"Norrøna" was built for fishing, but was converted for Arctic fishing in 1901.

"Norrøna" set sail from Ålesund on 15 April 1901 for its first Arctic sea voyage. They reached the ice edge a little northwest of Jan Mayen in early May. They wanted to get to Greenland, and on the third attempt to get through the Greenland ice cap they failed to get to Claveringsøya. On 19 July, they were covered in ground ice and the weather was brilliant this morning. All three fishing boats were out. In the afternoon a cold breeze began to blow. The weather improved throughout the day, and by 21pm in the evening it was a full-on hurricane. With the hurricane, high water followed so that the landsea began to loosen. The crew on "Norrøna" understood that here they had to try to stay clear of the ice and they hoisted as much sail as they thought the ship would handle. They wanted to get up under land and anchor, but they couldn't. For 14 hours they sailed from one island to the other. The storm was fierce and the fog was also coming in. When it eased, they were surrounded by ice on all sides, and they could not get out of the ice. They put the bow against the drift ice so that the bow could touch the ice. "Norrøna" took hard blows to the bow, but this went well until a heavy underwater ice came and the ship suffered great damage. Water poured in. The crew pulled themselves over the pumps, but it was of little use. There was no longer any hope of saving the ship, so they concentrated on salvaging some equipment.

After they had brought guns, ammunition, some provisions and a live polar bear cub onto the ice, the "Norrøna" sank.

"Sleipner" was also nearby when "Norrøna" went down on July 19. They had had their own problems in the storm and were badly damaged. But they had barely escaped sinking. "Minna" and "Havfruen" they could also see through the binoculars, and after a while they rowed aboard "Havfruen".

On walrus hunting in East Greenland in 1901

(by Arctic sea captain Vebjørn Landmark who was the gunner on "Norrøna" this trip)

After many days of hauling and staking through the pack ice, "Sleipner" and "Norrøna" finally lay still and drifted in loose ice off East Greenland.

During the 6 am shift, the second gunner on the "Norrøna" came down from the top barrel and said that he saw a walrus on a flat in the direction of land. He asked if we wanted to go for a rowing trip. Of course we did. We were eager and came off guard, gulped down our coffee at a certain speed, and set off.

It was a long rowing trip, when we had rowed for almost 6 hours we were almost at the end of the line, but then the walrus also jumped off the floe and disappeared into the sea.

We were now famished after the rowing trip and wanted coffee. But we had neglected to bring a kettle and wood with us. So we chopped up the chickpea stove and lit a fire with it and boiled the coffee in the boat's ladle. We discussed among ourselves what we should do now. We had come much closer to the land and of our vessels we could only see the top barrels just above the horizon.

We now saw that the two boats of the "Sleipner" and the starboard boat of the "Norrøna" were coming rowing inland. We got ready and set sail and headed inland. We arrived at Wollaston Forland at 6 o'clock in the morning. After we had made ourselves some coffee and rested for a while, we rowed along the land to look for a catch. Towards day the vessels also came in and they got stuck in a ground ice, at Cape Herschel.

When we had slept in, we were going out the next day to row to look for a catch. The two starboard boats were going to row north along the land and the port boats were going south, across the fjord to Claveringsøya. On the south side of the island we saw a small herd of polar oxen up on the mountainside. We were away and shot these, and carried them down to the boats. Just as we were about to row back, it started to blow and rain. When we got out to Cape Mary we rowed ashore to check the weather for a while, before setting off across the fjord. We were wet and cold, and wanted to get on board to change into dry clothes. We also thought that 4 men on each boat would be enough to row against the weather no matter how strong the storm was. So we set off. But when we had gotten a little way out into the fjord, the ice came drifting out, caught us in and carried us out with it too.

Little by little the ice packed itself together around us, and finally we saw that there was no way out. We then pulled the boats onto the ice. "Sleipner"'s boat lay a little further out. The gunner and the two other men wrapped themselves in the skins that we had flayed and lay down in the boat.

On our trip ashore we had collected a whole lot of the loose winter wool from the Muskoxen, some of this wool I now took and stuffed into my body under my clothes.         

-I could see that the guys on the "Sleipner" boat had lit a fire under the coffee pot. I wanted coffee, so I set off across the ice and on board to join them.

Now we saw that our vessels were under sail within the edge of the drift ice belt. We therefore set off into the ice, but it was quite a long way.  walk and when we finally got close to them it turned out that the ships had been driven down to the edge of the ice. "Norrøna" had a big hole in its side and sank immediately afterwards. We barely managed to salvage our clothes and some provisions onto the ice.

"Sleipner" was also badly damaged, but she was safe and after some repression with sails and sailcloth she was able to sail home.

When the crew on the starboard boats got caught in the storm, they pulled the boats ashore and stowed them away. They lit a fire under the boats to keep warm and to make coffee. But the men's faces became completely black with soot and smoke.

The next day, when the storm had passed, "Minna" and "Havfruen" came sailing this way. Then the men rowed aboard to them. But aboard "Minna" and "Havfruen" they could not understand what kind of black people were rowing. They were both Eskimos and Negroes.

We guys who were now without a ship were divided between "Minna", "Havfruen" and "Sleipner" and returned home safely.

Later, a long song with many verses was composed about this trip:

Norrøna visa

The harp I tune and sing a song,

listen and sing along if you like.

But the song may be too long for you,

But I'll add a lie.

The occasion calls back in particular,

the nineteenth of April this year.

We had to leave the one we loved,

a journey for Greenland to go.

When the commander and crew were thirteen in number,

Then time did not suit us long.

But the hour of farewell, the hall of the dancers,

came to mind many times.

The song that calls back that moment,

we relatives and friends left.

But the two colors of the cross in blood-red border,

It gave us warmer blood.

Command was given, in silence and calm

We left the cheerful harbor.

And the ship that sailed, you know it well.

"Norrøna", the magnificent name.

Now we sail merrily, for the wind was good,

while we cross the waves for.

And summoned our thoughts from summer and sun

all the way to the icy north.

Unhindered we sailed ten days and three,

the fourteenth day dawned

in the ice until even a sailor could see,

his goal was the icy land.

After that the road became difficult to walk,

when the storm and the sea broke out.

Trapped in the ice for a week we lay

before we could sail again.

Thus the time and the weeks passed by.

to "Sleipner" in the company we got.

Then we sailed through the ice masses

so pieces of the bow came out.

The road was still difficult to walk:

Because the storms rage.

And danger against danger to the eyes lay,

but congratulations to all of us who didn't go.

Now it was time for us to see the country.

For courage it lost every man.

Our captain, he didn't let his courage fall.

He had tried that once.

When the land we had, and the goal was over

Then turn and your luck will change.

For even though our thoughts were turned to Greenland,

then fate would fail at the goal.

Never in the world of memory does it go,

It was a sad time.

I can't write down our suffering.

That explains our mouth better.

The accident hit us half a mile from shore

There, the "Norrøna" was crushed among the ice.

Our rescue to "Sleipner" was attributed to every man

which was prepared in a pitiful manner.

Thus our salvation, a failing hope

until "Minna" and "The Mermaid" came.

They received us kindly, hungry and wet'

and satisfied our hungry mouths.

Finally, I would like to thank the crew and commander

who brought us shipwrecked home.

A thank you to our captain who is from that valley

where his happiness must flourish again.

Anyone who wants to know who did the song

and desire to hear his name.

When the show was written I moved it away

to the very edge of the verses.