Day 81: Thursday 30th July, 2026. Golma Island to Ulsteinvik. Duration: 13.5 hours We had thought we would take a couple of passages to reach the end of our 2026 adventure...but the Weather Gods had different ideas, bringing us more winds on Friday which meant the open stretches of water we still had to navigate could be pretty unpleasant...so we decided a mega passage today would be the preferred option... Away by 7.30am again, the first four hours were pretty open to the o

Days 78, Monday 27th July, 2026 79, Tuesday 28th July, 2026 80, Wednesday 29th July, 2026 Kuringvagen to Golma Island Duration: 12 hours As forecast, Monday and Tuesday brought gale force gusts and wet weather...so we hunkered down and grabbed the odd walk in the gaps between showers. Come Wednesday we were very ready to be on the move again, so got up early and were back heading south by 7.30am...leaving Kuringvagen under the bridge we had cycled over a

Day 77: Sunday 26th July, 2026. Kuringvagen After a windy night and a good nights sleep we had a leisurely get up, and debated whether to do a very small hop later in the day when the winds dropped for a few hours, but decided to opt for some longer legs and a few days safely tucked into this delightful and well-sheltered harbour. Although the day had gale force gusts it was to be dry, so we grabbed lunch at Kuringvagen Brygge,... ...and then got on our trusty bikes to do th

Day 76: Saturday 25th July, 2026 Leka to Kuringvagen Duration: 12 hours The winds and rain that had been heavy overnight died by early morning, so we were up at 6.30am and cast off by 7 to get an early start on our double passage of 12 hours ahead. Although long, the passage proved to be really calm with only a slight easterly which helped propel us south down the coast... through the inner leads and past Rorvik, and the start of going under bridges more regularly again ... .

Day 74 & 75: Thursday 22nd July & Friday 23 July, 2026 Torghatten to Leka; Leka Duration: 4 hours A short 4 hour hop down the inner leads to Leka - which we thought looked a good place to hole up for more rain and strong winds that are forecast to come in tonight for at least 24 hours. The passage was a good one, and there was space for us on the harbour pontoon amongst the traditional Nordland boats who had popped in for their lunch... ...once safely secured we donned our wa

Day 72 & 73, Tuesday 21st July & Wednesday 22nd July, 2026 Heroy; Heroy to Torghatten. Duration: 6hrs 15mins As predicted Tuesday was another windy, rainy day...so we had decided that it would be a day of domestic duties... and so laundry was done, and end of trip plans made and booked. The weather stopped us exploring Heroy sadly, but we appreciated the odd vista en route to the washing machine... By Wednesday the winds had dropped, and the skies were brightening, so we fuel

Day 71: Monday 20th July, 2026 Rodoy to Heroy Duration: 9 hrs 10mins After a good night's sleep we awoke to greyer skies once more. A quick away, back into the protected inner leads, we swiftly passed the Arctic Circle Globe on Vikingen Island - (which we had excitedly passed heading North toward Midsummer, back on the 20th of June) - The Arctic Circle line is actually moving around 14 metres a year due to the Earth's shifting tilt, making a long and slow journey across Norw

Day 70: Sunday 19th July, 2026 Fleinvaer to Klokkergarden, Rodoy Duration: 6hrs 50mins We were awoken earlier than planned by a stronger wind than was forecast, and the resulting swell banging off the side of the hull. Those gusty winds made getting off the pontoon pretty tricky...but with some pushing and revving we finally made way and headed south... Quickly passing the familiar shape of Bolga Island, where we had taken that 'moderate hike' with its ladders and ropes on

Day 69: Saturday 18th July, 2026 Duration: 8hrs 20mins After another windy night, we awoke to the unusual sight of sunshine on the mountains of Reine and its' harbour below... ...so after a quick breakfast we untied and made way...saying goodbye to the Lofoten Islands.. ...and were treated to one more of her beautiful rainbows as we entered Vestfjorden one last time...this time heading south east... The winds were good for the Captain to do a spot of real sailing in the gentl

Day 67 & 68, Thursday 16th July & Friday 17th July, 2026. Reine Both days were mizzly grey days with the briefest of patches of blue sky and sunlight, which gave us two mornings of magical rainbows... On Thursday we had a gentle amble around the village streets of Reine... ...and visited the Reine Cultural Centre, which had two exhibitions with films about the Lofoten Islands natural seasonal cycles and its connections with farming the sea and the land ...as well as talking a

