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David Forcucci

Vilvite Boats Return Home to Norway

Updated: Apr 28


Map of found float your boat wooden boats
Boats decorated by Norwegians in recent years, found and reported during 2023. Blue flags labels indicate: year found, deployment vessel, year deployed.

Vilvite, in Bergen, Norway, is a science museum with a similar mission to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. In 2022 Float Your Boat collaborated with Vilvite which just happens to be located in one of Seattle’s Sister Cities. Vilvite cut and branded hundreds of wooden boats and had them decorated in various learning programs. Most of boats were deployed by Le Commandant Charcot at the North Pole in summer 2022.


There have been eleven boats reported this summer and fall and all of them have been connected to the Norge collaboration. Of the eleven, nine boats were from Vilvite. Five of the Vilvite boats were reported from the shores of Norway, one just over the border in Russia, two on the Faroe Islands and one in Iceland. The odds of having just one Vilvite boat wash up on the shores of Norway would be high but having five return to Norway is astronomical. It’s almost as if the boats were imprinted on Norway similar to sea turtles returning to the beach they hatched on each nesting season.


Glancing back at the blog posts you will find similar coincidences that are beyond belief. The total number of boats reported from the shores of Norway up til now is five. Two of the boats were deployed by the KV Svalbard, a Norwegian icebreaker, and three originated in Bergen, Norway at Vilvite. So all five boats have been connected to Norway in some way. What are the odds?

 
Boat 5074

This boat was decorated by a school pupil (at the time 4th grade) at Vilvite the Norwegian flag colors and symbols. It was found while Olsen was walking along the beach.

Date Found

06/22/2023

Place Found

Norway, 9624 Revsnesham, 70.68954. 24.3498

Found By

Olsen Geir

Date Deployed

July/August 2022

Who Deployed

​Le Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

North Pole

Track Taken

​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

 
Boat 5046

This boat was decorated by Vilvite visitor Sofia who was 9 years old at the time.

Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5046
Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5046

Date Found

​ 06/23/2023

Place Found

Gjøssøya, Tromsø, Norway N 69 50,05 E 018 25,10

69.834 18.41833


Found By

Roy Cato Jensen

Date Deployed

July/August 2022

Who Deployed

Le Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

​North Pole

Track Taken

​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

 
No Number Boat

This boat was boat was found by a young girl.

Date Found

06/23/2023

Place Found

Norway, northern part. A small island with no population. We have A cabin at Halmøy, A small island, only us here. Tjue is west in The ocean, of Vega, an island which is part of the world heritage list. (65.6356282, 11.5737329)

Found By

Line Halmøy Lillejord

Date Deployed

Fall 2020

Who Deployed

Deployment Location

North Pole

Track Taken

North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

 
Boat 5333

This boat was decorated by a Vilvite visitor. It was found in the Russian Arctic by Egor.

Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5333
Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5333

Date Found

7//2023

Place Found

​Россия полуостров Рыбачий мыс Тонин

N 69o 56’ 36” E 031o 59’ 48”

69.94336 N 31.9966 E

Found By

​Egor

Date Deployed

​July/August 2022

Who Deployed

Le Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

North Pole

Track Taken

North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

 
Boat 5482

Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5482
Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5482

Date Found

​07/09/2023

Place Found

​Hoven, Lofoten, Lofoten Links lodges/ 83RW+G5J Saupstad, Norwegen/ Lighthouse Hovsund - few meters east from it (68.3413440, 14.0953872)

Found By

Jacqueline Bertlich

Date Deployed

​July/August 2022

Who Deployed

Le ​Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

​North Pole

Track Taken

​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

 
Boat 5209
Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5209
Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5209

Date Found

08/11/2023

Place Found

Andoya, bleik, Norway 69°16'19"N 15°56'37"E · 2,42 m

(69.2948527, 15.9947986)


Found By

​Finley Holl and Bartłomiej Gubała

Date Deployed

​July/August 2022

Who Deployed

Le Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

North Pole

Track Taken

​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5209
Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5209
 
Boat 5097

The boat was found on the beach of Svínoyarvík on the eastcoast of Svínoy, Faroe Island. Svínoy ís one of the northern islands in the Faroes. It is also on the east side of the region. There is only one village on the Island and it has the same name, Svínoy.

Date Found

09/03/2023

Place Found

Faroe Island

Latitude: 62.2784601 Longitude: -6.3430441

Found By

Óli A.Reinert á Geilini

Date Deployed

​July/August 2022

Who Deployed

Le Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

​North Pole

Track Taken

​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre


 
Boat 5174

Date Found

10/28/2023

Place Found

Hvammstangi, Iceland, west side of Miðfjörður

65,4010060, -21,0126574

Found By​

David Benhaim

Date Deployed

​​July/August 2022

Who Deployed

​Le Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

​North Pole

Track Taken

​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre


 
Boat 5189

Date Found

November 10, 2023

Place Found

926 Lopra Suðuroy Faroe Island, Denmark 61.444936,-6.776348

Found by

Sonni Kjærbo

Date Deployed

​​​July/August 2022

Who Deployed

​​Le Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

North Pole

Track Taken

North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5189
Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5189
 

Boat 5215

Date Found

11/15/2023

Place Found

Beach, Sydrugøta, Faroe Islands 62.1831026, -6.7536508

Found By

Eiler Hansen

Date Deployed

​​​July/August 2022

Who Deployed

​​Le Commandant Charcot

Deployment Location

North Pole

Track Taken

​​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

Vilvite cut and decorated wooden boat 5215
 
Boat 5028

Date Found

November 23, 2023

Place Found

Vik, Iceland

63.41305° N, 19.01902° W

Found By

Zed Hausman and Chris Vazzana

Date Deployed

July/August 2022

Who Deployed

​​​Le Commandant Charcot

​Deployment Location

North Pole

Track Taken

​​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre



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