A Piece of Naddoddur

Sometimes the most meaningful encounters begin with something as simple as a dot on a map.

While we were travelling through northern Norway, I noticed a place I had marked on Google Maps some time ago. When I clicked on it, I realised we were close to Vokkøya, the island where one of the oars from Naddoddur had been found after our accident. Somehow, the oar had travelled around 750 kilometres from the place where Naddoddur capsized before washing ashore there.

When I mentioned it to Andy, his reaction was immediate. We had to go there and meet the people who had found it.

750 Kilometres Later

Andy started contacting people and managed to get the phone number of Per Kristian, the man who had shared the discovery on Facebook at the time. When Andy called him, we learned that Per Kristian was away in rehabilitation, so we would not be able to meet him on Vokkøya. But we decided to go there anyway.

We anchored off the island and shortly afterwards Per Kristian called Andy with a surprising detail: the oar had been found only about 50 metres from where we were anchored. His house was right there as well, and although he was away, he told us that we could meet his wife Marit.

An Unexpected Encounter

So Martin, Andy and I went ashore to visit her. What had started as a search for the place where a piece of Naddoddur had washed up soon became a fascinating encounter of its own.

Per Kristian and his wife own a beautiful old wooden Nordland boat and have travelled extensively with it over the years, including an incredible journey all the way to Istanbul. We had arrived because of our own story with an old wooden boat and suddenly found ourselves listening to another.

We talked about our journey with Naddoddur, the accident and the adventures with their boat. There was something special about sitting there almost two years after our accident, only metres from the place where one of Naddoddur’s oars had ended its own long journey through the sea.

Before leaving Vokkøya, we also took some time to reflect on our own journey and filmed conversations with each other about Naddoddur, the accident and what it meant to find ourselves here almost two years later, following the journey of one of the boat’s lost oars.

A few days later, back in Bodø, Andy and I finally met Per Kristian in person. We spent some time together, hearing more about the journeys he and his wife Marit had made and talking about our own experiences with Naddoddur.

Towards the end of our visit, Per Kristian mentioned that their Nordland boat had recently returned to the harbour and that we could go and see it. Of course we did.

Back at the harbour, we finally stood in front of the boat we had heard so much about. A beautiful old wooden vessel, full of character and history. There was even some talk about the possibility of sharing an adventure on the water together one day. Whether that will ever happen remains to be seen, but somehow it would be a fitting continuation of this unexpected encounter.

Back to Faroe Islands & Tvøroyri

A few days later, five of us continued from Norway to the Faroe Islands for another week of sailing. For Andy and me, returning to the Faroes had another meaning. Almost two years after the accident, we were coming back to the islands where our journey with Naddoddur had begun.

While we were in Klaksvík, we met Livar, who had been part of the Naddoddur crew and is also one of the five of us who survived the accident. Seeing him again so close to the anniversary made our return even more special.

From Klaksvík, we had originally hoped to sail to Tvøroyri, but with the time we had left, it would have been too tight. So we left the boat behind and took the ferry south instead.

In Tvøroyri we stayed in the boathouse and met members of the local boat club, people who had become closely connected to our story over the past two years. Once again, we were overwhelmed by the incredible hospitality we experienced there. We were welcomed so warmly, invited in for coffee, tea and meals, and made to feel at home from the moment we arrived. A huge thank you to everyone who opened their doors to us and made our return to Tvøroyri so special.

Seeing the boat again after almost two years was surreal. Naddoddur somehow seemed so small. Standing there, it was difficult to imagine everything we had experienced aboard this boat and what Naddoddur had endured during those hours in the North Atlantic.

Where Naddoddur Was Built

While we were in Tvøroyri, we also visited Johan in his beautiful workshop.

Johan is one of the last traditional boatbuilders in the Faroe Islands. He learned the craft from his father and grandfather, carrying on knowledge that has been passed down through generations. And it was here, in this very workshop, that he built Naddoddur.

Johan has become a very important person to us. There is a deep sense of gratitude towards him and towards the remarkable boat he built. Naddoddur carried us across the North Atlantic and through the most difficult hours of our lives. Five of the six of us survived that night, and it is impossible for me to look at the boat, or the hands that built it, without feeling grateful.

This time, we could share Johan’s workshop and its story with the remaining Project 68°N crew who had travelled to the Faroe Islands with us. 

Almost two years earlier, Andy and I had left Tvøroyri aboard Naddoddur without knowing how deeply this boat, Johan and the people around it would become connected to our lives.

In Memory of Karla

One of the most important reasons for returning to Tvøroyri was to remember Karla. We went to the Lost at Sea memorial and laid down flowers for her. Standing there almost two years after the accident was deeply emotional. We took time to remember Karla, to think about what happened out there and about everything that has happened since.

There will always be sadness connected to that day, but for Andy and me there is also an enormous sense of gratitude. Five of the six of us came back from that sea alive and we were two of them. Even two years later, it still feels like a miracle that five of us made it out alive. The anniversary will always be the day we lost Karla, but at the same time it reminds us how fortunate we are to still be here. For us it has become a second birthday, a reminder every year of how precious life is.

Coming back to Tvøroyri was emotional, but it also felt good to be there again. This place will always be connected to what happened to us, but it has become so much more than that. It is also connected to friendship, gratitude and people who have become an important part of our lives.