Norwegian Sea

The Norwegian Sea off Helgeland meets a coast of islands, skerries and deep inlets. Fishing settlements used the sheltered channels behind the islands, while vessels ventured into the open sea to reach northern grounds or carry goods south. In the seventeenth century the priest and poet Petter Dass owned boats that transported fish to Bergen. One of them was lost in a storm on the southward voyage in 1692, a reminder of the dangers faced by the coastal trade.