The little ship? Across the sea?

- Not a single splash got in!

Author: Gunnar Myklebust Johannes Bjarne Alme Webjørn Landmark

Created: 20.03.2023

– The world's best sea boat!

There are many who have been crew on Polar Star and who are full of praise for the ship, but few dare to say the biggest words. Jon Jakobsen is unconditional: The best!

– I was there once when we were in a hurricane for four days. You should have seen how well she broke those big rocks that came. Not a single splash got in!

Jon Jakobsen was on the Arctic Ocean for the first time in 1951, with the Tjørvågskuta For the. These were the adventurous years, when young men could earn 6-7000 kroner in a few weeks. Jon wanted to join in 1952, but was called up for military service. It was just before the ships were to leave for Vesterisen, so he wrote to the King and asked for a postponement. But the King was merciless: Jakobsen had to attend recruit school. Bitter.

– So during the hunt in the Vesterisen I was sitting at school. Then the engineer's son came on board in For the, we were in a group, he came up to me a little strangely. He didn't look well, so I asked him if he was unwell. For the "has gone down into the Vesterisen," he said. "No, honey, either," I said, "and I was supposed to be there."

It was the year of the great disaster when five ships sank and 79 men escaped. All 14 on board For the was gone.

– It wasn't a good feeling, and I had to have some time to myself in the barracks. And just like I had cursed the military and all that shit for missing the trip!

He got three years Polar Star in the mid-50s, with good catches at Newfoundland and exciting trips at freezing speed in between. Many did not understand that this vessel was capable of crossing the great oceans of the world. When they unloaded in Rotterdam, the sailor's chaplain came on board and asked where they came from. No, they came from the States. No, he said, with this little ship? Yes, said Jon Jakobsen and assured that he would much rather be here on board "this little ship" than in many of the large cargo ships that they encountered at sea.

Smoking break for Jon Jakobsen.

Heavy seas in the Bay of Biscay. The cargo was squid – and cars. Under the tarpaulin on the aft deck are two Americans, which Kjell Marø and Sigurd Hegghem had bought in Massachusetts. The lashings held in the storm. (Photo by Jon Storøy)

The same thing happened when they arrived in Karmøy after Rotterdam. There was a full storm in the North Sea, and they had no cargo. So they had filled the tanks with water. But they were rolling and listing the whole trip. The pilot who came on board was as surprised as the seaman's chaplain when he heard where they came from. From Rotterdam with this ship in this weather? Well, the crew replied cheerfully, the crossing here was now just too much to count, that, compared to what we had from the States to Rotterdam...

But to return to these words of praise that Jon Jakobsen began with: He tells of a trip they had with chicken from Gloucester in Canada to American soldiers in Germany. The chickens were loaded in wooden crates, so the volume was much greater than the weight. Every room was full, but the ship was practically no more than half full. They sailed with three tarpaulins. So the ship was prepared for most things.

One morning he was shown how strong Polar Star was, with rebuilt corridors. He was on his way past the steward's cabin, which was right outside with the door where you entered the corridor. Just then a wave came and hit the door right on the door, so hard that the door bent. But it didn't give way.

– The door that was opened was the one that goes further back on the stern into the hallway there. I remember I helped the steward, Sørensen. He couldn't get any further, so I had to drag him over the doorway of the galley and there it was so narrow between the stove and the rest of the bench that he stood there in between. He sang religious songs and preached that now we just had to take care of ourselves and think about our God. Yes, I said, it's maybe a little late for us to start with that now. We have to try and get through these seas first, then we'll see.

"The world's best sea boat" on its way to Newfoundland. (Photo: Endre Holter)

The fact that the ship was only a little over half-loaded was probably an advantage. It gave it a fair amount of freeboard. Because there was a real rolling ride across the sea, shaking and shaking. It was so wobbly that the compass broke several times. It was a storm that almost broke the crew. One man collapsed completely and had to go to bed.

– When we got to Hope Bay, there was a violent wind. Then another break came before we started to go into the sea. I felt reasonably sure that now he saw us Gamle-Erik, the ship just went down and down and down. An enormous wave height. The skipper thought it was the worst he had ever seen. And the second day in this weather we saw in the binoculars when we were up on the peaks, that there was a boat coming towards us. A cargo ship. And the closer it got the worse it almost became. It was one of those liberty boats that they built during the war. And what a sight. The booms were almost out of the ship's sides, all the lifeboats were gone. It was completely wrecked. The break came up behind it and hit the deck and wheelhouse. It looked so damn bad that I was sure it was going to go wrong for them. But they were sailing away from the weather, and we didn't hear anything from them.

– But as nice as Polar Star "They cut the wreck, but they came straight on the bow, that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," says Jon Jakobsen. "So she was built exactly as she was supposed to be, yes."

The years Jon Jakobsen was on Polar Star They also caught them in the Gulf. What he remembers in particular is the strong current there. He could go up to six miles. One year they were stuck and screwed up for five weeks. It's a hell of a mess in there, says Jon. They had 13-14,000 animals on board and had already used up the dynamite, they didn't expect to need any more of it. So now they had nothing to help themselves with. They tried some "Molotov cocktails" that they sent down on bamboo straws, but to no avail.

Polarstar in hard screw. (Photo: Jon Jakobsen)

Fighting against ice drift. The machine is working hard to keep the ice away from the rudder and propeller. (Photo: Jon Jakobsen)

– We had constant contact with Karl Karlsen at the time, and he came out in a plane several times to check the ice conditions. Dropped reading material and various things for us. But the weather was lovely the whole time. Apart from the screwing up, we were fine. But suddenly one day we felt movement and started to hear more noise from the ice. I'm sure there was at least ten meters of ice under the ship. But the ship was lying perfectly fine in its own way. A little on an angle. But suddenly she fell off, yes.

– Was Dokke well dressed?

– Yes, we now had the usual overalls and wool underneath, sweaters and such. But once we went on the ice in the Gulf it started to rain heavily throughout the day. We didn't care so much, we went on the ice and caught fish. But then it cleared up and it got colder and colder. As wet as we were, everything was just ice. I took off my overalls, and around my neck was a cape of ice. And this went on until we got back on board in the evening.

– They didn't let us back on land until their bags were almost full. (Jon Jakobsen on how they had to bribe customs officials in Venezuela to let Polarstar unload dynamite)

Last trip for Polarstar in Newfoundland 1982. A short break for the crew between battles. Sigvald Brandal (left), Bernt Brandal, Øystein Nedrelid, Jan Morten Bjerknes (with hat), Oddvar Bjørge and Jostein Moe. (Photo by Jostein Moe)