By Mr. OTTAR VOGT, Secretary of the Norwegian Society for the Rescue of the Shipwrecked.

THE coast of Norway is very extensive and mountainous, rocky and precipitous all over — the whole coastline being guarded by a fence of islands and skerries.

Therefore an organized Life-boat Service has always proved to be a matter of difficulty, and several former attempts have been given up. Then Dr. Oscar Tybring made his entry in the matter, well aware of the despairing and desolate situation of the ship- wrecked off the Norwegian coasts.

Dr. Tybring had an inflexible will, though his health was weak, and he was joined by the well-known boat- builder, Colin Archer, whose parents were English—he himself being born and bred in Norway.

" Norsk Selskap til Skibbreidnes Red- ning " (The Norwegian Society for the Rescue of the Shipwrecked) was founded on the 9th February, 1891. Those con- cerned in the matter were in doubt whether to use Steam Life-boats, or to make pilot- and fishing-boats, unsink- able, etc., being well aware of the fact that Life-boats and Rocket Apparatus such as were used abroad would only be possible at a very few places.

Fortunately, it was soon agreed that sea-going life-saving ketches should be brought into play, and a competition was opened for the building of such craft, but without result. For experi- mental purposes, two ketches were then built, named Colin Archer and Liv (Life), and the first one proved to be so superior in every respect, that all later ketches have been built in conformity with her.

She bears the name of her master- builder. In time thirty-four life-saving ketches were built. Some of them have been lost, others have been condemned, and at present there are twenty-seven in action. This fleet is working all the winter in the open sea in the great arteries of shipping traffic, or it is moving about from place to place, from ground to ground, and is regulating perennially its movements according to those of the fishing-fleet. In other words, the Norwegian Institution, in- stead of waiting for the shipwrecked mariner to be driven ashore, sends its fleet to sea and effects a rescue of both boat and crew.

On the fishing-ground there can sometimes be seen several hundreds of boats. Formerly only open boats were in use in the fisher-fleet, but nowadays many of the fishermen have been per- suaded to adopt the security of a deck and motor arrangement. One still sees, however, lots of open boats in Trondh- jem, Lofoten and Finmarken.

The Norwegian Life-boat Institution cannot be mentioned without describing services which show that the ketches have proved their great value. As I have said, the essential thing is, that the fleet operates in the open sea, trying to help before a disaster has occurred, and in this arduous work it has many, many times succeeded in rescuing boats as well as mariners. The one rescue deserves to be praised as well as the other. I will describe the first deed of Colin Archer.

The day after she arrived at Vardoe, in Finmarken, a storm was brewing and the harbour office was warned that several fishing-smacks had dragged their anchors and were driving against the rocks in Havningberg, a little fishing place situated twelve miles from Vardoe. Nobody had thought of " the sea-going Life-boat," but after a few steamers had abandoned the attempt to come to help—being almost unable to make any headway—Colin Archer got information of the distress and immediately set off with sails close- reefed. Arriving on the scene of the disaster, she found the whole harbour entrance a line of breaking surf, but, trying all the time to smooth the heavy sea with oil, she cruised between the driving fishing-smacks and went up alongside them, close enough for the fishermen to jump aboard her. She came into most dangerous proximity with the smacks, and it was only with the greatest difficulty—most skilful seamanship being shown—that she suc- ceeded in rescuing twenty-one men and one woman in the course of three- quarters of an hour. All were landed in Vardoe, and the Colin Archer immedi- ately put off again for Havningberg and saved another fourteen men—in all thirty-six lives. It was on the 19th May, 1894, that she thus " got her baptism of fire," and this service showed that it had been a wise decision to build sea going life-saving ketches. It showed, at the same time, that the Master, N. M.

Anthonisen, was much in his element, the right man in the right place. He received many marks of respect; but a few years afterwards this brave and skilful sailor was drowned outside his very door.

During six years no fishermen were lost at sea off Vardoe district, while formerly numbers were lost every year, which facts, of course, have contributed greatly to make our Life-boat Institu- tion very popular.

Many people will remember the Christmas week 1915—every day being stormy with strong frost and snow- squalls. The life-saving ketch William Eger, commanded by Emanuel Larsen, was at that time cruising off the Naze.

