russian POWs and three thousand more forced laborers from across Europe. It was built to control Vestfjorden and protect the sea lane to Narvik an important source of (Swedish) iron ore.

We paddled on to Manshausen with just one more short break and arrived at 1700. Two hours before dinner. Time to empty the boats and hang the first batch of wet stuff out to dry.

We live in the quarters called the “Expedition loft”. When we spread out with all our stuff it looks the part.

The restaurant was full (!) for the evening, but an excellent plan B was the “cabin dinner”. Monkfish with potatoes and cabbage. A very tasty meal, if not exepdition size.

Tomorrow we will rest and dry our stuff, weather be damned.

Korsnes to Lundøya. 44 km, 5.4 km/hr average speed. Start 1020 arrive 2200.

When we woke up the ocean was gone way out in the long shallow bay in front of the boathouses. Fortunately it started to return during breakfast, but it was still a distance to carry the boats when we were ready to set off. It was a full moon yesterday and the tidal difference has increased from about 1 m as we left Tromsø in a new moon to about 2 m today. Fortunately carrying of the boats is easily done with four in the team. Otherwise the carry of boats over slippery seaweed grown boulders is one of the more risky activities in terms getting hurt.

The rain we had been promised was fortunately delayed again, it only arrived as we crossed toward Tranøy and only as a drizzle. When we arrived at Tranøy after about 13 km, it was time for a break and some resupply of dinner. Tranøy has 51 inhabitants during winter and the grocery shop had gone bankrupt during this winter, but it had now been brought back in operation. This story is the same story we often heard along the coast of Sweden and Finland in 2018. To lose the grocery shop could easily be a tipping point for such a small society.

Now it is summer on Hamarøy and the nature and the connection to Hamsun swells the population with people working in the tourist business. Amongst them was three guys from Turkey living in Gjøvik (Norway). They live here in the summer and run Svolværingen Restaurant and Pub, which is housed inside an old whaling boat. They said that after they had opened in médio June the business had been better than last year. We know all this because we did a thorough investigation including sampling their fare for lunch. The menu was restricted, but what they did they did well. A good approach.

Investigations take time and we spent more than two hours ashore at Tranøy. Still more than 30 km to go. But now there were less wide open bays and more close land which make the paddle more interesting. And every so often an eagle or two would lift off as we approached, or some puffins would appear, or the water would boil from a shoal of fish.

Still the paddle was a long one and we stopped twice for comfort and maintenance of blood sugar. We were now paddling through small archipelagos with scattered sandy beaches. It must be an eldorado to explore by kayak on sunny summer days.

Even if today wasn’t sunny, the head wind was a lot gentler than forecast. We had doubted if we could make it all the way to Lundøya because of the forecast, but we decided to push across the ferry lane in Økssundet and look for shelter in a cove there where it seemed that there were some buildings.

Just before we got there two eagles lifted off, flew up a bit, locked claws and came rotating and tumbling down, before the let go just in time to avoid a crash. A privilege to watch.

The “buildings” we had seen on Google turned out to be a huge and sturdy quay. Well maintained and recently invested in. An ideal place to set up the tents on a rainy night. We took a short walk before a late dinner, and just like the quay there were a well maintained house and a barn, but no people and no livestock even though some of the gras had been harvested.

Stein found out that Lundøya had been a community of 265 people in 1945 before it declined. No road was ever built there (or on Lundøya at all), so when the ocean was replaced by roads as the main communication routes Lundøya was left without inhabitants. This shift form the sea as a means of communication to an obstacle was drastic and happened many places along the coast in the second half of last century.

So much for local history, then it was time for Karianne’s salmon in sour cream with bullion cooked rice. A tasty end to a long day. Then it was just time to creep into the tents before the rain started.

Tomorrow we plan to go to Borge Ousland’s place at Manshausen, there we also plan to have a rest and drying day as per the habit of RSKE. It isn’t long, but strong headwind of 7+ m/s are forecast so it can be a hard 30 km. WP