In minutes, everything can be turned around…. It is February and the year is 1949. Outside, the west wind has turned to the northwest and increased to a strong gale. It comes in from the outer side of Lofoten, and on the way into the Reinefjord down from the mountains, the wind achieves unimaginable forces that cause the waves to go several meters into the air.
At Ruth and Johan Olsen’s home in the small farmhouse close to the beach at Festheld near Hamnøy, there is a good afternoon atmosphere.
The dinner meal is over, and four of the five children, aged two to sixteen, are in the house. Ruth herself has done the laundry – it’s on the line. She takes care of the kitchen. Work in the house must be done even if she is thirty-nine years pregnant at the eighth month. She is happy that the youngest kids are in the house during the storm. Johan is known as a skilled fisherman who has rowed the sea all his adult life. He has saved both life and boat through countless stormy days to feed his family.
Now he is going up to the attic with the youngest who is going to have an afternoon nap. As he comes up with the boy to put him in his bed, he looks out of the attic window and discovers to his great horror that the gale has torn away the frozen duvet cover that hung on the clothesline, and thrown it out to sea. He rushes down to the living room, and they agree that the bed linen needs to be saved – it’s not just a matter of buying new ones.
Together they rush down to the sea, pull the rowboat down to the scooing sea – get in between the wind balls and lie down to row as much as they can. The kids stand in the window and look for their parents, who they can barely make out in their snorts. Salty, icy seawater is drenched over them as they row in teams – the two who always work so well together.
The next thing the kids see from the window is the bow of the boat, it can’t handle the pressure of the wind and capsizes. Both of them are lost in the foaming sea.
The neighbors come down to the beach – there are cries for help, first from both of them – after a while just from her. We come, we come, they shout from the shore, but soon afterwards it becomes quiet, only the wind and the roar of the sea can be heard.
On land there are five children. Johan is found on the bottom, not far from land, sitting in a rowing position. He had a cramp. He who had always ridden out the storm in his boat on the wild sea in Lofoten to do his job.
After many hours of searching, Ruth is found floating in the white house apron that she wore daily – she was heavily pregnant.
Haldis Karlsen was Ruth’s sister. In 1993, she told about her residence at Reine;
– Ruth was one of my eight siblings and we spent a lot of time together at Rostad where we grew up and later, when we were both married. We often rowed to visit each other when the kids were small.
She will never forget the February day when this tragedy unfolded.
– They were such warm and good people, both Ruth and Johan, and had such a good time together. I remember her saying several times that she couldn’t live without him, and wished they could die at the same time. But, little did she know that it would happen in this terrible way.
Four of the children stayed with relatives, while the eldest boy went to sea afterwards.
The story is reproduced in Lofoten.com with permission from Dag Sørli, Lofotboka Værøy.
Text: Gøril Thrane, Lofotboka 1993 Photo: Private