Day 66: Wednesday 15th July, 2026 Henningsvaer to Reine Duration: 6hrs 35mins The worst of the gusts had abated, so it was time to say goodbye to lovely Henningsvaer. Waterproofs on, lines untied, and fenders in.... and off we motored... ...into the fairly swelly, rolly waves of the Vestfjord for three or four hours...then on past the entrance to Nusjford... and a little further on, as the seas calmed a little, we approched Hannoy and its connecting bridge to Reine... The

Days 64 and 65: Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th July, 2026 Henningsvaer While most of Europe basks in another heatwave, we are in one of the only parts that is cooler than normal - but if you choose the Arctic Circle as your Summer destination that may not be surprising, and thankfully we have all our 'usual Scottish Summer Sailing clothes' and Henningsvaer is a nice place to be - even in high winds and rain with its offerings of nice cafes and daily yoga - which is what we cho

Day 63: Sunday 12th July, 2026 Henningsvaer After a late night and a disturbed sleep (due to a temperamental automatic bilge pump), we arose to a grey day. Thankful we had booked a slow flow yoga class that started late morning, we ambled along to Travarefabrikken's third floor where the football-watching space had been cleaned and transformed into a fantastic yoga space...and enjoyed a therapeutic and mindful hour and a half of yin yoga... ...Feeling nicely stretched and ope

Day 62: Saturday 11th July, 2026. Kabelvag to Henningsvaer Duration: 1hr 50mins The rain finally relented in the wee small hours and we awoke to the unusual sight of sunshine and bits of blue skies...so it was time to say goodbye to Kabelvag... ...and make the very short but bumpy hop to Henningsvaer - know as the 'Venice of the North' - a popular picturesque fishing village made up of a string of small islands connected by bridges, breakwaters and stone embankments... ...o

Day 61: Friday 10th July, 2026 Kabelvag Awoke after a very rainy night to a very rainy day - so our plan of exploring the close environs of Kabelvag seemed a good one... first stop was Hjornet Cafe for a lovely lunch, and then once the heavy rain had eased a bit we walked down to nearby Storvagen - where the commercial trade of cod fishing began... ...to visit the newly opened Skrei museum which is housed in the 'Otolith' building whose architecture is inspired by the cod's e

Day 60: Thursday 9th July, 2026 Tengelfjorden to Kabelvaag Duration: 5.5 hours After a unforecasted rainy night, we were up early to catch the high tide and make our way back down Raftsund... then south along the rather bouncy Oybellesund... Even without the sun, the peaks of the Lofotens are both beautiful and impressive, which is lucky as there is not much sign of the bright thing in the sky for the days ahead! As we pulled into Svolvaer - the capital of the Lofoten Islan

Day 59: Wednesday 8th July, 2026 Engeloya to Tengelfjorden (via Trollfjord) Duration: 5hrs 10 mins A leisurely get up in the morning sun, and then anchor raised for our last northward leg... bidding Engeloya adieu...and heading into the marked channel through the skerries... ...away from the mainland, toward the spiky silhouette of the Lofotoen island wall - whose scale can only be fully appreciated when the white sail of a passing yacht is visible... ...entering the more op

Day 58: Tuesday 7th July, 2026 Bodo to Engeloya Duration: 7hrs 30mins Having travelled back from Edinburgh via Stockholm yesterday, we had already topped up the water tanks and filled the fridge, so it just left a quick refuel in the rain first thing. It felt really good to be leaving Bodo, which has been our least liked stop. Apart from being a handy (but expensive) hub to leave the boat, it had felt quite depressive in both mood and atmosphere - probably not helped by the w

Day 57: Wednesday 24th June, 2026 Bodo After a truly terrrible nights sleep thanks to a pair of middle-aged partying Norwegian motor boat neighbours, we blearily got up to see them still drinking and decided that a hotel looked rather appealing before we travel home tomorrow...so with hotel booked, and bags packed, we struck out into the lovely sunny day to go to an exhibition at the Nord Norsk Kunst Museum... The exhibition was by an artist called Britta Marakatt-Labba, an

Day 56: Tuesday 23rd June, 2026. Bolga to Bodo Duration: 6hrs 30mins The rains eased just enough for us to leave Bolga without getting too soggy... ...taking the inshore route into Gasvaerfjord and then Stottfjord, with more dramatic but cloudtopped scenery and scatterings of small skerries and islands... ...and after 6 uneventful hours we began our entry into a very busy Bodo harbour... ...where with great encouragement and help from a Dutchman we squeeeeezed ourselves into