Polar evening with book presentation and book fair at Ishavsmuseet on April 5th at 7:00 PM "Trapped in the polar ice"
In 1921, the Arctic ship D/S "Remøy" went out to hunt seals in Lake Kvitesjøen. In addition to the fight against the screwing in the ice, they were arrested by the Russians who believed they were within the border. They were held for 10 months. This is the dramatic backdrop when author Svend Otto Remøe comes to the Ishavsmuseet on Friday, April 5, to present his book "Fanget i polarisen".
Svend Otto is the great-grandson of the famous Arctic skipper Sigvald Remøy. A few years ago he began studying the history of his grandfather and his seal hunting trips. Svend Otto himself lives in Hamar and is a special advisor to the Research Council of Norway, but visited his grandfather every summer out on Remøya. Here he heard many a story from the seal hunting that left its mark.
The White Sea was a relatively new fishing ground in 1921 when this incident in the book takes place. The market for skins and blubber had grown rapidly during the First World War, and it was important to find new fishing grounds if the industry was not to decline. This was the reason why in 1918 there were several ships that went out to fish in the White Sea.
Skipper Sigvald Brandal with the ship "Helga" was the first to enter the Norwegian fishery in the White Sea, in 1911. He made his way through the ice and reached the very edge of the ice. It was Brandal's experience that the other ships relied on when they made their way to this "new" field in 1918, marking the start of 20 years of adventurous catches in the White Sea. No other fishing ground has had so many ships sunk. In the period from 1924 until the fishery ended in the White Sea in 1939, 60% of all shipwrecks occurred in this field. In 1928, 11 (!) ships sank here in one day.
But the fishing in the White Sea also quickly faced another challenge, something that Remøe's book tells more about in an excellent way. The White Sea was disputed. Russia protested this Norwegian fishing in the White Sea, even though an agreement was negotiated with the Russians that allowed Norway, in return for compensation, to catch a certain total tonnage in the White Sea. Svend Otto Remøe has done a good job as the author of this book. The book deals with both the political part and the fishing part in this fishing area.
"Trapped in the Polar Ice" is a gripping story about a dramatic historical event, and a tribute to the everyday toil and daring that helped build modern Norway.
After Svend Otto Remøe's lecture, boknasird and milk soup with good side dishes will be served in the museum café. Registration for dinner is required.
