The next major passage is to round Lindesnes. This has something of a reputation in moderate to strong winds. It is the most southerly point of Norway and with rapid shoaling around it and the meeting of different currents, plus the fact that it is incredibly exposed making it challenging in anything other than benign weather. So, we have been watching the forecast for days and it looks like Saturday will give us a relatively calm rounding.
To help us get a little closer and reduce the passage round tomorrow we headed today to Ramslandsvågen – a small bay on the east coast of the Lindesnes peninsula. We are moored there alongside a jetty outside the old Jonni Gabrielsen factory – there they made barrels and also canned herring. It is now called the Lindesnes Kystkulturcenter, but, in common with a lot of things, we are too early in the season for it to be open.
Just before we came to the bay we went past a place called Båly. This has a marina and is also the location for the Spangereid canal. This enables motorboats to bypass Lindesnes, but with a bridge height restriction of 4.5m, this is not an option for us! It is also, however, the location for a unique restaurant. The restaurant is simply called ‘Under’ and all that is visible of it above the water is a large concrete tube-like structure heading down into the water. The main dining area is then just over 5 metres below the surface with a large glass wall giving a view of the marine environment beyond. Indeed the chef will apparently give a shopping list to one of the staff who will then put on diving gear to collect the things he wants! It has one Michelin star and given that and its notoriety, it is near impossible to get a table, so that should save us quite a bit of money!
