Dress

"Vestis"

Just a few weeks after launching in 1948, all equipment was brought on board and "Vestis" set course for fishing in the Danish Strait. It was a fruitful trip with 950 humpback whales and 50 tons of hake cod liver oil.

But the ship that was engaged in seal hunting and herring fishing was not to have a long life. Only four years after the first trip, things went wrong. On the evening of March 22, "Vestis" and several other ships had moored for the night under the shelter of an ice strip. It was open water with very loose ice. Suddenly the wind picked up and they had large ice on all sides. All the ships started up and began to rush to get out. "Vestis" was the furthest in of them all, and suddenly they got a floe of ice under the stern that damaged the pipeline. It took about half an hour to get this repaired, and by then the situation had already worsened a lot. They had been blocked by the ice, and there was no way for them to get out. Orders were given to prepare the fishing boats in case they had to abandon ship. The large floes of ice were constantly coming towards the ship on the swell. "Vestis" calls "Sjannøy" to ask them to follow the situation. So. At 12 o'clock on March 23, the entire port side astern is hit and the water is pouring in. There was no other option but to abandon the ship. They immediately started walking towards the ice edge where "Sjannøy" was waiting. It was urgent as they had to try to get there before dark. For four and a half hours the survivors struggled a hard walk across the ice, where the swells were getting bigger the closer they got to the edge. The walk got longer and longer as new ice kept coming in to extend the edge. It was not possible to walk straight on board on the ugly edge, and "Sjannøy" had to send out a boat to pick them up as they reached the edge. The fishing boat could not go to the edge to pick them up, but drove along the ice floe at a slow speed so the men had to slow down and jump on board. There were many such trips on the fishing boat driver before all 16 from the "Vestis" were picked up. The crew remained on board the "Sjannøy" until March 29th when the "Veslekari" picked them up after it had to abandon ship and return home due to ice damage. They arrived in Norway on April 4th, the same day the hurricane hit the Vesterisen and took with it 5 ships with men and mice.

 "Vestis" sinks.        

70 years since "Vestis" sank in Vesterisen.

Narrated by Helge Ødegård

The date of the sinking was Sunday, March 23, 1952. At the time, I was an engineer on "Sjannøy". "Vestis" and "Sjannøy" were in a way "comrade ships". It was common at that time for a couple of ships to keep company. Such a team was often practical, the skippers could consult on matters and things. That was the thing about finding catch, the Vesteri ice was big, and the catch could be found both in the south and the north. But the older skippers had their signs, they looked at ice conditions and built on experience. When you got to talk to a colleague, unclear matters were discussed and often clarified. This "comrade ship" thing also gave you security. If something happened, there was a ship not far away. This "comrade ship" thing has probably saved human lives too, I think.      

Back in 1952, all the ships were looking for prey. Most of the Sunnmøre ships were gathered in a group. We heard that "Veslekari" had found a little further west. But that was before the legal hunting date. In the Vesterisen, it was legal to hunt after a certain date. I think that date was March 23. There were many ships looking. So early in the year, it gets dark at night in the Vesterisen. At night, it was common to lie still. It doesn't help much to look for prey in the dark.       

One evening when we were at anchor, most of the ships from Sunnmøre were together. On the sealers we had two watches. The 2nd gunner was on duty from 00:00 to 06:00, then the 1st gunner was on duty until 12:00. The 2nd gunner then worked until 18:00 and the 1st gunner until 24:00. The engine crew had the same watch arrangement, the engineer was on duty together with the 1st gunner. The engine assistant was on duty together with the 2nd gunner. The watch from 00:00 to 06:00 was usually a quiet, nice watch. If we had been fishing during the day, the skins would be washed and fixed, otherwise there was little to do on the night watch. But we who were lying aft often smelled the smell of food from the galley. Those on that watch often had a good night's meal.         

Yes, the ships were at rest and at midnight it was time for the change of guard. Most of the skippers had been in the hold all day and would be there the next day as well, so they went to bed early. But "Store-Kvien" on "Kvitungen" had trouble with the radio, so he was awake. Kvien noticed that the ice was changing, starting to form. So "Kvitungen" went further out. When Kvien got the radio working, he started calling to the ships and telling them about the new situation. The ships started to move to a safer place. But it had probably taken some time before Kvien had the radio working. When he came with his warning, the ice was heavy and thick. Personally, I sleep well, but that night I woke up to a heavy "booing". I looked at the clock and wondered about the 2nd gunner who was using the ship so hard during the night. But I fell asleep again and slept until I was woken up at 24:05.30. We were still lying still, it was too dark to look for a catch. When we got to the mess we found out the reason for the hard "bowing". It was probably a little more dramatic than I realized. The skipper (Jon Hamar) was urged and went up into the rig a little lightly dressed. So it was he who used the ship hard that night. Hamar later said, "I got an ice foot, so I had to take a chance. It would have hardly worked with another ship, but she ("Sjannøy") "been" the propeller so well".      

