Lovund

Barba at anchor on the south side of Lovund. By Lars Korvald. 

Barba continues her relentless push towards the north. The days are becoming shorter, and it´s getting colder, as expected. Normally we could have added some sentences on how we battle with the wind and elements. To date, October has still been dead calm, with virtually no wind, and exceptionally good weather.

Selfie by Kari, in Brønnøysund. The northern lights are leading the way!

Since Brønnøysund, the skyline has changed dramatically. From the rather flat archipelago of the southern part of Norway, we are now surrounded by islands with steep mountains and to the east a distinct mountain range covers the horizon on the mainland.

Truls, the Barba mascot, ready to climb the Lovund mountain. 

We stopped at one of these islands, by the name of Lovund. It satisfies the following Barba destinations criteria: Good looking mountain that is possible to ascent within reasonable distance, a port/natural harbor without too much people in.

We arrived at night, mooring up on the inhabited east side. As the sun was on the rise, we moved on to what the charts, weather forecast and satellite photos indicated was a good shelter on the other side of the island.

Kari and Truls engaged in a friendly chat on the top of Lovund! By Lars Korvald. 

The anchor was dropped, and we paddled ashore to the beach. Truls led the way to the as we followed the only path up, located just next to our anchorage. 625 meters of vertical climbing later, we could enjoy a scenic view from the top.

The paraglider in the lower right corner, dwarfed by the Lovund mountain. By Lars Korvald 

As there had been little action for a couple of days, paragliding off the mountain was the perfect way to get down. The grass covered top made for a good takeoff. The view was somewhat limited due to a cloud, but Lars had the drone flying and could confirm excellent visibility 100 meters out. It was to be one of the most scenic flights I have experienced to date. Sun, dead calm waters, with some eagles in the air, and finally a spot landing on the beach.

Barba at anchor, with the landing seen  in the lower right corner. 

Well back onboard Barba, we spent a quiet night at anchor. The following morning, we sailed on towards Bodø, stopping for the nigh on an island close to Gildeskål, where we all agreed we could have spent a week with ease. However, the goal for the expedition adventure awaits up north.

Andreas

Barba in the Bodø harbor. By Svetlana Romantsova

Outsailed distance. Lofoten next

BEHIND THE SCENE

Kari and Lars on their way to work.

Barba in port at Fugløya 

Heidi, Kari and Andreas, waiting for the wind to pick up. 

The forward basecamp at the top of Lovund. By Lars Korvald

Airborne. The flight was documented with no less then 4 GoPro´s. Video in the making. 

Going in for landing. By Lars Korvald.