“Meet at half past one outside Scandic Ishavshotell. I’ll pick you up there.” Cool. We are going out with Arctic Princess. A 45 feet long and 8 meters wide catamaran. It’s been two years since we were out on a boat in the Arctic waters of Tromsø. Then it was the fishing boat Vulkana that has been turned into a spa and restaurant boat.
It’s 10 degrees and raining. Summer vacation. We are wearing survival suits and the kids are happy.
Tourism is booming in Tromsø. In 2017 tourists spent 200 million USD to get a real Arctic experience.
War history
The kids and I are a bit like fish out of water here. My wife takes us to her home town, “Norway’s coolest town”. I can’t disagree. The people, the mountains, the Northern light. We watch “The 12th Man“. The movie is about resistance fighter Jan Balsrud. He escaped the Germans after a sabotage mission was revealed by a traitor. He was shot, swam in the ice cold water, survived an avalanche, cut off his toes to avoid spread of severe cold injuries, hid under a rock and in a cave for weeks in the ice cold mountains. Local people helped Jan along the escape route and he wanted his grave to be in Manndalen, where many of these people lived.
If you can’t go, take a look at Audun Rikardsen’s photos. The professor in marine biology takes photos of the Arctic environment like no one else.
The Tromsø crew
Frenchman Jerome is our captain. He meets us with a big smile. We make sure not to step on a huge cod lying caught yesterday as we enter the catamaran. Jerome says winter is the peak season to bring tourists. “Full of people who wants to go fishing and experience the Arctic. Or they bring their Randonee skis and we take them to the nearest mountain.”
Mikkel who is a retired ambulance pilot and salmon specialist is with ut. “I spend one week to smoke and dry the salmon”, he explains as he serves us on deck. It tastes extremely good with his home baked rye bread. The salty air and the snow covered mountains add to the taste.
We pass the island Håkøya and see the Tripitz wreck. The Bismarck-class battle ship was the one of the largest in the German Kriegsmarine.
An American family from Colorado is with us. Paul is a lecturer in renewable energy. “The students can’t wait till they graduate and put into practice what they have learned and to find new energy solutions”, he explains. “The state of Colorado is progressive on environmental policy.”
Paul and his family are fascinated by Norway, its nature, environmental policy and the welfare state. When foreigners talk about the good things about Norway, I always try to balance the picture. This summer, state owned oil company Equinor is trying to convince people that Norwegian oil is cleaner than others. In the commercial the company has included images of school striking kids to convey their message. “How do you even get clean oil?” I end saying.
Windmills
Contrary to other places in Norway where the windmill resistance has been fierce, Tromsø has decided to build. The 67 turbines at Kvitfjell windmills will provide between 30,000-40,000 homes with electricity.
Offshore windmills are said to be expensive and can damage marine life and ecosystems. But the race is on. The French company Ideol and Japanese Shizen Energy signed a few days ago an agreement to develop offshore wind outside Kyushu i Japan. Ideol has patented its floating offshore wind mill.
Arctic windsurf
After 2,000 kilometers driving from Oslo to Tromsø, it is time to release the windsurfing gear from the roof top of our car. As long as you have a good wet suit, caps and gloves, windsurfing is fine up here. My daughter and I check the weather prognosis, pack our bags and head out to Langnes, near the airport.
Light wind in the beginning but it’s nice to be out with the snow covered mountains surrounding us. “I want to go up”, my daughter says. “Too light wind.” As we step out of the water, the wind picks up. “Should we have another go?” I ask. “Ok, let’s try.” And there it. Solid 9 meters per second. Not cold, just fun. Us and the Arctic mountains.
26/06/2019
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