Late Sunday evening, on August 5th 2018, I safely brought the world’s ONLY sail-steamship SDS “Hansteen” back to Brattøra in Trondheim, concluding a successful 3 day long absolutely magical voyage to Innherred county of Norway, calling at ports like Tautra, Levanger, Ytterøy, Mosvik, Kjerknesvågen, Mosvik (again) and Leksvik.
If I may be completely honest, this was truly one of the most memorable experiences of my life! The entire passionate crew, the equally enthusiastic guests and all the excited people in each port made this voyage truly magical in every single sense of the word. I actually think my love and passion for veteran vessel and coastal culture may have been duly reignited again.
Also to be brutally honest, I was a slightly nervous taking on the command of such an old ship - 152 years of service - but as soon as I stepped on board, the missing pieces of the puzzle all fell in their appropriate places. I was thrilled, hooked and appropriately back in love.
The ship is really simple (by means of technology) to operate, and you really have to make use of all your accumulated knowledge using ropes as leverage, using the propeller and rudder to their best advantage, as well as taking it really easy and slow. When you are on a coal-fired steam ship like this one, you will have to take the time it takes to get to the dock. There is absolutely no time for rushing things.
One of the truly great memories of this magical journey to Innherred was the time-correct performances on each place we arrived at, with so many people dressed as they were dressed back then. That, and the enthusiasm of everyone that played a part in making this a memorable experience, was truly of another dimension. From the live accordion music on deck, to the Captain dancing with the ship’s guests, to the local delicious dishes we were served in each port we arrived at, and to the incredible comeraderie amongst the entire crew - it all came together as one absolutely magical experience.
I don’t think I saw one single displeased guest or crew member for the entire journey. It was always a strive at making things authentic and time-appropriate. At first, I thought the crew worked hard on this because they had been told to do so, but I quickly realized that they did it because they wanted to do it that way.
Another great part of this journey was for me the dream-come true experience of the open-air navigation of the vessel. On “Hansteen", all the navigation are done OUTDOORS. As we departed from Leksvik bound for Trondheim on Sunday night, we encountered a strong westerly breeze and 1-1,5 meter swell. It was so incredibly invigorating standing on the stern of the “Hansteen” as her commanding Captain, in sea-spray and heavy seas, doing the navigation like my predecessors did more than a hundred years ago. I was so alive and so … ehhh… turned on!
I'll be making a video with several clips from the actual trip as soon as time allows me to do so, and post it to my CaptainsVoyage youtube-account, as well as post several images to the ships own thread at CaptainsVoyage Forum.
Oh well, more about this experience will be in the future video, as well as replies to any possible questions you may have in the ships own thread at CaptainsVoyage Forum.
