You haven’t truly experienced Norway before you’ve seen Finnmark, our northernmost county. It has a stark beauty all its own – I’ve seen few places on this planet where scenery is as overwhelming.
From Honningsvåg we sailed to Gamvik, where we received the great reception that I told you about – with a huge Norwegian flag decorating the gangway. True to local tradition, Mayor Marius Nilsen spun the wheel to give us a lucky number for our journey. And the number is 52!
Our plan from there was to sail directly to Vardø, but fighting direct headwinds we decided to wait it out in Berlevåg, another fishing village on the coast. The advantage, of course, is that we got a chance to watch the World Cup Bronze match between Germany and Uruguay at the local Neptun Pub. We might as well enjoy pizza, beer and sporting events on giant screens while we still have the chance!
When the wind turned, we continued to Vardø. (See yesterday’s video.) During our brief stay we were given a tour of Vardø Radio Station. The weather was with us when we left, and the following wind pushed us along at 8–10 knots. We used the opportunity to test our drag anchor. It behaves like an underwater “parachute”, which slows us down and makes it easier to control our boat in poor weather conditions. It worked well.
Soon we are starting on a more challenging part of our expedition. You might say that the journey up the Norwegian coast has merely been a comfortable preamble to the real adventure. On 21 July we sail for Murmansk and continue toward the Northeast Passage.
We’re now in Kirkenes, taking the opportunity to fine-tune our equipment and bring new supplies on board. Our journey from Oslo to Kirkenes, which took a fortnight, was a very useful, further test of our boat, our skills and routines. Thorough preparations are essential for such a demanding expedition – and we’re putting our days in Kirkenes to very good use.
We’ll tell you more about that soon.
The drag anchor works like an underwater parachute.
At Slettnes lighthouse.
Visiting Vardø Radio Station.
