Norholmen

The steel steam trawler Karsten was launched from the yard of Alesund Mekaniske  Verksted (Yard No 12) in 1906.  She measured 93.2′ x 19.4′ x 9.1′ and her tonnage was 107 gross tons, 37 net tons.  She was powered by a 2 cylinder compound steam engine by Alesund Mek Verks.  She was delivered to her new owner, Mr K Larsen of Alesund in December 1906.  In 1909 her ownership was transferred to Mr Oscar Larsen who instructed major modifications to the vessel the following year extending her length by 12.6′ increasing her gross tonnage to 141 tons and her ne tonnage to 52 tons. A series of further ownership changes followed until she was sold to Elias A. Stokke, Ålesund in October 1924 who renamed her Norholmen. In March 1935 she was sold to L/L Havhesten ( Knut Grønnetvet, Vartdal ) Ålesund.  After 16 years of service for this organisation a new Alpha BHK 240 Speed diesel engine was installed by Fredrikshaven Jernst and Mek.  In 1966 she was sold to her final owner, Karl Eliassen, Deknepollen, Måløy. 

In November 1966 she was line fishing for mackerel off the Orkney coast.  On 23rd her skipper steered her into Hoy Sound, bound for Stromness to give his men some well earned time ashore, when she was swept ashore onto rocks on the north side of the sound.  Her distress calls were answered by the Stromness Lifeboat and the Stromness Life Saving Association shore team but their assistance was not required as the nine crewmen made it safely ashore in the ship’s inflatable liferaft.  The crew were taken to a local hotel leaving their ship on the rocks, pounded by heavy seas.  The crew were able to return to the Norholmen the following day to recover their personal belongings before leaving Orkney for their homeland. The skipper stayed behind initially and was able to oversee the recovery of the vessel’s catch of mackerel before he too left the islands to return home.

Over the subsequent weeks the Norholmen, which lay in a very exposed position, was gradually pushed further and onto the shore by a series of storms.  The series of photographs above show the gradual movement of the wreck until she reached a point high on the beach close to Stromness cemetery around 1975.   From this position the wreckage was finally broken up and removed for scrap in 1992 leaving a few broken metal remnants of the ship high on the beach in a position estimated to be 58 57.207’N, 03 19.660’W