At noon of the 23rd, when a W.N.W.

gale was blowing, the ketch, just making headway in the heavy sea and all covered with ice, happened to fall in | with the steamer Flostero of Arendal, which was trying to put into port for safety, being in a critical situation. She ! was entirely ice-covered, from stem to stern, and the seas were continually washing over her. But Master Larsen took his ketch up alongside the steamer, jumped on board, and took the steamer to a safe harbour; Next day the mainsail of the ketch split, and, very heavily covered with ice, she fell in with the steamer Kiel, of Bergen, also trying to put into a port for refuge. This time it was a work of too much danger to get close enough to jump on board, and therefore the steamer proceeded into harbour, navi- : gating in the wake of the ketch. On Christmas Day, with storm and frost as on the day before, the pilot from the William Eger succeeded in boarding the ; steamer Bruse, of Kristiania ; while, next day, the Master of the William Eger boarded the steamer Lake, of Stock- holm, on her passage from Sundsvall to Tunis, and took her to a port for safety.

The steamer had been in a very critical condition with her deck cargo having loosened and her fore-rigging broken i down.

I On the 27th the pilot was set on j board the steamer Helya, of Grimstad, on her passage from Galveston to Aarhuus, and on the 28th the Master once more acted as pilot on board the steamer Kong Guttorm, bound for Kris- tiania, on her way to the port of Ras- vaag for refuge. In the course of this week the ketches proved of much use, as the steamers were in great danger and forced to run for safety. But the Life- boat crew were very frost-bitten on face and hands.

As to help for the fishing-fleet, I ought to mention the Life-saving Ketch Nordland, in connexion with the splendid work she did off the west point of Lofoten on the 2nd April, 1919. A fishing-fleet consisting of more than two hundred boats had gone to sea in the morning to draw their fishing-tackle, the storm-warning not having reached ! the Station until an hour after their ' departure. Immediately afterwards an • off-shore storm with snow set in. The ketch was only able to carry close-reefed sails, but very soon she came up with a boat with four men on board, and later she found two boats with seven men.

Both boats were in a hopeless situation, but she brought them safely into har- bour. Some of the fishermen, who had thrown up the game, and were suffering terribly from fright, frost, and hunger, had to be carried on board the ketch by the joint efforts of the Life-boat men.

Jn the afternoon the ketch again put out and found two more boats with eightmen. Altogether she saved nineteen men, and for the third time set out to look for more work, but no more boats were to be found. It is a gratifying thing to state that the whole population in these regions always feel impelled to help, and the very same day several motor boats went out and towed the open boats to the harbour, by which loss of lives was avoided.

It has also fallen to the lot of our Life-boat ketches to be of considerable use to our largest ship—our American line steamer Stavangerfjord. On the 25th January, 1920, in the evening, the life-saving ketch Christian Bars was requested by wireless to set a pilot on board the Stavangerfjord, as no boat would dare to go out in such a storm.

Christian Bors immediately went to sea, and about three in the morning the Stavangerfjord was observed standing inshore. The ketch sheered up along- side under the lee of the steamer and • succeeded in setting a pilot aboard.

But the wind was blowing with hurricane force, with heavy drift and sea, and the steamer was, unfortunately, drivenagainst the ketch, broke her rigging and rail-stanchions, and partly smashed in her side. The crew were forced to leave the ketch, for she was in a sinking state. But she proved better than one could have imagined. Her watertight bulkheads kept her afloat, and she was carried ashore, a distance of sixteen miles, in the course of twelve hours.

She was repaired, and one month after- wards was in full work again. To the memory of this occurrence a silver plate was placed on the bulkhead in her cabin.

The ketches are carvel-built, being, as already mentioned, decked sailingketches. They are 46 feet 8 inches in length, with a beam of 15 feet 10 inches and a draught of about 7| feet. They are very strongly built, the stem and stern posts, the outer planking, etc., being of oak. The frames are of yellow pine, grown to shape, and are double. Be- tween each is fitted an oak rib, which is riveted to the outer planking. Inside the frames is an inner watertight skin, extending upwards from the cabin floor, and the latter itself is watertight. As a result there is an inner vessel formed, which will keep afloat even if the outer planking is stove in. It is divided by four watertight bulkheads forming two cabins and a space aft for sail-lockers and such like. The cockpit is water- tight, so that the boat, when battened down, can disregard entirely the heaviest of seas. She is handled by a crew of four men, and there are berths in the ' two cabins for ten. The gear is all of the best and strongest, and, taking every- thing together, it would be difficult to I imagine vessels more seaworthy and j reliable. They keep the sea the whole winter, from autumn to spring, and during all this time they are expected to operate off the coast for the purpose of preventing any loss or shipwreck.

