Floating Low to Lofoten

by Martin Edge

“Floating Low to Lofoten” is the story of a trip to the Norwegian Arctic aboard my 27ft yacht. In 2008 we crossed the North Sea from the Firth of Forth, then I cruised northwards, above the Arctic Circle to north of the Lofoten Islands. Most, but by no means all of this journey, was sailed solo.Having decided to explore the west coast of Norway a friend asked me how far up I intended to go. Without having bothered to look at a map I replied casually that I’d probably just nip up to the Lofotens. He seemed surprised. So was I when I took a quick look at a chart and saw how far up they were.This is not, as I’m sure you can tell, a tale of conquering the savage seas against all odds. Neither does it claim to be a pilot book or sailing directions. It’s just the story of a holiday in a wee boat that went a bit further than most people manage in a summer cruise.The whole of the landscape of the Atlantic coast of Norway is fantastically scenic, but the further north you go the more stunning it gets and I’ve tried to give a sense of that in this volume. The verdant hills, populous towns and thriving economy of rural Norway, even way up beyond the Arctic Circle, offer lessons for our barren glens and depopulated communities in Scotland.Cruising alone in this marvellous, sheltered environment could be said to heighten the critical faculties. It could also be said to cause me to rant a lot. This is not the kind of detailed sailing log that documents the minutest of wind shifts and the colour of that morning’s ‘Y’-fronts. As well as the story of a sailing cruise it’s a series of observations about the nature, culture, people, economy and boats of the places I passed through.This is the second in a series of cruising ‘logs’ about Zophiel’s voyages. “Skagerrak and Back” is the tale of a North Sea circuit, “A Gigantic Whinge on the Celtic Fringe” is the story of our circumnavigation of Ireland and "Bobbing to the Baltic" describes a trip from Edinburgh to the Russian border.Recently some of the people who have been slandered in these tales have suggested that they should be used for kindling. I’ve taken these kind words to heart, so here they are formatted for your Kindle.This volume contains a lot of colour photographs. If you’re struggling with grainy black and white on a ‘Kindle’, there’s more sailing tales and the full set of colour photos from this volume at

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 14, 2011

Reviews

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably Edge's best book on sailing.
The author takes us from Port Edgar on the east coast of Scotland to the Lofoten Islands on Norway's coast, well up towards the arctic. Edge's surprisingly delicate prose is easy to read, detailed and humorous. He goes into some detail about his route, includes some photos (that come out poorly on a kindle btw...) and provides a complete trip report (none of this speeding through the last bits like Ryhs-Jones' 'To the Baltic with Bob' (although I liked this book too).
Edge's yacht 'Zophiel' must have done thousands of miles in the various summers and I'm glad that her skipper has such a way of telling others of his adventures. For a keen yachtsman, this is a great read. It keeps it real - by pointing out not only the best bits of sailing (the bits you remember), but also the bits that are plainly absurd, but that are necessary to take part in this past time - paying through the nose for basic anchorages, the joys of dealing with other sea users etc but in the end you feel Edge 'gets' this and can articulate why we keep coming back to it.