Sagesund (Fjordsenteret)

Sagesund lies in the middle of the Oksefjord, a good six kilometres south-east of Tvedestrand. The village has around fifty permanent residents and at least twice that in summer, and on the quay stands Fjordsenteret — a boat centre with a shop, engine workshop, boat sales, boat hire and over six hundred winter storage places under cover. With twenty-five employees it is a substantial business for a village this size.

One thing to settle before setting course here: it is unresolved whether the place takes visiting boats overnight. Norsk Havneguide states the harbour is no longer in use as an overnight marina for guests, while velihavn.no lists five guest berths, and Fjordsenteret's own website never mentions visiting boats at all. That you can bunker fuel, take on water and get service is not in doubt. Call ahead before counting on staying the night.

The name comes from a sash saw mill that stood in a creek and was used by local farmers. In the nineteenth century three shipyards worked at Sagesund, building sailing ships, brigs, barques and schooners, and an ice house stored frozen blocks for export. By the 1950s the village had three shops, a post office, a galvanic workshop, an assembly house and an electric sawmill.

The sailing history is more recent too: the yacht Origo began and completed its circumnavigation from Sagesund in 1994. Today there are tennis courts and a beach volleyball court within walking distance, and the bus towards Tvedestrand stops a hundred metres or so from the quay.