This is what Thor-Erik had meant. ‘When you sail past Cape Lindesnes, you go from one world to another,’ he had said when we had moored alongside his boat in Farsund. At the time I hadn’t quite believed him, but now I think differently.

We have just rounded the cape, and the contrast with the conditions we left behind is breathtaking. West of Cape Lindesnes, the world seemed grey, hostile, downright threatening. Now, east of the cape, two of my children and I were sailing along with ease, aboard Youkali, a Breehorn 37, followed by large but gentle and friendly seas.

On the other, the weather side, of the cape, we were crashing through steep, aggressive waves that seemed to be churned up by the concentrated malice of all the angry, unhappy sea trolls who, according to old Norse legends, live on this coast. But with Lindesnes safely in our wake, we can lose ourselves in a friendly world of well sheltered waters between countless islands.

Almost every cape has a special significance for sailors, and Lindesnes is no exception. Norway’s oldest lighthouse stands on the cape, the light on the prominent headland was first lit in 1655. As early as the Middle Ages, Lindesnes was the first and most important landmark for all ships coming from the North Sea bound for Norway, or further on through the Skagerrak into the Baltic Sea.

The long story of the lighthouse – the tower in its present form dates from 1915 – is told in an attractively designed visitor centre on the site. However, it is advisable to visit the lighthouse over land, leaving the boat safely moored in the small harbour of Lillehavn on the east side of the cape, or in the modest holiday resort of Måly not much further on.

Mooring alongside the rocks requires nerve for those unfamiliar with it. Photo: Detlef Jens

Båly, not far away, is home to one of the world’s most unusual restaurants: The ‘Under’. Originally the rather quirky idea of the local hotelier family Ubostad, it now attracts gourmets from all over the world. It is here that Danish chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard earned his first Michelin star.

Above sea level, the Restaurant Under blends in quite well with the landscape of this rocky coast. It is sunk into the sea at an angle like a gigantic concrete bar, so most of it is underwater. Over time, the rough surface of the concrete adapts more and more to its surroundings, and algae and shells grow on it, thus becoming a new reef. The front side, however, on the seabed a good five metres deep, is a huge single window front.

Through it, the guests look out at the wonderful submarine world while eating, and the soft, diffuse light, which shimmers in different colours depending on the wind and weather, shines inwards. Many of the ingredients served here in a special menu with several small courses swim and thrive outside, around and on the underwater structure. The idea was to use what is found here on the spot.

The seawater is clean and fresh enough for that. The restaurant even employs its own female diver to pick and collect the ingredients, according to the chef’s ‘shopping list’, once a week in the surrounding waters.

Guests come to this remote place from all over the world, happily accepting hefty bills for the experience, and the ‘Under’ is usually fully booked year-round
well in advance.

Breehorn 37 alongside. In this area of Southern Norway you can always find a secluded spot to moor. Photo: Detlef Jens

Leading light

Back to more down-to-earth visits on the cape itself. Lindesnes is the last permanently manned light-house in Norway. You can call the English-speaking lighthouse keeper to find out about the local weather, for example, or about the swell off the cape, which can be considerable at times. Or whether you might even consider to use the tiny natural harbour directly below the lighthouse, although this is more suitable for smaller motorboats in really very calm weather. There is hardly any room to turn or moor, and the water depth is limited, with a maximum of three metres and much less in places. (Phone: 90 20 78 10).

As we sail towards the island of Hille near Mandal, we talk about the past days in the wild west. History for us already, but still very much alive in our minds. The trip on the Lyngdalsfjorden was deeply impressive. The fjord is located beyond the coastal town of Farsund which offers good visitors’ moorings and typically features seemingly unfathomable depths even when already many miles inland, between steep cliffs on both sides.

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The still water seemed mysterious, in a deep, dark green the colour of cool Nordic pine forests. At the same time, we could not stop marvelling at the constantly changing panorama through which we slowly drifted. The light, the colours and thus the entire scenery changed abruptly when the clouds moved across the low-hanging sky, the sun was drowned by gusts of black rain and then burst out again from a craggy hole in the sky to let a section of rock shine in brilliant light before being displaced again by heavy, grey clouds, only to reappear seconds later elsewhere. The further we went up the fjord, the further we got from the sea, which was in reality only a few miles away.

Summer sailing in the Skagerrak. Photo: Detlef Jens

Contrasting contours

East of Cape Lindesnes and just outside of Mandal, the anchorage at Hille is the complete contrast to Lyngdalsfjorden, with a scenery more akin to a peaceful inland lake in the mountains of, say, the lower Alps of Bavaria or Switzerland. A grass meadow gently slopes down to a tiny beach at the end of the bay, with several stately wooden houses at the top.

