Above: Stavanger in Vikna Right: Snow on the deck Below right: Foredeck work in oilskins


When I join Stavanger in Rørvik, the ship and her crew have already been sailing for four weeks, and the snow that had been settling on her deck has receded to the mountaintops. Our plan is to sail to the outlying islands of Sør-Gjæslingan, 20 miles to the southwest. From there, it’s 100 miles of open sea all the way to Stavanger’s one-time home of Titran — which is why the westerly wind is of concern. Stavanger won’t mind the weather, of course, but whether the crew are up for a 24-hour thrash into a westerly gale is another matter. In the end, the weather is typically Norwegian: one minute gloriously calm and sunny, the next viciously dark and squally. We arrive at Sør-Gjæslingan at dusk as the wind is picking up to Force 7 and eventually manage to pick out the channel into harbour. With no engine, it’s a matter of dropping the anchor at a safe distance off the jetty and warping in with the vintage cast-iron capstan. Whenever possible, the crew try to do things as they would have been done a hundred years ago – it’s a chance to learn how these boats were handled and why. To this end, they have recreated, and filmed, several incidents recorded in the ship’s 1901-17 log – miraculously discovered in someone’s shed a few years ago. “If you don’t have an engine as a back-up, it forces you to think differently,” says Johan.


Fishing in Norway in the 19th century was a dangerous occupation. As the industry became more lucrative, fishermen sailed ever further to gather their catch of fish, usually in small open boats only really suitable for coastal


34 CLASSIC BOAT MAY 2012


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