They have their stations partly in the waters of the great arteries of traffic, off the Naze, at the entrance to Bergen, Kristiania and Trondhjem, and partly on the well-known fishing-grounds, regu- lating their movements according to those of the fishing-fleet. Provided with a large equipment of life-saving articles, they always have dry effects for the rescued ; they carry also a small life- saving cannon that is able to shoot out a line of about one hundred fathoms, by which connexion with ships may be obtained. Such a life-saving gun would, no doubt, be of good use on board all steamers.

The ketches only use sail during their work, being too heavy to be pulled by a crew consisting of four men, and motor arrangement is at present out of the question. A motor must always be strong enough to propel the ketch against the heaviest winds and seas.

But as no case has been pointed out in which the ketches have been of no use because of not being equipped with motors, no alteration in their fitting has been made. Otherwise, it would perhaps be possible to gather the necessary sum, even though it is no easy matter to obtain half a million crowns in private contributions. It is in bad weather that the Life-boats are requested, and then there is always wind enough for them to make their way.

In addition to twenty-seven life- saving ketches, we have at our disposal a few surf-boats, rocket apparatus, telephones to the most exposed points of the coast, life-saving apparatus for distress on ice, life-belts on the quays, signals-staffs, etc. Rewards are also distributed, medals seldom, but some- times tiepins for men and brooches for women with the badge of the Life-boat Institution. Sometimes also silver articles are given, but seldom monetary rewards except where great suffering exists. Most people, I feel sure, do their best to rescue the lives of others without thinking of any reward, but for all that a reward of any kind has always its pleasing features.

The Norwegian Life-Boat Institution is like the English, solely supported by voluntary contributions, and all the contributors are entitled to voting rights. In every town and in every greater village the contributors form a society, where meetings are held once or more times a year—the whole country for collecting purposes being divided into thirteen districts—each with a Committee under a Chairman and Vice- Chairman. These thirteen Chairmen, together with a Committee of Manage- ment consisting of three members, meet once a year for a general meeting, at which the stationing of the ketches and the budget, etc., are decided.

Director Anton Poulsson celebrated, two years ago, his semi-jubilee as the President of the Institution. The remainder of the members of the Com- mittee of Management are the ship- owner, Otto Thoresen, and the merchant (ex-captain) F. Wiese, with the ship- owner Erling Lund as deputy member.

The Secretary works directly with the Committee of Management, and conducts the daily administration of the Institu- tion, being assisted by an Inspector, Paymaster, and the necessary clerks.Importance is attached to decen- tralization of the work, and in accordance with this lecturers are engaged who, like the Secretary and the Inspector, travel all over the country creating an interest in the cause. As a matter of course, the foreman of each district is entitled to make such arrangements as he thinks fit for the ketches and to spend a sum not exceeding 200 crowns * for any urgent purpose of life-saving without waiting for instructions from Headquarters.

Many people have taken a great and deep interest in the Institution.

Among others, I will mention Mr.

Emile Robin, the well-known French- man, who has given to the Institution no less than five gifts for rewards and for wedding-presents among the crews, etc.

The best of all memorials to a friend who is dead is to commemorate him by helping to save life. To that belief the Institution owes legacies amounting to 650,000 crowns. The interest from this sum and a State contribution of 35,000 crowns are all that we receive apart from voluntary contributions. These contributions are the greater part of our revenue. It is impossible to over- estimate the value of this voluntary system, combined, as it is, with private initiative and the fact that all con- * The nominal value of the Norwegian krone is Is. l$d.

tributors have a share in the control of the Institution.

The ketches are stationed along the coast according to proposals from the districts. But many other places are ; standing in need of them, and it is no I easy matter to comply with all the : requests. The ketches are, in any case, ; placed on the most exposed coastal tracts. The movements of the different fishing-fleets entail also, to a certain extent, the moving of the ketches for the purpose of utilizing the whole apparatus in the best way.

On the pilot Stations a few boats keep a look-out, but apart from these and the outlook houses at the Naze and Faderen, there are no other organized permanent watches along the shore than the ketches. Therefore a reduction, how- ever small, in the number of ketches would at once meet with protest, and is probably quite out of the question. The Institution has got on very well in the last thirty years, and has always met with deep sympathy, so that the neces- sary funds have been obtained with comparative ease. Last year, however, things did not go off so easily, but we trust that energetic work will over- come difficulties, and we entertain the hope that we may form a chain of life- saving ketches, manned with skilful and fearless sailors, along the whole coast of Norway, and that in all matters connected with life-saving we may keep pace with the times..