TEXT: Arthur Johansen, 1982
Pålsmesse – it is the 25th of August. January. From ancient times it was said that one should not “go out” on a trip this day, not at sea, and one should not shrimp between the villages. This was a day that Berre gave out.
An old man said this about the weather on the day of the Easter Mass:
On the day of the Pålsmesse, when it is either glowing rock or flounder, I have noticed that from the time I was a little gluttonous.
A storm no one could remember
In January 1893, there was good cod fishing for the entire outer coast of Lofoten. There were many men from this district who rowed for Laukvik, Skovsund and Vikarøya. The Pålsmesse days this year were to be a day that sticks in the memory of people here.
At the otter in the morning there was only a small wind gray from the southeast. It was good weather. The boats set out, and the men got into the trekking. Then he pulled up a black snow, like a half-weighted bottom west of Lofoten. It grew and grew all the time. Then he played up with southwest so it flew and rauk. When it was renting, he turned northwest. It was a storm people could not remember, but Karane kept away into the Hadselffjord.
Scoop for life
In one of the boats there were fifty hundred fish, and it threw them into the breaks, but some fish sprang up and stuffed the liver in the east. This mixture was poured out to dampen the sea. It was to scoop for life, but the auskarane were too small – they had to use the flax tub to scoop with. This voyage ended well for those who made it up to Holdøya. On the other boat, Martin Jørgensen was the captain, and the boat was from Holdøya. Martin Olsen, Holdøy, Kristian Olsen, Falkfjord (gunman), Martin Jakobsen, Budal (backroom man) and Ole Jørgensen, Arnøy, called the others on the boat.
They had 700 fish in the boat, and it was a hard turn. After the first “sinker” they threw out 100 fish. The boat was a wide-boated Ranværing eight. Two more “sinkers” got them on the way in, and left gong they paid to “catch up with him” by scooping for life, at the same time as they set a little more sail, so that they got out enough more of the oyster. It was to scoop for life with the linen stampane, until the boat sank on the shore at Bakkasjyen in Holdøya. They made it on to Leirskjæret, but then they turned around. The intention was to get up to Laukvika. At Grunnførhalsa, they had to turn around.
The centurion commanded the sail up
On the trip up to Sand, the crew thought that the centurion had gone mad. He commanded the seal up claw by claw. The boat flew over the sea, and he sailed the boat up to the shore at Sand. There were both men and women ready on the shore, and they pulled the boat safely up. Another crew that rescued their way up to Ongstad, was; Eilert Simonsen, Sommarhus, Høvedsmann, Lars Larsen, Hadselsand, Jens Andreassen, Grunnfør, neck car, John Jonsen, Grunnfør and Edvar Jensen, Strønstad. It is said that 12 eight-year-olds landed at Følvika on Sand this day.
More people saved themselves
Hertvik Johansen also had an eight-stroke. He “landed” by the river at Hadselsand, and he had to go out with the dredge to bring down the mast. Ole Olsen from Falkfjorden ( he Ola-søring ) took the vest inside out on his brother, and he saw Laurits in the scoop. The fact that he took command, and that they had strong people who worked with the linen stamps all the time, salvaged this boat with its crew. They “landed” at Strønstad. Gunnar Johansen from Sommerhusstranda had a small eight-ring and he saved himself on Sommerhusstranda. Leonhard Winter from Grunnførfjord had a small five-oared boat and rowed with nets on the Laukvik Sea. Kasper Johansen and Albin Johansen from Gjersvold were with him in the boat in this uver. They “landed” in Vassvik on Hadseløya.
Cut off – sit down and stay away from the monster!
From Laukvik we know of two boats. At one of them, Johan Bech was a centurion together with Andreas Johansen, Morfjord, and Stor-Emil. The last two I don’t know the names of. On the other boat, Albert in Naustvika was the chieftain. For these it was net as for the others; Cut off – sit down and stay away from the monster! Occasionally they saw others in the “cow pond”. They had to sail past the quake, and had not a single chance to try to save people. On board they had a kind of “air compass”.
On the eight-year-old from Strønstad, Edvart Hansen (Stor-Edvart) was the chieftain. He had Martin Tikkensen and Johan Bardo with him. They got ashore in Hovsund, and Edvart is said to have said;
I have been in a boat since I was two years old, but I have never been out in such a hurry.
At that time, he had rowed a centurion since he was 20 years old.
Nils Iverås in Morfjorden had a five-oared boat. He rowed for Hovsund. Kristoffer Olsen, Morfjord was the neckman, and Gabriel Hansen, backroom man. This boat came up to Hovsund after a hard voyage. He Gabriel knew that his brother, he “Stor-Edvart” was out, so he jumped up on a hill to look for his boat. He could see that he was coming, and that the men on board could barely “stand up” to Hovsund. But it went well, and one can imagine that he was happy when he saw that his brother made it safely ashore with a boat and crew.
42 widows and mementos who sit in
After this misery, there were 42 widows in Hadsel, and the memory of this sits in the people to this day.
Source: Arthur Johansen, Strønstad.
Hofdasegl 1982
