Skjeret-info., Bømlo-inf, Visit Sunnhordland, Outdoor Councel, Sea chart
Ringholmen lighthouse, Bømlo east.
59.53,50''N 05.05,65'' E. Our pilot’s hint at someone called “Nillo” (Nillo på Skjeret) fills the air with expectations as the sailboat rounds the point of Goddo, and turns to the northeast. We now run smoothly before the wind, leaving the open sea behind and soon glimps a bridge far ahead. From here Brandasund extends to the north. This sound has been a center of trade for more than 300 years, serving both Hanseatic traders and the fishing boats along the coast, with a boom during the great herring fisheries during the 18th and 19th century. The sound also had a cannery, now converted into a guesthouse – Fabrikkloftet – on the west side, on the island Gisøya. Today leisure boats and tourists are the most common visitors in the sound.
Brandasund
I go alongside the quay at the eastern shore, eager to find out more about this mysterious Nillo and her famous shop. But Nillo, it turns out, is not in her shop anymore. She has not been there for a while, but we meet her son, though, the friendly Bjarne Waage, now running the “new” shop just opposite of the old one. The new shop still sticks to the habit of selling all kind of goods, and therefore maintains some of the formers original air. I buy some batteries, some outdated date stamped foodstuffs and å chilly beer for our dear pilot. Then we enter the old shop. It’s like stepping into a time machine. Everything seems to be exactly the way it was when Pernille Waage (Nillo) served her customers, apart from more modern layers of dust. Nillo and her husband Anton arrived in Brandasund in 1922 and bought the shop. Nillo worked in the shop at all times, and was known by everyone. In 1983 she attained the Norwegian Kings decoration for meritorious service. Nillo died in 1992, 93 years old.
The "new" shop, Brandasund.
The old shop.
Brandasund clearly is a nice place to stay for a while, but unfortunately, our pilot is a restless soul. His beer is finished and he is soon ready to cast off. After all – he isn’t on a summer holiday, like the ordinary crew. I suggest that we can sail to the south, making our way through a maze of islands, but our pilot prefer a course more to the north-east, making free sailing possible through sound after sound, until rounding Torsdagsøy, south-east of Siglo. Aye, aye, Sir! It’s an excellent plan, and we soon slide peacefully through this deserted archipelago, miles after miles, with only occasional help from the outboard. We then turn to the south in Nyleia and aim for Rubbestadneset on Bømlos eastern shore. This is where our friend is going to leave us.
The evening sets in when we are alone again. Our original plan wasn’t to circumnavigate the whole island of Bømlo in one single day, far from it, but no harm done. We turn to the north again, first seeking shelter in a deep cove behind Austneset, not far from Rubbestadneset. Here we make a fire and eat our supper in all simplicity while the northern sky is purpled by a sunset that doesn’t seem to have an end. Tomorrow our plan is to sail towards Fitjar and new summer adventures.
Agahamn/Austneset.
Agahamn/Austneset.
(Please update or give your comment on this posting, including errors and idiomatic blunders.)
No comments:
Post a Comment