Stavanger

The final voyage of STAVANGER from WoodenBoat on Vimeo.

Once in awhile Wooden Boat magazine offers an article so compelling that I read it again and again and so it is with an article from the November/December 2009 issue."From Certain Death" The final voyage of Stavanger, is about a Colin Archer designed redningskøyte or rescue boat. Stavanger, launched in 1901 recently sailed the length of Norway and it's voyage is documented in film, some of which reenacted a rescue from the original log book. Boats like Stavanger rescued thousands from "certain death." Stavanger will be removed from the water for preservation in the Norsk Sjøfartsmuseum where she will be part of a conserved fleet of Norwegian boats. When boats like Stavanger are finally retired, some human knowledge is retired as well, as boats are not just repositories of material culture, but of human skill, character, intelligence and emotion as well. While this video is in Norwegian, it offers a glimpse into the operation of a historic boat, a historic fleet of boats, and the day to day skilled activities of human beings responsible for saving thousands of lives at sea.