Figureheads are a familiar sight, even from the Viking ships here. But a radiator mascot? In fact, it's the most famous of them all: Emily. The Spirit of Ecstasy. The owner of course also drives a Rolls-Royce, from 1968, and then another one. And on the foredeck of his motor yacht, which is more than nine metres long, sits a little bear in a deckchair as a mascot, with a Rolls-Royce emblem on its navy blue chest. Unlike on the cars, however, Emily appears rather inconspicuous here, almost invisible on the mahogany bow, and Åge Antonsen doesn't show her to everyone straight away; he certainly appreciates a certain understatement. Yet his boat is named just like the woman in the flowing dress.
A world-famous radiator mascot on the forecastle
So it is hardly surprising that he is also president of the Norwegian section of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club. He once saved his "Emily" from being scrapped, just before Christmas, and then lovingly restored it by hand, day and night, for the rest of the winter. It was more than a full-time job. Mr Antonsen becomes somewhat reverent when he talks about his cabin cruiser, which was built in 1966. "We are dying. The ship lives on," says the 71-year-old. And how pleased he is to be able to take responsibility for it for a while.
It was once designed by Otto Scheen Jr, who also worked for the legendary design office Sparkman & Stephens in New York. Now "Emily" is moored here, in the harbour of the small port town of Risør in southern Norway, at the Trebåtfestival. For 40 years now, this gathering of wooden boats, as the Norwegian name suggests, has been bringing together two worlds that usually live and celebrate separately in Germany - that of sailors and that of motorboaters. Everyone is welcome here to have a good time together, free of suspicion and arrogance, as long as they have wooden boats. Or at least love them. Here, historic working ships in the tradition of tall ships meet faithful replicas of Viking ships, small, open motorboats meet large metre-class yachts, elegant saloon ships meet Norwegian Spjærøy cruisers, Scandinavian keel dinghies meet small rowing boats. And they are all built from natural materials. That's what connects them.
The white town on the Skagerrak is rightly considered picturesque
One of the best-preserved 19th century wooden house settlements rises above the bay in which they are located. In Norway, Risør is known as "the white town on the Skagerrak" and was once voted the most beautiful wooden town in the country. The elegant semi-circle of white-clad houses with mullioned windows line the harbour. Cafés and galleries have now moved in here, small shops that do not yet have franchise chains. An old warehouse from 1862 houses a pub; there are hardly any modern-day architectural sins. A few streets away is a suitably white wooden church, only the roofs on the riverside promenade gleam black in the sunlight. Nevertheless, you never feel like you're travelling through an open-air museum. Risør is the perfect backdrop for love films from the romantic happy ending machine, ideal for escaping the reality of everyday life. A reality dominated by plastic. Travel guides would call this place "picturesque". It wouldn't even be an exaggeration.
Sometimes the King of Norway himself comes here. Harald V last sailed his green yacht "Sira" here, otherwise he sends the royal flatboat "Stjernen", a 60-foot motor vessel with 320 hp, which was initially built in Kiefer in 1935 for a merchant. It has a place of honour at the head of the narrow inner harbour, and yet no one thinks that His Majesty's yacht should be shielded from the common people by uniformed security guards. Of course, the crew can't do without a sailor's suit. A few metres further on is a freshly restored Riva Ariston from 1960.
She also brings a touch of jet-set flair to Nor wegen. When Geir Julsvoll bought her in 2017, she was "in a dramatic state", says his wife. The legendary boat couldn't sail, couldn't even swim and had had to endure amateurish attempts at restoration. So Mr Julsvoll took his Riva on the trailer to her birthplace, which is near Bergamo, and picked her up again shortly before the Trebåt Festival. Now she shines again, perfectly restored. The even, smooth curves at the bow, which taper towards the narrow, elongated stern, the mahogany deck - everything is now immaculate, like new. The striking turquoise colour takes the observer back to a time when around 1000 of these classics were built and Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren owned a Riva. Sometimes the owner lifts the bonnet to reveal the Chris Craft inboard engine. His wife naturally wears a stylish headscarf in addition to her sunglasses when they go out on the water. There are also modern interpretations of those runabouts on display, such as the Gatsby 520, made from epoxy-glued mahogany. It is powered by a 150 hp outboard engine that is good for over 50 knots of speed.
If you want, you can spend the night in style on a lifeboat
Less glamorous than in the neighbouring hotels, but extremely affordable and very stylish - on the R/S "Risør II", a lifeboat from 1914, on which you have to do without greater comfort even in the captain's cabin. It was designed by the Norwegian Colin Archer, one of the most important ship designers, whose designs were known for their particular seaworthiness. The "Risør II" was used in rescue operations until 1930, while its predecessor sank in a storm in 1913; the boat and crew are still missing today. The rescue cruiser, one of the country's maritime icons, was rescued almost 40 years ago and is now back in her home harbour. Today, she has ten berths, which are rented out during the festival. Up on deck, which serves as a performance venue for musicians, you have an outstanding view of the large grandstand.
