When we returned back south of the notorious headland Stad in early January from Haddalsvika, conditions were so calm that we continued along the exposed outer coast rather than taking the more protected channel past Maloy. It was our first time passing the Krakenes Lighthouse, pictured above, on the western coast of Vagsoy, where several wind records have been recorded. We anchored for the night at Hennoysundet, amid more beautiful winter scenery.

Below are highlights from Jan 5th, 2021. 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.

Dragsundet Bridge Position: 62°16.83’N, 5°50.05’E Approaching the Dragsundet Bridge. The air clearance is 65-ft (20m), but the channel between the bridge supports is quite narrow. We felt we could almost touch each side as we passed through. At night everything seems closer.

Stad Position: 62°12.64’N, 5°7.70’E Rounding a snow-dusted Stad.

SendError Position: 62°12.61’N, 5°7.60’E Our primary depthsounder has been intermittent for the last two weeks and recently has gone away entirely. We have a second depthsounder that we can rely on, but when operating in tight quarters, not always with excellent charts, we really like two pieces of data confirmation the situation.

Sunrise Position: 62°10.66’N, 5°4.58’E Spectacular 9:49am sunrise as we complete our rounding of Stad.

Krakenes Lighthouse Position: 62°2.15’N, 4°58.19’E Conditions were calm, so we continued south past Stad on the exposed outer coast rather than taking the more protected channel past Maloy. This is Krakenes Lighthouse, completed in 1906. The lighthouse was automated in 1986 and the keeper’s house, Stormhuset (the Stormhouse) can now be rented for overnight stays. The lighthouse stands on one of the most exposed sections of the Norwegian west coast between Bergen and Alesund, and has recorded several wind records.

Veten Position: 61°57.54’N, 4°59.04’E 2,011-ft (613m) Veten, viewed from sea.

Hennoysundet Anchorage Position: 61°48.99’N, 5°13.54’E Our anchorage in Hennoysundet in 46 ft (14 m) on 175 ft (53 m) of rode.

Faucets Position: 61°48.96’N, 5°13.50’E Likely our first bit of cold weather damage. The freshwater faucet froze up, damaging the sealing washer. We replaced the faucet with a spare, but since we’re down to only one remaining spare, we took apart the freeze-damaged part and were able to successfully replace the sealing washer.

Aksla Position: 61°48.96’N, 5°13.50’E View from the anchorage at Hennoysundet to 1,942-ft (592m) Aksla (the cliff at right).

Happy Hour Position: 61°48.97’N, 5°13.51’E Happy Hour at Hennoysundet with our starboard floodlight illuminating the island of Hennoyna in the background. Last year in Amsterdam, we upgraded the sidelights from 70-watt to 150-watt, and the new ones have an impressive reach.

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.