The Skjoldastraumen is a shallow waterway with swift currents, suitable only for small craft. To allow larger boats to reach the Skjoldafjorden beyond, a lock was built between 1904-1908. For many decades steam ships regularly passed through the locks, carrying people and goods between Skjoldafjorden and the larger centers of Stavanger and Haugesund. Today mostly pleasure craft use the locks, currently the only operating saltwater lock in Norway.

Following a 17-mile, 2.6-hour trip from the Sjernaroyane group, we found a beautiful sheltered anchorage in the inner basin at Romsalandsvagen, then ran the tender through Skjoldastraumen to tour Skjoldafjorden and check out the lock. And before the tender trip, we remanufactured our tender seat for improved comfort and water resistance.

Below are highlights from August 4th, 2020. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

Sunrise Position: 59°13.75’N, 5°49.11’E Beautiful pink sky as we get underway from the anchorage at Nodholmen.

Sjernaroy Bridge Position: 59°14.05’N, 5°49.00’E Heading under 10m Sjernaroy Bridge. With our 30ft (9.14m) air draft we had a good 3 feet to spare.

Raudholmen Position: 59°19.29’N, 5°37.00’E Looking east to the light on the islet Raudholmen as we head north into Hervikfjorden.

Batavika Position: 59°22.46’N, 5°37.32’E Still water reflections at Batavika on the west side of Hervikfjorden.

Anchorage View Position: 59°24.49’N, 5°35.34’E View to the anchorage at Romsalandsvagen (clockwise from top left: forward, aft, starboard and port). We initially were planning to anchor in the outer bay, but found a clear path into the inner basin. It’s a lovely sheltered spot with islets all around.

Tender Seat Position: 59°24.49’N, 5°35.34’E The seat on our tender absorbs water and the foam compresses flat when we sit and isn’t very comfortable. So we removed it to see if we can replace the padding.

Removing Old Foam Position: 59°24.48’N, 5°35.35’E Scraping off the glued-in old foam from the tender seat.

Fitting Position: 59°24.48’N, 5°35.36’E Fitting some denser foam for the tender seat.

Spray Adhesive Position: 59°24.48’N, 5°35.36’E Spraying adhesive onto the new foam for the tender seat.

Another Layer Position: 59°24.47’N, 5°35.34’E Adding another layer of foam to the tender seat. The thicker and denser padding won’t compress as much and is closed-cell so won’t absorb water.

Restapling Position: 59°24.47’N, 5°35.34’E Restapling the tender seat back together after replacing the padding.

Reinstalling Seat Position: 59°24.47’N, 5°35.34’E Reinstalling the tender seat. It’s much more comfortable than before.

Skjoldastraumen Bridge Position: 59°25.67’N, 5°37.41’E Passing under the low bridge across the Skjoldastraumen, just north of our anchorage at Romsalandsvagen, into the Skjoldafjorden. This is the body of water we could see from our hike to Granuten.

Skjoldastraumen Lock Position: 59°25.72’N, 5°37.23’E The passage we took in the tender through the Skjoldastraumen is shallow, and the current can be quite strong. To allow larger boats to reach the Skjoldafjorden beyond, a lock was built between 1904-1908. For many decades steam ships regularly passed through the locks, carrying people and goods between Skjoldafjorden and the larger centers of Stavanger and Haugesund. Today mostly pleasure craft use the locks. This is the only operating saltwater lock in Norway. A second lock was built at Lindas near Bergen, but this fell into disuse in the 1960s. Plans were underway to reopen them, but was far as we know they are still not operating.

Lock Doors Position: 59°25.76’N, 5°37.22’E The original, still-operational lock doors from 1908.

Skjold Position: 59°30.07’N, 5°35.31’E Beautiful modern view homes at the north end of the Skjoldafjorden.

Hills Position: 59°27.03’N, 5°29.76’E Wind-scrubbed hills along the western side of the Skjoldafjorden.

Exiting Lock Position: 59°25.87’N, 5°37.11’E A pleasure craft exiting the Skjoldastraumen Lock. With the shallow water and low air draft at the bridge we took the tender under, only smaller boats can pass through there and everyone else needs to use the lock.

Bridge Closing Position: 59°25.79’N, 5°37.21’E The bridge closing at the Skjoldastraumen Lock after a boat passes through.

Swans Position: 59°24.47’N, 5°35.07’E Dozens and dozens of swans cover the waters near our anchorage off Romsalandsvagen.

Poyla Creek Position: 59°24.32’N, 5°35.24’E Creek draining the lake Poyla into the south side of our anchorage.

Pizzeria Dirona Position: 59°24.50’N, 5°35.33’E It’s been months since we’ve been to a restaurant, but we can still get our pizza fix at Pizzeria Dirona.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.