Polar evening at the Ishavsmuseet on Friday, February 22 at 7:00 PM.

Johannes Alme and Martin Karlsen will give a lecture about Arctic seafarer and captain Harald Landmark Marø at the Ishavsmuseet on Friday, February 22nd at 7:00 PM.

Harald was born on March 7, 1917 in Brandal. A year later the family moved to a small farm in Slevika in Borgund. As he himself said, most of his upbringing was spent in the spring. The four brothers kept a lot of company, the eldest brother Bernt was the captain with the twins Henrik and Kristoffer jr. and Harald as eager helpers. Harald, the last of the children of Kristine and Kristoffer Marø, is now 102 years old and lives in his own house in Halifax – NS, Canada.

On behalf of the Ishavsmuseet, Martin Karlsen and Johannes Alme visited Harald Marø in Halifax NS in 2018. The two met a strong and clear 101-year-old, with a touch of humor in his story.

As young people, the Marø people were allowed to come aboard the ships that their father Kristoffer was the skipper on and help clean them. At the age of 15, Harald went seal hunting for the first time, of course with the "Polar Bear". The trip went to the White Sea, where the Russians had hunted down all the seals with icebreakers and scared them into the border. Since then, there was an Arctic ocean life and a sea life on Harald.

During World War II, Harald sailed as a mate on several ships, and was torpedoed twice. On March 1, 1942, the DS "Prominent" was sunk 250 NM south of Java, Harald was second mate. After 5 days in a lifeboat and two days through the jungle, the crew reached the city of Garut on Java. Harald spent three years in Japanese captivity.

After the war, Harald became mate on the new steel ship "Polarstar", before moving to Canada and becoming skipper of the "Illinois", and saving the crew of the "Polarbjørn" when it burned in the Newfoundland field. The following year he became skipper of the "Theron" where he remained for 26 years, making sealing trips and expeditions. Harald has his name on the map in both the Arctic and Antarctic.

Johannes Bjarne Alme lives in Brandal. He has been with the "Polarstar" on seal hunting and tourist trips to Svalbard. The polar subjects, seal hunting, Svalbard and history are his great passion and hobby. He has published both non-fiction books and novels with polar themes.

"The basis for my interest in the Arctic Ocean is that I am from the Arctic village of Brandal, and that I have a father who has told me about and had knowledge of the subject," says Alme. The Ishavsmuseet is a further source of this interest.

Martin Karlsen was also born and raised in the Arctic Ocean environment at Brandal. As a young man, he was introduced to the family's shipping company, Martin Karlsen AS, and he traveled to Canada early on to help his uncle Karl "Kalle" Karlsen run the facility there. He took over this operation in 1986.

After the lecture, a real Arctic cuisine will be served at the museum with salted meat, pork and peas. Registration for dinner is required.