Very old

‍SkoleskipetSørlandet is the world's oldest full rigger in active service and, as many Southerners know, was launched in Otra in 1927. The steering wheel to Sørlandet dates back to at least the 1880s. It was previously used on the barque Svarvanut - purchased from France in 1912. In 1925, Capt. A. Andersen took "Svarvanut" to Stavanger for scrapping. Subsequently, he was employed by the Kristiansand Port Authority and oversaw the construction of the training ship "Sørlandet". By agreement with Stavanger Skibs-Opphuggings Co, he selected some of the equipment that was transported to Høivolds Mek Verksted for use on board the training ship "Sørlandet". A total of NOK 4,801 was paid for everything. Only the steering screw with accessories came to NOK. 193,50.  

Vesøya carpentry workshop in Grimstad was commissioned to restore the ship's steering wheel. It was quite a job. The middle section of the steering wheel (the boss) was in particularly poor condition after more than a hundred years of rough weather conditions at sea. Everything has now been carefully restored, adjusted, sanded and varnished.  

- There was nothing to think about when we decided to restore the treasure," says Knut Arne Gjertsen, director of the Foundation. The Ship Sørlandet. "The ship is of course the most original of the country's three great sailing ships.

Coming home

The ship's wheelhas been safely stored at Igland Eiendom in Grimstad, waiting for the ship to return home. She will do so on Saturday, June 1. That's when the pupils will also be returning home after sailing around the North Atlantic this school year, and hundreds of parents, siblings and grandparents will be waiting on the quayside to welcome them at Pier 6 .  

The ship's steering wheel will be shipped to Pier 6 this coming Thursday so that it can be mounted on board when Sørlandet will soon be home again.

See also the article in Fædrelandsvennen August 20, 2023: - It's quite a job - fvn.no

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