Sailing Norway: From Bodø via Leka to Trondheim – Late Summer 2025

🧭 Factsheet

Route: From Bodø to Trondheim
Dates: 12 August – 5 September 2025
Logged: 362 nm
Days in harbour: 11
Days at anchor: 0
Highlights: Sailing into the Hollandsfjorden to Svartisen

📍 Our Route & Legs

Leg: Bodø → Engen (Svartisen)

On the way north, we’d originally skipped the detour to Svartisen. After weeks of crowded jetties and busy harbours, we weren’t keen on motoring far into a long fjord only to turn back if the tiny pier was full. There aren’t many anchoring spots either. When we left Bodø, our plan was to sail just a few miles south and continue to Svartisen the next day.

But as we checked YR.no, it became clear: we probably had only one good day left before a storm would hit the coast. And not just that – rain was forecast almost continuously. So we wouldn’t have been able to leave the fjord easily either. The pier itself offers no services – basically just a path to the glacier tongue. That’s it.

Still, our sail turned into a proper “rainbow tour”. We spotted around seven magnificent rainbows, got soaked just as many times, and left a trail of colours for others to enjoy. The fjord leg itself was windy, with big waves – quite a spectacle. We arrived in Engen just before nightfall, all peaceful, and luckily found a spot at the pier.

Leg: Engen → Bolga

An absolutely fantastic view on the Bolga hike

The next morning, we set off unusually early – 7 a.m. – for the glacier. And wow: the detour was absolutely worth it. Stunning scenery! We didn’t have time to hike all the way to the glacier tongue, though, as we needed to reach Bolga around midday. Back at the boat, we got TIAMAT ready to sail. Not a moment too soon – just as we moored, the sky closed in.

Bolga is also great for hiking. We made use of one of the rare fine days to tackle the Trail around Bolga.

Leg: Bolga→ Sandnessjøn

Once the storm had passed, we headed south. The leg from Tonnes to Nesna was a wild ride, with plenty of aft waves and more wind than expected. Sailing just with the genoa in the second reef, we made a solid 6 knots, peaking over 8. Thrilling, sometimes fun, sometimes right at the edge of our comfort zone.

A couple of days later, we continued to Sandnessjøen. A lovely town and harbour, just a stone’s throw from the famous Seven Sisters of the Helgeland saga – though we didn’t see them during our two-day stay. It rained almost constantly, so we spent the time shopping and using the included washer and dryer to catch up on laundry.

Leg: Sandnessjøn → Skei (Leka)

After two stopovers in Ylvingen and Berg, we continued to Leka. The last days of August blessed us with sun and light winds, so the half-wind sail came out again. Even with wind mostly from astern, we comfortably made 4 knots.

The small harbour at Skei, run by the local yacht club, offers decent service – not cheap, but very good. The next day, we called it a midday stop and borrowed bikes to explore the island. Leka is truly exceptional and deserves a longer visit.

Humans have lived on Leka for over 10,000 years, leaving behind prehistoric sites like the Solsemhula cave paintings (south, reachable from an anchorage but only with a summer guide) and burial mounds/ship graves at Herlaugshaugen in Skei, right by the harbour. Geologically, the island is remarkable too: the reddish rock visible on Leka is unique in Europe, only otherwise found in North America. We cycled the tour on standard mountain bikes (excellent hire bikes) – a bit of exercise never hurt, though some hills required pushing. Definitely more climbs than in the Netherlands or Denmark.

Leg: Skei → Storfosna → Trondheim

From Skei, we continued via Rørvik (for provisioning), Villa, Ansteinsundet, Lysøysundet, to Storfosna. We had hoped to stay longer. The harbour and island were beautiful. Unfortunately, the first proper autumn storm was coming, and we wouldn’t have been well protected. So, after work the next day, we reluctantly sailed on to Sjursvika. The small harbour there was perfectly sheltered, and we patiently waited for the storm to pass before continuing to Trondheim.

The Trondheimfjord is an amazing cruising area, probably enough to spend a whole holiday sailing. We, however, wanted to explore the city and stayed a full month. We also wanted to see if the harbour and city were suitable for overwintering – long story short, not really. Too cold and inconvenient, especially with no water supply at the pier or when approaching. We would have had to carry jerry cans. So, in early October, we set off to Kristiansund, where we found a lovely winter berth.