Good marketing can leave many victims. The Lofoten archipelago surged to the top of numberless top-ten lists with its extravagant peaks and adrenalinic wilderness, and travellers just cannot wait to get there. To do so they have several options: private transport talibans can use cars, motorbikes or sailboats. And in all these cases they need to cross the Vestfjorden from one of the many ports of the eastern coast that runs between Bodo and Narvik. And when we travel, we tend to look forward, so not many have a look back when taking off from the coast, all eager to catch a glimpse of the magic Lofoten. As a sailor I was luckier, and while searching for something to see on the ‘calm’ side of the Vestfjorden I had the luck to indulge more on more around this very peculiar stretch of coast.
Leaving the mainland at Kjerringoy the N-bound sailor meets the first islands of Steigen around Vettoya in less then a couple of hours. In doing so he rarely looks east, where a system of hundreds of miles of almost desert fjord begins, an area seldom visited and deserving just a week of its own. Vettoya, small and completely desert, has a beach that can take breath away, and its just the first of a series of island and islets guarding a team of several high promontories protruding into the Vestfjorden for 30 miles of so. The resulting sequence of beach, island, channel, cape and so on and on is a kaleidoscope of picture perfect views where one is just happy to be alive.
Norwegians have never been keen victims of marketing techniques and the area is far from deserted, but the advent of power moved the fishing fleet closer to the grounds, so few old salts remain based here, with avuncular classic vessels. But the coast is dotted with tiny villages, churches, cottages and small ports. But the linear extension of coastline packed into these 30 miles is so abundant that the general impression is to be always alone. Which is a sure fact sailingwise, as one will never be tempted to use the radio for communications, as the only floating thing one meets is the regular fast ferry service.
The first of these ports is Hellnessund which is the opposite of hell, a sparsed village of beautifully tended houses and gardens, a superb yacht club and some nice hikes around. Probably one of the best places where to wait for good weather.
The sail continues north and a stop at the island of Maloya is a must. Rather low but with a triplet of steep hills to offer a pleasant hike and a better view, the island is surrounded by white beaches and welcoming coves. A walk up the hill, a picnic in blueberry fields, a book watching the boat anchred and mountains in the background, that is perfect marketing.
The next capes defend the island of Engeloya, which has two starkly different sides. The western mountains, high and steep, precipitate in a mindboggling mix of islets, beaches and channels which can probably offer the biggest anchorage area of the vicinities. The eastern side is lower and pastoral, with a small and a bit run-down port, aptly named Rotness, surrounded by green pastures and low hills. The northern cape of Engeloya ends in a series of channels and islets called Brunvær and protected with the status of National Park, basically an extremely large and blue swimming pool surrounded by rocks and white beaches. These geographical ensembles of islets protecting sheltered seas are called vær in Norwegian, fishing village or centre, but the same word indicates, interestingly, weather.
Curious sailors will be amply rewarded with a detour along the channels east of Lundoya and Engeloya. The intersection of 4 main waterways hosts a vast collection of small islands separated by white beaches that magically appear at low water. It’s surreal to anchor and swim among an almost endless collection of islets, rocks and trees emerging from azure waters, a real tropical sight, while the view runs far to meet high peaks covered with snow even in August.
Curious sailors will be amply rewarded with a detour along the channels east of Lundoya and Engeloya. The intersection of 4 main waterways hosts a vast collection of small islands separated by white beaches that magically appear at low water. It’s surreal to anchor and swim among an almost endless collection of islets, rocks and trees emerging from azure waters, a real tropical sight, while the view runs far to meet high peaks covered with snow even in August.
The last vær lies southwest of the Hammaroy peninsula, dominated by the vertical walls of the Hammaroyshaft. Here, again, the visiting sailor will rarely meet any other boat, and will feel like the owner of the place. Actually, like the king of the World.
The last vær lies southwest of the Hammaroy peninsula, dominated by the vertical walls of the Hammaroyshaft. Here, again, the visiting sailor will rarely meet any other boat, and will feel like the owner of the place. Actually, like the king of the World.