If you stroll further, you will see even more Colin Archers lined up next to each other; sea rescuers from before the First World War, but also pilot boats. Away from the harbour, yellow roses, red geraniums and blue hydrangeas, mallows and even lavender can be found in the narrow alleyways. Norway's south coast is sometimes called the Riviera, and not without good reason. The dreary apartment blocks on the outskirts of the village are only visible to those who hike up the steep, densely wooded hill to the limestone cliff Risørflekken. The shimmering white elevation used to serve as a landmark for shipping, which is why a large sailing fleet was stationed in Risør around 200 years ago. From up here, you can see more than twenty nautical miles out into the Skagerrak past the offshore islands.
The flair should be preserved, jazz and folk are in the air
Unlike many other classic events, there is an entrance fee to attend the Risør Trebåtfestival. In return, the organisers avoid the hustle and bustle of a city festival: there is no smell of bratwurst, no beer fumes in the air and not just because alcohol is expensive in Norway anyway. The flair should be preserved. Instead of shanties, you can hear jazz and folk music from Norway, ancient boat engines are sold like works of art in the best harbour location and all kinds of trades show their work. A blacksmith, for example, allows children to beat hot iron flat on the anvil and harden it in cold water. Foreign visitors rarely make their way here, and they are not really prepared for them either: most of the boats are properly explained and signposted, but only in the local language.
German boats are also among the rather rare guests. This time, the "Filibuster" is flying the black, red and gold flag, a boat built over 40 years ago. Wilfried Stapelfeldt, the designer, looks like a cliché of a sea dog, with a Norwegian jumper in the evening and a Prince Heinrich cap. At 9 p.m., when the flags are lowered in accordance with old etiquette, he punctually blows his horn. "You should behave yourself abroad," he says. Admittedly, not everyone succeeds in this equally. The young crew of the 12mR yacht "Flica II", built in 1939 for the America's Cup, made it onto local television after bathing naked in the harbour, while a few metres away stood former Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who had come to open the festival. They had also brought their own music for the evening and shared it with many others.
A meeting between friends with the same passion
Most people here aren't really upset by this, they're too relaxed for that, but the bathers do make the rounds as a funny anecdote. This also applies to Arvid and Christine Lie, who have come to Risør at the end of their summer cruise, together with Geir Petter Rosenlund and his wife Eldri. The two couples, who have been friends for a long time, are each travelling on a Spjærøykrysser. These cruisers are so named because they come from the island of Spjærøy, which lies at the eastern end of the Oslo Fjord. The three brothers Sigurd, Wilhelm and Johan Olsen have been developing this type of boat there since the 1930s, and four generations of the boatbuilding family have now left their mark on the island. Spjærøykrysser often look different at first glance, but despite their different superstructures and fittings, they all have similar hulls, which are always clinker-built.
With the Lies, all life takes place on deck, and cooking is also done up here. Down below, the space is mainly taken up by a large bed. Rosenlunds may not have headroom below deck, but they do have an oven and a kitchen where everything is made of wood. You can still see the thick frames in the hull, her Spjærøykrysser is very solidly built and can withstand stormy weather. There is even room for two beds in the saloon, and where the couple's two daughters used to share the foredeck, the dog has now made himself comfortable.
The Trebåtfestival is one of the biggest sailing events on the Norwegian classic sailing scene
In between, there are regattas on the programme, which you can also follow from the shore with expert Norwegian commentary if you don't want to take the opportunity to follow the field of participants yourself. The Trebåtfestival is also one of the biggest sailing events on the Norwegian classic sailing scene. In addition to the metre class yachts, the 12.5 KVM, kite-like keelboats, which are completely unknown elsewhere and were initially designed for young sailors in 1929, can often be seen here. The narrow design is characterised by elegant lines with long overhangs and a narrow stern. A good 20 boats of this class are moored in Risør alone; today, youth boats are rather rare.
Instead of a race, there is a parade for the motor yachts, led by the "Stjernen" of the King of Norway. And when they parade past the spectators gathered on the pier in the harbour exit, one by one in Kiellinie, they all like to let everyone hear what their engines have to offer. Terje Spydevold is also there, with his 35-foot-long flat rig built in Norway in 1951. When he took over the "Svanen" in 2015, there was hardly anything left of its former glory. "The deck: rubbish. The hull: rubbish. The keel: rubbish," says the owner, who comes from the east of the country. "It was almost a wreck." He then invested 2500 hours of work in the restoration, and later even received two awards for it. His ship has 200 hp and can reach around 20 knots. The ship was once built for representative purposes.
And yet the festival here is not an upper-class event where high earners flaunt their wealth. It's more like a gathering of friends who all share the same passion. Many know each other, have been here in previous years, but are also happy to meet new people and invite them on board. It is a reverent love that they cultivate here. "Wemaytime with these boats," says Mr Antonsen.
Trebåtfestival in Risør : 3-5 August 2023
