The summer at the cottage was coming to an end. And it was time to take up the family’s country house boat at Hvasser in Vestfold for the season. But this year’s recording of a boat should give Marianne Juell Skaug and her family a shock.
Everything on the boat that had been under water was completely covered in seaweed, shells and sea plants in a layer several centimeters thick.
– I have never, in my many decades here, experienced the like. It was an incredible sight, says a surprised boat owner to DinSide.
Unusual weather
– It is common for a little growth to stick to the part of the hull that is under water. But this, which turned out to be a five centimeter layer of various growths, was a whole maritime universe. Even small shrimps had found shelter here, says the astonished boat owner.
Remaining places plummet
Now Marianne Juell Skaug wonders if the reason for the wild growth could be due to the unusual summer that has passed. There have been a number of floods, of which extreme weather “Hans” was the worst.
– The entire Oslofjord was completely dark with silt that the rivers had brought with them. I think this, together with other pollutants, may have contributed to, or been the cause of, the whole thing, says the boat owner.
BAD: Marianne Juell Skaug tries to show just how shocked she was by how the boat looked when they took it up for the season. Photo: Private Show more
Slow speed
During the summer, the boat lies at a depth of one and a half meters at a private wharf at Hvasser in Færder municipality (formerly Tjøme).
Fear of the future
– We have noticed that the boat has gone slower than usual. And now at least we see the reason for it. There has been a full maritime party under the boat, and there was a real job waiting when the boat was taken up.
With high-pressure washers, the work to remove layer upon layer of growths that had taken up residence on the hull sped up.
– Now there is a whole carpet of shells on the lawn here, says Marianne Juell Skaug.
UNUSUAL SIGHT: This is what Marianne Juell Skaug’s boat looked like after it was lifted from the sea. Photo: Private Show more
Rare case
The local marina has also experienced some such cases this summer. But it still belongs to the rarity.
– The few times we see something like this, it is usually because the boat has not been used for a long time. We have had a couple of such boats that we are taking up now this autumn, says Marius Ressin at Medø Marina in Hvasser.
– There may be local conditions which mean that there is a big difference in the amount of growth that sticks to boats.
Now they are coming
Other causes
But the experienced boatman also mentions other reasons for the problems.
– The color of the substrate also plays a role. Our experience is that light substrate creates more growth than dark. Together with the fact that the boat is little used, it can create a large flourishing of reeds and other growths in a short time. Shallow water and good sunny conditions are also ideal, not for the boat owner, but for underwater plants, says Ressin.
– We were away from the cabin for a few weeks this summer, and then the boat was little used. But I have no idea if that is the whole reason, concludes Marianne Juell Skaug.
For the record. Marianne Juell Skaug is the mother of an employee of Aller Media, which in turn owns Dagbladet and DinSide.
Hello, my name is Odd Roar Lange and I am a travel expert and journalist for DinSide and Dagbladet. Do you have a tip about pollution or other problems with boats and boating and want to tell your story on Norway’s largest consumer website DinSide.no? Or do you have an experience, a question or a smart suggestion that others should get to know?
2023-10-10 01:55:34
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