When we were there, the "Vestis" called us and asked us to take it easy for a while, they had gotten stuck in there. "Vestis" got ice on the rudder and tore the pipeline. It took a while to get this repaired, and in the meantime the ship got stuck. The skipper of "Vestis" thought it would be possible to get the ship free and out of trouble. Yes, we took it easy and waited for "Vestis". When we had breakfast, the first gunner came with good news, now she is coming, he said. It took a while for the ship to arrive, but it was not "Vestis", it was "Grande" that came. That ship was also a bit out of shape, she had suffered some damage, but they got out. 

 "Vestis" was still stuck. The ice conditions were getting worse and the skipper of "Sjannøy" was starting to get a little worried.

"I think they'll have to abandon ship soon, we'll save the crew," he said. It wasn't easy for Hamar to suggest this to the skipper of "Vestis," but he told us how it was where we were. The ice was building up fast, and there was a big ice pack outside. The distance to "Vestis" only increased. The skipper of "Vestis" had to give up hope of getting the ship out. It had been badly damaged. The engineer said that when he went to the cabin to get various equipment, the ship's side had come in so far that he could barely open the cabin door. In the engine room, the bunker tanks had almost reached the engine.        

I don't remember what time they left the ship, it must have been around noon. They had a long way to go before they reached the ice edge. On "Sjannøy" we hired a fishing boat. It was lying at the ice edge and picked up the crew from "Vestis" as they got that far. It took a while for everyone to get there. There were those who were young and fit, they came first. There was also a slight difference in how much personal equipment they took on, some had little, others more. A little was left when people got tired. As far as I remember, Lervik (the Skipper) was one of the last people we got on board. For Lervik this was a hard blow. He and the engineer owned the ship, so this was a personal financial loss. "Vestis" was a fine ship. They had had many good trips and had spent money on the ship as they could. They had changed the engine and made other improvements to the ship. When Lervik sat on the hatch, completely exhausted after the march, we saw tears in his eyes. I understand how he felt at that moment. He loved the ship, and the somewhat uncertain future.          

Yes, now we were two crews aboard "Sjannøy". This double crew thing is a bit of a problem. But on the sealers there is a "custom" for such things. The shipwrecked crew used the berths of those who had a free watch. The trappers took their free watch berths forward and the others aft. We joked about this, now we didn't have to lie down in cold berths. The steward got some help in the galley, it was a bit of a lot of work and cooking for a double crew. But all this went well.            

When we were waiting for the people from "Vestis", Hamar was often in the rig, the ice was quickly on the edge. There was also a lot of ice outside the sloop we were in. There was a lot of heavy ice and swell. Most of the crew on "Sjannøy" stood on the half deck and followed those who came over the ice. I was there with the others. Hamar came and stood there for a while. He made a little sign, wanted to talk to me.                          

We crossed to the other side of the ice. Hamar said: "The ice is gathering quickly, I'll get it out, but it's not certain it will be safe." When I hit full speed, I want everything the engine can handle . _" Then I understood a little of the seriousness.

As soon as we had everyone on board, Hamar set off at full speed. But he didn't have to use the ship hard. Hamar had found a narrow gap, so we got clear of the ice unscathed. When we were on our way out, "Furenak" called us, they had of course been following us on the radio and were happy that everything was going well. Aksnes, the skipper of "Furenak", said that where they were lying it was good "hold" and safe to lie. We took a bearing on "Furenak" and voted for it. When we arrived we saw a few ships catching. They had found a small haul of seals. Aksnes probably thought we should get a little reward for the rescue of the crew of "Vestis". That's why he called us. When I write this, 50 years have passed, so I'll be careful, but I think we caught almost 300 whitefish in this haul. 

 The crew of the "Vestis" stayed aboard with us for a few days. But in a way they were lucky. The "Veslekari" had been damaged so they had to interrupt their fishing and go home. We delivered the wrecked crew to the "Veslekari" and it went to Ålesund. I believe there was the same distribution of berths on the "Veslekari" as we had on the "Sjannøy". 

I want to tell you one thing. There was complete silence on the fishing boat. The entire fishing fleet was anxious to see how things were going with the people on the "Vestis". Would "Sjannøy" be able to save everyone?   

1952 was the year of the great disaster in the Vesterisen. The crew of the "Vestis" was lucky, they escaped with their lives. Later, 5 ships sank there that year, the crews of those ships all got a wet grave. But that is another story.              

I knew the skipper of the "Vestis" well. My brother (Hans Ødegård) had been a crew member of the "Vestis" for several trips. One of the first things Erling Lervik said to me when he came aboard was: Your brother was lucky not to be with us this year. My brother was on the "Buskø" instead of the "Vestis". "Buskø" was one of the ships that sank a few days later, and no one was saved.

There were several ships that were damaged that night of March 23, 1952. It was a sad night.

Helge Ødegaard