Ice age
| Owner | 1920 P/R Istind, Grimstad (JC Jørgensen, Joh. J. Vik, Albert Andersen, Mathias Jørgensen and AK Nilsen) 1925 A/S Istind, Grimstad (JC Jørgensen, Albert Andersen and Mathias Jørgensen) 1926 J.C. Jorgensen 1930 A/S Istind, Ålesund (JC Jørgensen and Hans Rekdal) 1934 A/S Istind, Ålesund (Elling Aarseth & Co. A/S, Paal Aarseth and Hans Rekdal) |
| Ship type | Seal hunters |
| Reg. brand | AA 4 G (1920) M 231 A (1930) |
| Home port | Grimstad - Alesund |
| Construction site | Jørgensen & Vik Boat Building, Grimstad |
| Year built | 1920 |
| Building materials | Three |
| Length, year of construction | 106,1 feet |
| Dimensions in width, year of construction | 24,5 feet |
| Dimensions in depth, year of construction | 12,5 feet |
| Tonnage | 200,37 GRT 1920 211,83 GRT 1925 |
| Machine, original | Glommens MV 2 cyl. comp 25 nhk (1894 model) |
| Machine, new | Høivold MV - Atlas 4 cyl 2 T 200 hp - In 1935 a new engine was installed, mounted at Rubbestadneset. A Wichmann 4 cylinder glow-head engine of 300-400 hp. |
| Skippers | Isaac Remo (1925) Martin Pedersen (1929) Hans Rekdal (at the shipwreck) |
| Shipwrecked | Wrecked in Vestisen 30 March 1936 |
| Additional information | During a fishing trip in the White Sea in 1923, the "Istind" and "Isblomsten" were stranded together. When they got free on May 18, the "Isblomsten" lost its propeller after a short while and was stranded without help. They signaled for help and after a couple of hours the "Istind" arrived to tow the wreck out into open water so they could sail home. On March 27, 1928, while fishing in the White Sea, one of the crew drowned when he walked through the ice. They picked him up on an ice floe after about 3 minutes, but he was then lifeless. The body lay in a fishing boat for a long time to take him back to Norway, but when the return trip was postponed many times, the body was sunk in the sea on April 20. On August 15, 1928, the "Istind" ran aground off Iceland while attempting to assist the "Glittertind" which had run aground. They were rescued when the sea rose. In 1936, there were almost no seals to be found in the White Sea, outside the concession line, and the "Istind", with many others, decided to end the hunt and go to the West Ice instead. While heading east in open water along the ice edge on March 29, they picked some seals along the edge. But suddenly a strong northeasterly gale and snow showers blew in. The swell grew just as quickly to high seas. The ice began to drift and the "Istind" took some serious blows to the bow. At noon, a large piece of blue ice hit the bow hard, and soon after one of the trappers came up from the cabin and shouted that the ship had started to slip. All the pumps were started.
After a short time, "Veslekari" came over to the casualty. The leak subsided a little after a while, and when "Veslekari" came to help, they managed to keep the ship afloat. "Veslekari" now had its bow stuck in the ice so that "Istind" could follow in the open sea. After a while, they came to an open wake where they could back up in open water. "Heimland I", "Vesleper" and "Grande" also came along. The storm was approaching a hurricane. There was no other option but to abandon the ship. In the hurricane that was now raging, it would be too dangerous to go all the way out to sea with the leak, and it would be too dangerous for the other ships to stay here in the ice through the darkness of the night. "Istind" then went in through the ice, with "Veslekari" following, to find a suitable place to abandon the ship without too much danger. They boarded "Veslekari" on March 29 at 6:00 p.m. The hurricane raged for 3 days and when it calmed down, "Veslekari" returned to the position where they had left "Istind", but they did not see the ship again. They left "Istind" in position 74.15 north latitude and 8.01 west with a catch of 300 seals on board. |
