 The Challenge
Taking on the North Sea is a serious undertaking in most boats. In single sea kayaks it is a daunting prospect. Travelling at an average of less than 2.5 knotts means that the three paddlers will take at least 84 hours. Four days and three nights. Squeezed into damp cockpits with no escape from the elements and no opportunity for good sleep this is as much a test of mental strength as it is physical. The North Sea is notoriously rough with a constant barrage of steep breaking waves and water that gets little warmer than 10 degrees. Staying upright will be hard enough but the major problems are the cold, injury, sea sickness and shipping. Perhaps our biggest concern is ensuring we stay together during the dreaded hours of darkness.
 The Story
There are many cultural links between Shetland and Norway that find their roots in Viking times. One story that is relatively fresh in the minds of both Shetlanders and Norwegians is that of the 'Shetland Bus'.
After the German occupation of Norway in WW2 a small, essentially non military, operation was set up between Shetland and the West Coast of Norway to ferry agents, saboteurs and arms into Norway and to aid refugees in their escape. Norwegian fishing boats and fishermen were used to make repeated crossings of the notoriously inhospitable North Sea, with a mix of success and tragedy. Their actions were crucial in forcing Germany to base a quarter of a million troops in Norway but the cost of this success was high with many boats sunk and with the loss of the lives of 44 of the Shetland Bus Crews. Despite this there was never a lack of willingness to set out on a mission. Of all the dangers they faced they knew that the wild conditions of the North Sea was by far the greatest threat to their survival. We are celebrating and commemorating the courage, the seamanship and the remarkable ability of many like Leif Larson to survive again and again, against the odds.
Patrick Winterton © 2011
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