The Little Schooner And The Magic Fjord

Once upon a time the little schooner Trinovante was sailing in Norway when the crew spotted a nice place to stop alongside a little quay.

As Trinovante came into the small bay two brothers called Ogsa and Bjorn appeared. They waved and said “Welcome to our quay at Botnane” which was what the place was called (if you want to say the name correctly you have to make it rhyme with banana).

Once the mooring lines for the little schooner were made fast, John and Su, the skipper and mate, asked the two brothers onboard for tea. While they were watching the sun set over the mountains at the back of the of the bay the two brothers looked wistfully to the North.

“Have you heard the tale of the of The Magic Nord Fjord?” they asked.

“No” replied the Trinovante crew in unison but they were now very eager to know more.

“It’s far, far to the north, right on the Arctic Circle and the entrance is on a rock wall deep inside another dark and wild fjord,” said Bjorn, the first brother. “You have to sail there at exactly midnight at mid summer. The old folk used to say, if you were lucky, as you sailed along the rock walls you would see the entrance opening for you.

They said it is the most beautiful land in the world where time stands still, there is no night and the sun shines all the time.

Magical reindeer roam in the woods, all the rocks sparkle in the sunlight like stars and wild otters play in the water”.

“I’m not sure it exists,” said Ogsa, the second brother. “Someone from the next village claimed to have been there once as a child. I remember it on an old map, but it is not on the maps anymore”.

Now Bjorn the first brother spoke again

“There is one more thing you need to know, you must leave before the clock strikes midnight on the third day or Trinovante will be there forever”

Immediately the crew were clamouring to sail north to find the magic fjord. “Please, please, let us try and find the entrance to The Magic Fjord” they said. The little schooner smiled to itself because it wanted to sail there too. There were only five days left until midsummer so they wanted to set sail that minute but John, the skipper said everyone should get a good nights sleep and they would set off first thing in the morning after breakfast.

Next morning the two brothers Ogsa and Bjorna came to wave them off and wish them luck on their voyage.

For five days the little schooner sailed day and night non stop. It was almost as if there was a magic wind blowing them to the north.

At last, just in time, the little schooner was sailing along the rock wall on the Arctic Circle just before midnight, but the only thing the crew could see was the rock wall. Some of the crew peered through binoculars as the little schooner steered back and forth across the Arctic Circle, but there was no entrance to the fjord.

“It’s midnight,” said John, “I think we will have to give up and stop searching soon”.

All of a sudden the sun burst through the cloud and lit up part of the rock wall and there as if it had been there all along, was the entrance to the fjord.

Su, the mate, swung the wheel and the bows of Trinovante turned into the magic fjord.

A warm wind blew even though snow surounded them high up in the mountains. The water changed to a bright turquoise colour and the sun shone brilliantly.

It was so peaceful and quiet the only thing the crew could hear was the sound of waterfalls tumbling down the steep sides of the fjord and there playing amongst the falling waters were families of otters!

That evening the Trinovante dropped her anchor in a beautiful little bay fringed with silver birch trees which are the type of trees magic reindeer especially like to eat.

For three days the crew wandered ashore, finding flowers and berries as they climbed high in the woods and wild mussels as they wandered along the shore.

Along the beach, just like the brothers had said, were the sparkling rocks glittering in the all-day sunlight.

In the evening everyone sat on deck and watched the magic reindeer grazing amongst the trees ashore. They are quite timid because they are not used to seeing people but one young reindeer was a bit bolder and came out of the woods down to the water’s edge which is how we got this picture.

Two of the crew called Laura and Sophia, remembering Ogsa’s warning, had been keeping a careful watch on the time and all too soon they saw that they had been in the magic fjord three days and must leave. Sadly they worked the winch to raise the anchor and John started up the engine.

The crew looked at the wake left behind by the little schooner as they left the magic fjord. “I wonder if we will be able to find it next year” Sophia said and they all looked up one last time to see the entrance to the magic fjord – but it had gone.

In its place was only the rock wall.

…..The little schooner was happy though, it knew there were more adventures ahead.