The bay is very sheltered but not easy to anchor, with moderate to poor holding on a rocky bottom interspersed with extended fields of dense kelp, which is why we preferred to moor at the head of a wooden jetty in front of apparently unused shacks filled with ancient fishing gear. It is here that we meet Thorge, a young Norwegian from Oslo, who owns one of the historic wooden houses at the top of the hillside.

‘Just two generations ago, these houses were inhabited all year round,’ he tells us. ‘My grandparents stayed here on the island for most of their lives, living off a little farming and fishing. Their only way to contact the rest of the world was by boat. But today people have moved to the cities and most of these houses are empty from September to May.’

The Lindesnes lighthouse, one of Norway’s oldest, marking the South Cape. Photo: Detlef Jens

Thorge shows us his grandparents’ house, which he inherited, and we think he must be a very happy man. The house, which is more like a villa, is beautifully built of wood, carved and decorated in many places around the balcony and the front terrace, and has a fine view from its elevated position over the bay and the surrounding waters.

But then Thorge explains: ‘We live in Oslo and now have this house. My wife Berit inherited another wooden cabin in the mountains from her family – we spend all our summer holidays looking after both houses, maintaining and painting and doing all sorts of little jobs to keep them in good shape!’ Wooden houses seem to need as much love as wooden boats.

Just a few miles away is Mandal. Norway’s southernmost town was once the most important trading port for sailing ships exporting wood and fish to Europe and especially the Netherlands, sheltered to the east of Cape Lindesnes and easily accessible from the sea. Even today, it is the first port of call for many foreign yachts, which always find a place in the guest harbour along the river banks in the town centre.

Especially in early summer, a violent current sometimes runs down the river, which you should be aware of when mooring. The Mandal river is said to have once been so full of salmon that even the farmers abandoned their fields and temporarily became fishermen when the lookout on one of the prominent ‘salmon ladders’ announced the arrival of the fish.

Sailing through the mariner’s village of Ny Hellesund. Photo: Detlef Jens

Until the end of the 19th century, this was one of Norway’s best salmon rivers, but by 1900 this had changed – the river was affected by acid rain and acidification early on. In the approach to the river, you can still see one of these old ‘salmon ladders’ from where the lookout, perched right on the top, waited for the fish.

Today, Mandal is a cheerful place in summer with a small but attractive centre. There is usually a concert on Wednesdays in the market square among the wooden houses, and other events are advertised at the tourist information centre in the modern building which cannot be missed in its prominent location on the other side of the river, accessible via the footbridge.

Mooring masters

In the following days we sail on along the south coast through a wonderful world that seems to us like a mixture of a children’s book and a particularly well-made summer holiday brochure. Behind every second rock or islet there is at least one yacht mast.

The idyllic and sheltered anchorage in Hille. Photo: Detlef Jens

The Norwegians are masters in the art of mooring their boats to even the most unlikely rocks, and during the short but lively summer they come to the south coast in their thousands to celebrate life on and by the water. The whole landscape around us is full of boats of just about every shape and size, bustling with happy people who are obviously having a great time. In this world that is half water and half land, and where even the more remote islands still have a surprising number of summer cottages, boats are the main mode of transport. Even many of the cottages on the mainland peninsulas are more easily reached by sea than over land.

As we drift into Ny Hellesund with only the whisper of a breeze, we are captivated by the magic of this unique place. The village dates back to the 16th century, has always depended on shipping, and lies on the two islands of Monsø and Kabelø. The only road is the sound between the islands; like in so many places in Norway, boats are the only means of transport.

There is an old shipyard which is now a café and restaurant with small boat moorings at one end, and Ny Hellesund was also an important pilot station for a time. A steep, wildly overgrown path leads up through scree and rocks to the old pilot’s cabin on Monsø.

The former fishing community on Hille is now a quiet spot for holiday makers. Photo: Detlef Jens

From here you have a view over the islands and archipelago to the open sea not far away, and this is where the pilots kept watch in the 19th century. When they spotted an incoming ship, they would run down to the village, man a large and heavy rowing boat and head out into the Skagerrak towards the ship to guide it safely in.

In Ny Hellesund we moor alongside a Norwegian yacht and enjoy, as so often here, the generous and warm-hearted hospitality of the local sailors. The nights are long, light and carefree, and there is always time for drinks and conversation until the early hours. We truly have arrived in the carefree summer life of Norway’s far south.

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