Mission complete! - If the purpose of putting in in Spangereid with a 30 metres long Viking ship and 65 crewmembers dressed in marine blue parade jackets is to create a stir.
We take up a lot of room. On the quay, on the toilets, at the local grocer's and in the life of the few hundred inhabitants. Everyday several cars pass us very slowly to inspect us closely.
An official from the local authority payed a visit the day before yesterday. He wanted to take photographs and get information on us. A local journalist came by yesterday. And everyday locals come see us and chat a little.
Yesterday afternoon I spent a little time alone, when a pensioner and a mechanic with his daughter stopped.
"Hey... do you have plans on settling permanently her in Spangereid," the pensioner asked.
"Nah, our hosts, Jarle and Anne Tone, have said that we are most welcome if we wanna stay till sometime in August... so we just might. It is lovely here."
The old mans wrinkled spread out in a big smile.
"Well, it is rather cosy with all of you here. We don't have that many summer guests this year you see. Due to the weather."
"No, there is very quiet here. But I think, we've saved July's turnover on the bar in town," I replied.
"Well, that is just perfect. But I heard you were going to put out this morning?"
"Yes, true. The depression looked good for us yesterday, but during the night it took another course than the weather forecasts predicted. We wanted the pressure to be so farth to the south, that we could sail on the eastern winds in the northen part of the pressure. But when we got up this morning, the wind was due west."
"Oh..." the old man said, and turned to the mechanic:
"Well, there you see..."
The mechanic stood astride of his bike and flung his arms about.
"I have never seen such a bad summer here in the Sørlandet. I have three weeks off and wanted to hike in the mountains, but..." His body language said clearly, that heavy rain, 15 degree celcius and hard wind from the west wasn't the best weather for hiking.
The old man suddenly remembered, that he had a broken tail light on his car and asked the mechanic, if there was time at his workshop.
"I don't think so. You see, half of us are on vacation."
"Well, that is not very good. The other day I nearly got a ticket. Do you remember the car that ran into the ditch? I met five police cars there. I'd better have that light fixed now."
The mechanic agreed and they arranged for the old man to call and get an appointment.
"But, hey... when are you due in Dublin?"
"August 14th," I replied.
"I see... well, you have plenty of time then."
"Yeah, no reason for panic yet. Our greatest concern is for how long Jarle and Anne Tone can house us.
"Oh! You live up there?" The old man pointed to the second floor.
"Yes... try and imagine having 65 people visiting you... for more than a week!"
"Yes," he laughed, "that is just great. Have a nice trip!"
The old man, the mechanic and his daughter said farewell and went home.
The day today have been the ninth day where we've been forced to stay in Spangereid because of the wind. Early this morning skipper canceled the planned sail across the North Sea. The pressure had changed over night and could no longer carry us the 350 nautical miles from Lindesnes to Kirkwall.
After breakfast we found some discarded pieces of pressure-treated wood, left by the craftsmen building Jarle and Anne Tones' new fishmongers' shop.
Using the pieces of wood we played a viking game called Kupp. Louise and me was a team. Against "Honks" and "Høkeren" from the aft rum (section of the ship) - or the sun deck as they stubbornly keep calling it. We lost bigtime, and it was not Louises' fault.
Nathan, the journalist from BBC, brought out his camera, when he saw Carli carving a piece of wood we decided must be cherry. Once it stood in Carlis' garden, but he brought a stick of 15 centimetres on the expedition. As an old Emil from Lönneberg (an Astrid Lindgren character) he carves a little bit everyday.
The purpose is to create a god of weather, who can bring us some good wind. We are a few who thinks, that Carli easily could carve a little more and a little faster. But Carli seems convinced that to create a ritual idol, every detail needs care. Except for a pair of eyes with an extreme stare, the figurine - if I get it right - have a tortoise who symbolically is eating a Viking ship.
As the BBC-camera was running, Carli explained that the weathergod is named "Carsten Vejrtrold" (Carsten weathertroll), and that the crew has to worship the god to get a good wind. Suddenly Louise exclaimed from a nearby bench: "and then we will burn him!" Fully convinced, that only a ritual sacrifice with open fire could redeem the crews' fervent dreams of an eastern wind.
Right now it is one AM. I am on anchor duty with Kjetil. I´m sitting in the aft and writing my diary on a laptop. Another day of waiting in Spangereid is waning.