Ten kilometers southwest of Oslo, a little north, and in a narrow strait between two islands, lies Middagsbukta. Every year, thousands of boaters come right here to get drunk in the summer. Large battery speakers pound out music in all directions, he mixes with the sound of cheering, shouting and singing. A whiff of oil, sea, champagne and steam from wet towels hangs in the air. And in the middle of all the throng: a butt rocket, which shoots fire into the sky. What kind of city is this? Robbery strip In time immemorial, Norway has been a proud maritime nation. We have fished for cod in stormy seas, conquered the South Pole, caught whales on the other side of the world, and crossed the Pacific Ocean on a raft of balsa wood. Although the number of working sailors has decreased in recent decades, we have never had more boats than right now. During the pandemic, we passed 1 million recreational boats in Norway – this places us at the top of the world of countries with the most boats in relation to the population. Leisure boats are often not built for high waves and arduous sea voyages. They thrive best in calm seas, and Middagsbukta fits perfectly in this situation. It is almost always windless here. MIDDAGSBUKTA: The strait between the islands of Langåra and Brønnøya in Asker municipality is described as Norway’s most popular natural harbour. On fair weather days in the summer it can be so full of boats that it is difficult to get around. This photo was taken on a sunny day at the end of May, 2021. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB Middagsbukta has been a favorite since the first leisure boats arrived at the end of the 19th century. Then the bourgeoisie found that it was possible to just sail around haphazardly, without a concrete plan for the sailing glass. When the sunset breeze began to pick up in the afternoon, they were happy to head to the sheltered bay to enjoy dinner in peace and quiet. Today, the bay is known for being a kind of robbery strip for fine boats. Yachts, sailboats and cabin cruisers worth several million kroner lie close together, while smaller boats sail past and look at them in admiration. LUXURY: Middagsbukta is located in Asker, the municipality is known for housing some of Norway’s richest people. When we sail into Middagsbukta on a sunny day in June, the first people we meet are two tattooed guys in an ice boat. That is to say, it is probably more of a kind of aluminum raft, with rainbow flags hanging under a makeshift roof. – Skip oops! They look a little hot. Should there be an ice cream? asks skipper Iver Alexander Standnes. THE ICE BOAT: Iver Alexander Standnes and Lars Brekke sell ice and soft drinks to warm boaters. Iver and his mate Lars Brekke drive the floating ice cream kiosk around from boat to boat in the bay, with a sound system playing loud music. When they approach a new boat, Iver plays a song that he thinks the people on the boat will appreciate. – I often listen to “Peaches” by Justin Bieber, then I see them stick their heads above the boat’s hull, like dogs that have suddenly smelled something good, explains Iver. And speaking of dogs, there are strikingly many dogs in Middagsbukta, at least 50 percent of the boats have at least one dog on the passenger list. The ice boat is no exception, where the ship’s dog Pelle Zinco makes sure that the ice reaches the right buyer safely. While Lars fishes out two Daim ice creams from the freezer, a huge yacht glides calmly past. – Just wait, in ten years I’ll have one like that too, says Lars and smiles. Middagsbukta is not just a robbery strip where rich people can show off their big boats, it is also a place where people with slightly smaller boats can come and dream of success, so that they too can one day afford to buy even bigger boats . Iver wants to take us further into the bay, where the boat of someone who has experienced great success lies. The boat is called “Race Day”, and is owned by the former racing boat driver Birger Halsaa. YACHT: Birger Halsaa scouts out Middagsbukta from his boat “Race Day”. “Race Day” Birger Halsaa has been a regular in Middagsbukta since childhood, and owns an expensive Italian yacht of the Sessa Marine Oyster type with 1,000 horsepower behind the propellers. In the 1970s, Birger was an international sports star; he traveled the world and competed against the world’s fastest Formula 1 boats, with a top speed of over 200 km per hour. Photo: Facsimile VG Birger thrived as a racing boat driver, even though the risk was very high. It goes without saying that driving a boat at over 200 km an hour is not the safest thing to do, especially not in the 1970s. – There were a lot of accidents, at worst there were six deaths in one season. Almost all the tracks we drove on are illegal today. We drove a lot through concrete canals in big cities without dividing walls, he explains. Birger now enjoys more relaxed days in the boat “Race Day” with his girlfriend Rigmor Bøen and the dog Fatima, even if the boat’s name indicates that he has far from forgotten the happy racing days. – In racing, everything is about this one day. Then all the talk and precautions no longer apply. When the checkered flag drops, the bullshit stops, says Birger. COZY PLAY WITH A BOAT: Rigmor Bøen, Birger Halsaa and the dog Fatima relax in Middagsbukta. Birger spends at least 300 hours maintaining “Race Day” every year, which he does as a natural part of the everyday. For him, boats have been a passion throughout his life. This applies by far to all boat owners in Middagsbukta. While we potter around the bay, we meet several people who have bought their first boat in the last two years. One of these is the engineer Magnus Hedly. The party – This is Middagsbukta, shouts Magnus with full force when we board his boat. PARTY: Magnus Hedly (in the middle of the picture) invites you to a party on his boat in Middagsbukta. When he was going to buy a boat, the most important criterion was that he should have room for many friends on board. He organizes a party, and has filled his boat with friends and acquaintances who dance and drink while songs such as “Respect for Grandiosa” and “Kaptein Sabeltann” thunder out from the facility. Magnus bought his first boat in 2021, and just as well ended up with an Italian miniyacht for NOK 1.2 million. Now he is in Middagsbukta as often as he can; this summer he lends his flat to some Ukrainian refugees, and lives on the boat himself. – Anyway, I’d rather be here as much as possible, he says and looks out over the bay, which is filled to the brim with festive boats. Magnus describes Middagsbukta as a very inclusive place, where people actually talk to each other, and extend a hand when someone needs help. When Magnus struggled to anchor, on his first trip into the bay, he suddenly heard a noise from the boat next to him. “Do you need help,” asked the man in the other boat. And so did Magnus. The good helper’s name was Rune Tranholt, and after helping the fresh-faced skipper, they had a beer together on deck in the sunset. Today, he calls Rune one of his best friends. THE HELPER: Rune Tranholt has been a mentor to Magnus in the midday bay. Rune has grown up with a boat, and hung out in Middagsbukta every summer throughout his life. He says that he sees a clear change from when he was here as a child in the 1980s. The boats have become much larger, at the same time that far more people have no particular experience at sea. – Before, the bay was filled with boaters, but now there are only people in boats here, he says and smiles teasingly at his friend. We take a short break from boating, and take a trip ashore to see if we can find some of the cabin neighbors on Brønnøya. In one of the paddocks, an elderly man stands with a glass of white wine in his hand and looks resignedly out at Middagsbukti. – This is absolutely horrible. I get very frustrated, because you see so much bad seamanship. And then there is just a blast of music all the time. A stereo there, a stereo there and a stereo there. He points out all the different boats playing music in the bay; the sound mixes into a cacophony that is thrown against the cabin wall behind him. The loud music from the boats has come especially in recent years, when large battery-powered speakers started to arrive in the shops. – We who are here miss the boat people. Because these are not boat people. The boat people were considerate and respected the privacy of others. Then the snails lay neatly side by side in the bay. RARE ITEM: Today, Birger Olsen is one of the very few skippers with a wooden conch in Middagsbukta. He bought the boat from FRP politician Terje Søviknes five years ago, and has since polished and coated the hull with 18 layers of varnish. Although much has changed with the boating culture (and -unculture?) in Middagsbukta, in any case the gender role pattern is largely the same as it was in the old days. Of several hundred boats in the bay, almost none of them have female skippers. One of the few exceptions is Natalie Alexandersen Narud. She is fully aware that she is a rare commodity. SKIPPER: Natalie Alexandersen Narud Natalie’s boat When Natalie and her family moved to Asker in 2020, she was quickly taken out to Middagsbukta. She fell in love with the good atmosphere, with music and lots of people in a good mood. Natalie also wanted to buy a boat, and chose a Draco 2100 SC from the 1980s, designed by the Norwegian boat designer Kåre Drangsholt. And so that there would be no misunderstandings about which of her and the man is the boss on board, she chose to christen the boat “Natalie’s boat”. – I think men can find it easy to just take over such things, since that is how it has always been. That’s why I wanted to buy him myself, so I could decide, she explains. THE ALEXANDERSEN NARUD FAMILY: Father Sune, mother Natalie, son Felix (10) and daughter Saga (5). Natalie often takes her family to Middagsbukta. Youngsters Felix (10) and Saga (5) wreak havoc in the water, while their parents sit in the boat and relax. Although the party factor is sometimes high in the bay, her husband Sune (and several others we speak to) believe that there was much more drinking in the bay before. – A few years ago it was very common to drink and drive a boat. Not many people do that anymore, now it’s almost like drinking and driving, he says. (The alcohol limit for leisure boats under 15 meters was lowered from 1.5 to 0.8 in 1999.) The evening is still young, and boating in Middagsbukta will live on for a long time, but for us the time has come to turn our noses home. On the way out of the crowd, we notice a boat that is a little by itself outside the bay. A mint green wooden sailboat that stands out in the crowd. The boat from the rainforest It is no coincidence that we find the Bjørnbakken Birkeland family and their boat “Galatea” just outside Middagsbukta. – It’s a nice place out of season, but when the bay is filled with plastic, carbon fiber and stereo systems, it’s not as charming, Father Even explains. “Galatea” is both plastic and carbon fiber free; the boat is made of mahogany from the rainforest in Honduras, and designed by the Swedish sailor and boat constructor Arvid Laurin in 1967. CREW: Daughter Runa Birkeland, son-in-law David Buverud, mother Unn Bjørnbakken and father Even Birkeland. – What makes this boat stand out from many other boats is that you don’t have the sharp transition between hull and deck. Everything goes together here, so it’s solid mahogany, the whole boat is a plank, says Even. – How much time do they actually have? Because now they can get a long lecture, daughter Runa shot in from the side. READY FOR GLASS: Runa Birkeland and Unn Bjørnbakken. Unfortunately, we don’t have time for more boat talk. It is about to blow up to a stiff gale out in the Oslo Fjord, and our boat is not built for white wave crests. Those who plan to stay in Middagsbukta, on the other hand, can take it easy, here the sea is still silent. The interview in this case was conducted over three days at the end of June and the beginning of July 2022. Skip ohoi! Hi! Do you have any thoughts on this case, or tips for other stories we should look at? I will be very happy for all input!
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The big boat party in Middagsbukta – Culture
