We bid farewell to Salto, who we have sailed with on and off for close to a month, and to Carmensita this morning after two nights in Svolvaer. Salto was going back to the coast and Carmensita down the Lofoten island. We, on the other hand, was heading north.

Our first goal was Trollfjorden, a magical, mystical little fjord. In lies about 15 nm from Svolvaer. It is only 100 m wide and a few miles deep but absolutely breathtaking. No wonder there are so many tourist boats in there, even Hurtigruten goes in.

Trollfjorden lies of the southern end of Raftsund, one of a few navigable passages north to south between the islands of the Lofoten chain. As the islands are blocking the tide, the current runs strong in these sounds.

We had tried to time our passage to be at the beginning of the north going tide when the current is building. A prolonged farewell on the dock and, stopping the boat in a failed attempt to catch dinner, had delayed us some.

We had a week following tide increasing to between 3 and 4 knots in the narrowest/shallowest parts up the scenic sound.

At the end of Raftsund lies one of few good anchorages in these parts, Skipoyosen on Brattoya. We saw one boat at anchor, a French boat that had left Svolvaer the day before. There were movements onboard, and they weighted their anchor as we came in, leaving the anchorage for us to use in splendid solitude.

A lovely place surprisingly well protected from the passing traffic in the nearby fairway.

We had a nice, sunny and warm afternoon and a magic evening admiring the lovely scenery.

It is a strange feeling to adjust your solar panels before you go to bed around midnight. Quite a lot of energy is generated as the midnight sun is shining through the night.