Arctic Oasis

As a native Brazilian, the cold climes of the Lofoten Islands, Islands – inside the Arctic Circle – were about as far from his version of “normal” as Vinnicius Martins could get. But not one to shy away from straying far outside of his comfort zone, Vinni was donning the thicker neoprene in no time…

Words: Vinnicius Martins
Photos: LETSCH

The first time I heard about the Lofoten Islands, I was in a fairly different place, much closer to the equator, talking to the Austrian surf photographer Lea (@letschbetsch) in Boa Vista, Cabo Verde. I immediately took a note of the place, gave it a search and wondered if that would be a place where I could wing… The idea of riding in the Arctic was to me equally fascinating and nerve-wracking, and the thought of exploring some snowy locations like that had already crossed my mind several times, but it always stayed in the realm of “maybe one day”.

Coincidentally around a month later I came across a video of professional kiters Reno Romeo and Hannah Whiteley in some beautiful cold spot, checked the location and, you guessed it, it was Lofoten. I reached out to Reno to find out a bit more, and he told me that despite the conditions being very rough and hard to forecast, the place itself is incredible and the best time to go for wind was probably around April, right when I would have 10 free days in Europe, between events. I started checking the logistics and everything seemed to come together relatively easily. So, I decided to go and freeze my Brazilian bones in the Arctic Circle… I also asked Lea, who first told me about these Norwegian Islands, for recommendations of photographers up there who could record the trip. To my surprise she was available herself, and willing to join in to take the shots. What was also unexpected was that she ended up being the unofficial tour guide to the trip – she knew so much and was so passionate about the Lofoten that by the end of the trip it was hard to remember that Lea was actually not a local from these islands.

The arrival at Narvik airport was immediately mind-blowing! From the window of the plane I could see mountains and islands covered with snow, contrasting with the crystal clear waters of the fjords, all of that being hit by the orange light of a sunset that sits for hours and hours during this time of the year. That’s pretty much as exotic as it can get for someone who comes from the tropics, like me. The three-hour drive from Narvik airport to Leknes (base camp for the trip) was equally breathtaking, the orange of the sunset refused to disappear and it never really got dark, even though it was past midnight when we finally got to the accommodation.

The first wing session happened the very next morning, and it took us less time to find a beautiful fjord with pumping wind conditions than for me to put on a winter wetsuit, gloves and booties for the first time in a while… Once I was out riding it was surprisingly comfortable and to be honest, despite the thermometers showing 3ºC and the sea temperature being around 5ºC, the blue skies, sunshine and the water colors really gave off a warm atmosphere to the session. At the time I was thinking that this would be the exception during my time in Norway, but throughout the trip, the Lofoten Islands kept showing their sunny side far more often than its stormier version.

The next couple of days were not too windy, but we still had plenty of good water time, as these islands are home to one of the best surf spots in Scandinavia, a place called Unstad. This beach is relatively famous in the “cold surfing” world and I have to admit that, before seeing it in person, I thought people were surfing there more for the adventure than for the quality of the waves, but the place proved me very wrong! It turns out that Unstad truly is a world class surf spot, with a right point break on one side of the bay, a left on the other and a beach break in the middle that works super well on smaller days. This beach has a magical atmosphere that is very hard to describe… It feels like a little surf culture oasis, and like any good oasis, it is located where you would have never expected it to be.

Once the wind was back, our search for wing spots around the archipelago restarted… The nature of this place not only makes you feel small, but it also makes you drive a lot of kilometers. The many hours of daylight are a very helpful ally in this search, and we always managed to find good conditions after a bit of map-geeking and driving around. As I write these words, I’ve realized that we never actually returned to a wing spot throughout the whole trip and there was still so much more to see and ride.

The postcard town of Reine was where we had the strongest winds of the whole trip, around 30 knots coming from the east, with a very iconic view everywhere I looked. It was a stunning session, somewhere on the side of the road close to the town of Henningsvær, and to me the most beautiful shots of the trip came from this little harbor in the backyard of a glamping spot called Skårungen, where despite the wind being a bit gusty you could wing with the beautiful Vågakallen Peak in the background and a Norwegian sauna just 10 steps away from the launching area. The setup just didn’t seem real.

We ended up there by invitation of wing and outdoors enthusiast Gordon Schücker, who we’d met on the first day of the trip – together with real life British viking, Paul Coles – and they gave us many other helpful insights about the Lofoten Islands and even managed to make me hike up a snowy mountain and snowboard down it, despite the fact that I don’t know how to snowboard or how to hike in snow. A minor detail lost within the enthusiasm of the group…

If I had to choose the very best wing spot I saw during my time in the islands, I would say that the fjord by Flakstad is probably the most consistently good. Coincidently, it was the first place I got on the water during this trip, and very often when we were driving by the wind looked great. The view is incredible, the water is relatively flat and the fjord funnels the most common wind directions in this area, southerlies and northerlies. If I’d had just a couple more days left on the trip, I would’ve definitely gone back to this place. I'd also have loved to have found some places to wing in the waves… I’m sure that they are out there if you search enough and the conditions align.

If you have a few days of vacation and you just want to spend as much time as possible on the water, I would say that the Lofoten Islands are not the place for you. The time you spend exploring is often far greater than the time you’ll spend on the water. But, if you are in for an adventure, and you also enjoy surfing, hiking and the fascinating mix of mountains and ocean, this huge outdoor playground should definitely be on your bucket list. You may have to drive around a bit and use a thick wetsuit, but you will also end up having some of the most beautiful sessions of your life…