The picture shows the proud Colin Archer Rs Svolvær who was ship number 12. It was built in Larvik in 1897 and was just over 14 m long.
Many fishermen perished dramatically along our furrowed and weathered coast in the 1800s.
In 1849 on 11 February, 500 fishermen lost their lives in a tremendous storm in Lofoten. An incredibly high number and disaster for many homes. And the death toll of fishermen continued at over 50 people a year. Something had to be done and an energetic group joined forces and founded the Norwegian Society for Skibbrudnes Redning in 1891 – NSSR. The slogan was “Think of your brothers at sea.”
The Norwegian lifeboats have a saw and nimbus that is respected. For over 100 years, they have assisted casualties, gone out to sea when others struggled to get to shore, braved storms and storms to save others.
It had no engine and relied on a genuinely skilled crew.
The first rescue boat to be powered was, if we disregard a failed attempt in the late 1800s, not until 1930. Rs Svolvær was in service from 1897 to 1938 and rescued 70 people from certain death at sea. Incredibly, the boat still exists and is privately owned in Lofoten, carefully taken care of and used for sailing trips in Lofoten’s magnificent archipelago.
In total, the lifeboats have rescued nearly 7,000 people from certain death at sea since 1893. And more than 500,000 have received help and assistance in a difficult situation at sea. It says respect!
The photograph is said to have been taken around the mid-1920s. William Hakvaag at Lofoten War Memorial Museum has put colors on it.