Cod story

There is a set of short pieces about a cruise in the Netherlands and to parts further north in Simenon's 10m yacht 'Ostrogoth' tacked onto the end of the four Maigret stories which make up most of volume III of the collected works (reference 1).

One of these pieces tells us about the February cod fishing season in Svolvaer in the Lofeten Islands in the north of Norway.

It seems that this small town was visited by around 7,000 fishing boats, a lot of them sailing boats, and 28,000 fishermen. They fished from 0600 to 1800, by the town bell, by line, with the boats packed pretty close over the cod, catching perhaps 45 million cod fish in the course of the season. But the waters were rather treacherous, the men tired and the boats quite possibly overloaded, and some 30-40 fishermen were killed each year. An average of one or two a day.

One of these waters was called the Maelstrom, from which our modern word is derived.

The piece also tells us about North Cape, later of Second World War Arctic convey notoriety, illustrated by Google's Street View, looking north, above. Presumably rather colder than it looks. It seems that some people make a fuss about the fact that what is called the North Cape is actually on an island, just off the north coast of Norway, and cannot properly be called a cape at all, never mind the northernmost cape of Norway. This honour should go to Kinnarodden, a little to the east. Also visible in Street View. All of which leaves me a bit confused, as North Cape is not even the northernmost point of its island. A confusion not resolved by the otherwise helpful two-page map of Norway in my heritage Times Atlas. Produced in 1968 by those fine map makers John Bartholomew & Son from Edinburgh. With the former now gobbled up by Murdoch, the latter by Collins. Sold to me, probably for a tenner or so, at what must have been one of the last car boot sales I went to, noticed at reference 2. No interest at all in such this year.

PS 1: I believe the occupants of the Ostrogoth were Simenon, Tigy his wife, his dog and Boule the maid who did everything. Including sleeping with the master. Also that Tigy divorced Simenon when she eventually found out, catching them together. But these stories are a bit coy on the domestic arrangements.

PS 2: further information about all this to be found at the three references 3. From which I learn that the Ostrogoth remained at Bergen when the Simenons went to the far north. My reading must have been a little careless. Or perhaps the transition from one boat to another was rather glossed over.

Reference 1: Escales nordiques - Georges Simenon - 1931. Volume III of the collected works.

Reference 2: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/05/bank-holiday.html.

Reference 3a: http://www.trussel.com/maig/figaro1e.htm.

Reference 3b: http://www.trussel.com/maig/figaro2e.htm.

Reference 3c: http://www.trussel.com/maig/figaro3e.htm.