9 Nights
Sea Miles 180
Sunday 30th June to Tuesday 9th July 2019
Full Price £1350
Early Bird Price £1250
Limited Spaces Remaining
Join The Ship In Bodø, Norway at 6pm on Sunday 30th June.
Leave Bodø 10am on Tuesday 9th July.
To get the Early Bird Price you must book before Jan 5th 2019.
Sailing in the magical Norwegian Lofoten islands with some of the best scenery in the world. Become part of this extraordinary landscape on an eye catching traditional schooner, take a walk ashore, catch a fish for dinner, and become a key part of the ships crew.
Places we might visit include Røst, Sørvågen, Henningsvær, Skrova, and Kabelvåg – the exact itinerary will evolve when you are onboard according to the wind direction.
If you like to get out for a walk up a steep hill bring some suitable footwear.
The sailing and the company were great, as expected – the real revelation was Norway, which was stunningly beautiful, an intricate mixture of mountains, fjords and islands big and small, wonderful colours, villages and hamlets nestled into the landscape, all seemingly without end.
Stephen
Bodø, with a population of 47,000, is 50 miles north of the Arctic Circle and is capital of the county of Nordland. For the tourist the airport is very convenient but there is not a whole lot to do here and it is mainly a stepping off place for activities in the region.
Bodø is memorable for us because Trinovante was involved in a re-enactment battle here, attacking the city fort with musket fire while the city fired back with cannon.
On the evening you arrive onboard Trinovante will probably leave Bodø and head for a secluded anchorage ready to set sail the following morning for Lofoten.
Remember this is the land of the midnight sun – it won’t be getting dark so after dinner you can sit on deck and soak up some Norwegian scenery.
Emerging on deck around midnight, I should not have been surprised to see the sun still shining, but nonetheless I was. There, amongst the scattered yellow and orange clouds in the north, it glowed well above the horizon.
Geoff
A first sighting of the Lofoten archipelago is mindblowing. Approaching from the sea jagged teeth rise from the depths, close up they are even more imposing.
Sometimes called the Lofoten Wall the archipelago is a string of mountainous islands that can be seen from many miles away running all along the horizon.
There is approximately a 60 mile passage at the start and finish of this voyage. The rest of the time will be relatively short hops between harbours on the east side of Lofoten.
Winds are generally light at this time of year in the Lofotens. Trinovante has some light weather white sails for these conditions meaning we can ghost along on the lightest of breezes. However, we should caution that it could also be windy. If we knew, it wouldn’t be an adventure.
In the far north of Norway mirages at sea are common and extraordinary. We have seen breaking waves in the distance where there are none, massive islands hanging in the air. Upside down houses.
This mirage photo was taken approaching the island of Rost right on the southern tip of the Lofotens.
Cod fishing has been massive in the North of Norway for hundreds of years. In winter the cod come down from the Barents sea to breed.
Cod drying racks are everywhere. There is even a village specialising in dried cods heads – someone told us they were for export to Nigeria.
When fully dry the cod is stiff as a board, hard as wood. With an energetic bashing it can be broken up and eaten with a beer. Past crews have pronounced it surprisingly good. Would you?
Will we be catching fish for dinner? It is very likely we’ll catch cod, haddock, saithe or ling – unless you are a vegetarian of course.
This is a sailing holdiay not walking holiday but we do like to climb a steep hill now and then.
Here in Lofoten there are lots of walking options often with fantastic views. Walks ashore are generally free form. The crew might all go for a walk together or people may head off on their own.
The Norwegians love walking and there are lots of marked trails. Our crew were once rather sweatily labouring up a hill thinking they were generally doing OK only to have an entire Norwegian family run up hill past them. That was Mum, Dad, three children who looked to be between 7 and 13 plus Granny. Hi, Hi they cheerily waved as they steamed past. Oh Well.
Bring some suitable footware – or running gear if you are that keen.
It was so hard to pick the photos to illustrate this voyage. There were so many great photos to choose from.
The changing light and moods of the sea and sky, the landscape and the details ashore.
Personally we like to think not just about the big picture but the small things too.
Su has a whole collection of Norwegian fungi taken on walks in the woods and mountains, we won’t bore you with that here. But perhaps a photo of wild cloudberries – a Norwegian speciality.
You are sure to head home with some fantastic photos.
All voyage notes refer only to possible itineraries – where we sail, passage lengths, the type of sailing and the places we call into will be entirely dependent on the wind and weather at the time.
Check our Frequently Asked Questions Page or just get in touch for a chat.
It will be Su or John picking up the phone
