“What do you fear most,” captain Carlsen? – “Going ashore!
Dancy and Carlsen slept soundly despite the raging storm. They went to bunk with the knowledge that now almost nothing could go wrong. Almost nothing! At a speed of 3 knots – the same as a pedestrian – “Turmoil” pulled the two men and their ‘dead’ ship towards land. Dan Parker was authorized to choose the nearest port – it didn’t matter if it was Ireland, France or England.As a result of the traversing swells and the storm, “Flying Enterprise” was rolling 45 degrees to each side, which caused an enormous pull on the hawser. Following as closely as the storm would allow were the French tug “Abeille” and the English “Dexterous”. Not to get a share of a possible salvage fee but good old fashioned seamanship. The question of payment had been resolved between Hans Isbrandtsen and the...
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The world wanted to know more about the indomitable Danish sailor
The notice in a Danish newspaper about ”Flying Enterprise’s” problems in the Atlantic was, for the time being, the only thing the world knew about the drama. Headlines talked of the war in Korea and meetings in high politics. But then came the picture of the solitary Danish captain sitting on his listing ship in the Atlantic, waving at a photographer from an English news-paper. They had received a tip about the ’dead’ ship buffeted by the storm after all the passengers had been rescued to the five ships which had carried out the rescue operation to perfection. Over New Year the storm subsided. The hurricane moved further up into the north Atlantic. The sea around the waving Kurt Carlsen was calm. ”I SAT THERE outside the rail and held on with my right hand as I waved at...
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Just as he’d wished, Kurt Carlsen died in his home
He became ill, seriously ill, shortly before his 75th birthday, and the fatalist Kurt Carlsen resigned himself to the inevitable, as he had always done. It was not the first time he was face to face with death. This time, however, he lost the fight, the “hero from the Atlantic”. When I was told his life story 35 years ago, we talked about the wall with all the medals, diplomas and not least the large “Letter of recognition” from the town of Woodbridge. Kurt Carlsen was proud of it all and elated. He did not want to point out particular events from the high points of his life. He was thrilled and happy with the life he had had on the seven seas. Now he was looking forward to pleasant retirement with Agnes, his daughters and grandchildren. He lived...
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Carlsen’s wish is that his ashes be spread in the sea close to where “Flying Enterprise” went down
Jens Rytter was captain of “Jutlandia”. One day while he was on holiday at home on the island of Funen, the phone rang. It was from the East Asiatic Shipping Company’s office in Copenhagen. They asked if Jens would drop by to discuss a special job to be carried out on his next trip to the Orient. That was all they could say for the time being. Jens Rytter would receive more information about the manner of the job at the shipping line, but he had to set sail from Hamburg. “What in the world can it be?” I said to Kirsten when the call was over. They’re not usually so secretive about the cargo. Kirsten Rytter knew all about life at sea. She had often accompanied her husband on the so-called “wife voyages”, both with the East Asiatic...
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