Brønnøysund...midpoint and myths...

Day 51: Thursday 18th June, 2026

Duration: 7hrs 35mins

A dry and still morning, so up and out and ever Northward....leaving Rørvik and re-entering the narrow channel and still waters of the Naeroysund ...

...Following the inner lead between the mainland and Lauvoya, Gjerdinga and the Risvaer archipelego...and all of its beautiful scenery....

...where the Captain spotted a large fox dragging a fiesty fish into the trees (but I failed to photograph) ...and on into Lekafjord...with the island of Leka on our left...which geologically is part of the Caledonian range which runs from Scotland up the coast of Norway to Svalbard....

...and the island of Austra on our right...

...and a rather fine navigation beacon that helped with my lighthouse obsession...

...As the cloud built up behind us....

...the legendary granite, square hat-shaped, mountain of Torgatten came into view, with the snow capped Seven Sisters behind...

...Legend has it that the hole that runs straight through its centre was created when the troll 'Hestmannen, the horseman' shot an arrow at a maiden. The Troll King of the Somna mountains thankfully threw his hat in the way to save her, and the arrow pierced straight through his hat, just as the sun was rising...which turned the pierced hat to stone, and is the mountain we can see today. .. Boring geologists say the hole was formed as a result of 'glacial rebound' and that 12,000 years ago the hole was at sea level and caused by wave action...

...and then the sweeping Brønnøysund bridge, which we passed underneath...

...and Brønnøysund beyond...our stop for the night - a small sea port that sits half-way up the the long northward edge of Norway..

The rain finally caught us up, and our bow thruster refused to play ball...but we safely tied up, and as it poured down outside, the Captain discovered a faulty fuse and got the thruster working again...giving me time to discover there was a very good gastronomic eatery called 'Svang' just a few steps from the dock... which we obviously had to experience...4 courses of exquisite locally-sourced fodder which added to our ever- increasing waistlines...

...and then an after-dinner amble around the town's fresh water lagoon...before returning to the boat and bed...