Toftevaag Journey to Ithaca

The word Toftevaag means “Meeting Place” in Viking, and has lived up to this name over the years. Since Alnitak acquired and restored her in 1989, some of the world’s top scientific institutes have been on board, as well as over 3800 volunteers from over 100 nations.

Download “Our ship Toftevaag” PDF

Toftevaag, a flagship of the conservation of whales, dolphins, seabirds, and turtles of the Mediterranean Sea.

Toftevaag sailed into the Mediterranean on the 5^th of June of 1990, surfing the waves at Gibraltar with all her sails up in a force 6 westerly. Leaving behind the Atlantic she steered East to Cap Bon in Tunisia, where she was to conduct her first scientific survey on sea turtle nesting. This study that would provide data for the design of a marine protected area (MPA) for turtle nesting, was sponsored by Greenpeace. Skippered by Ana Cañadas and Ric Sagarminaga under the flag of Alnitak, the Toftevaag would soon become a flagship of marine biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean, pioneering with a new formula of citizen science developed by the Earthwatch Institute.

In April of 2024, after 24 years working to protect the Mediterranean, the Toftevaag will initiate her “Journey to Ithaca”, travelling up the coast of Portugal and Galicia, Biscay, the Netherlands, Denmark and finally the Island of Halsnöy in Norway, where she was born in 1907. Islander will follow this amazing journey and dig into some of the secrets of Toftevaag along the way.

Toftevaag is known mainly from her work with the Cultural Association ALNITAK, developing the MEDTOP, Europe’s largest data base for the conservation of top pelagics of the Mediterranean. MEDTOP in the last years has counted on the collaboration of the Balearic Islands’

Oceanographic Observation System ICTS SOCIB, Fundación Reina Sofía and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. But since 1990, Toftevaag has been the working platform of many of the World’s top oceanographic research institutions (Stanford University Hopkins Marine Station, Duke University Marine Lab, St. Andrews University SMRU, Woodshole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA, NATO ONR, etc.) and wildlife documentary enterprises as BBC, National Geographic or ARTE TV.

In contrast with the technological revolution of the sciences of the atmosphere and oceans, Toftevaag’s job is to slowly explore the open sea ecosystem, zooming in on the ecology of amazing animals as whales, dolphins, seabirds, turtles, or great pelagic fish.

This zooming-in, validates and calibrates the information from satellites, gliders, buoys, and other telemetry data sources that integrate SOCIB, as for instance satellite tags deployed on marine turtles.

The final purpose is not exploration but applied science. Alnitak works on providing data and maps for the establishment of management measures that can mitigate some of the negative effects that human activities can have on the marine environment. Some of the main achievements of Alnitak in the last 34 years have been the designing of 18 MPAs, the reconfiguration of maritime traffic under the IMO in Gibraltar and Alboran, the finding of mitigation measures to reduce sea turtle bycatch by over 95% in the Mediterranean longlining fishery, or the mapping of high-risk zones for the use of SONAR for the US Navy and NATO.

But before the Mediterranean, Toftevaag had already proven to be a good working boat in a whole other sector.

Halsnöy 1907

The story starts on the beautiful Island of Halsnöy in the Hardangerfjord of Norway. Over time there was not just one shipyard on this island, but around thirty coves where Viking boats and fishing boats were built. Toftevaag was built in the same cove as the famous “Halsnöy boat”, one of the most famous Viking treasures found in Norway.

A small local Maritime Museum has just been opened on the islands where one can see the richness of Norwegian maritime culture.

Toftevaag was built by Johaness Sylsteth in 2007. His grandson, who is still in the ship building & repair business keeps the chest of tools used for her construction, and he has promised to hand them over to Toftevaag when she arrives home again.

Toftevaag was built from Norwegian pine. Now, still around 70% of her hull is the original planking bound together by wooden pins. In fact, if you took a picture of her in black and white, you could sell it as a picture taken in the early 20^th Century, when Toftevaag was fishing the North Atlantic.

Sailing Toftevaag back north has been a dream of many of the over 4.000 “Friends of the Toftevaag” since her 100^th birthday in 2007. In our efforts to “reach this star”, we have had many amax¡zing and exciting explorations into the past of Toftevaag, from its building at Halsnöy to the present, including incredible stories as that of our first “Alnitak skipper” Ants Lepson and the adventure during WWII, with the exodus of 70 Estonian refugees on their way to America.

Farewell Mediterranean! Toftevaag’s last campaign in the Alboran Sea.

After Thirty-four years of research for the conservation of the Mediterranean, it was time for Toftevaag to head north on a journey back to her Island of Halsnöy. This is a dream that many of the Alnitak “friends of Toftevaag” had been sharing for several years finally came true in April of 2024 when Toftevaag passed the Strait of Gibraltar westbound.

But before leaving the Med, Toftevaag conducted a final campaign in the Alboran Sea in collaboration with the Environmental Justice Foundation to intercept the illegal driftnet fishing operations along the North African coast.

You can collaborate with Alnitak to fight illegal fishing and ghost fishing. Yachts, fishers and patrol boats to collaborate by sending reports of illegal nets or ghost fishing gear through the Observadores del Mar APP. You can also join us as volunteer on this very last expedition of Toftevaag in the Mediterranean. Check it out at www-alnitak.org. and our new LIFE OASIS PROJECT.

This map illustrates the trip planned for Toftevaag in 2024 and 2025. After Toftevaag’s final environmental research campaign (10-22 April – Almerimar – Al Hoceima – Tarifa – Rota), on the 25^th of April Toftevaag initiated a new expedition focusing on the preservation of maritime culture. This adventure focused on exploring the exodus of tens of thousands of Estonian refugees that fled to America escaping from Stalin.

Ants Lepson, our first skipper on board Toftevaag in 1989 was 14 when he and his family sailed across the North Atlantic on board a sistership of Toftevaag.

On our way north to Halsnöy (Norway), we visited ports as Marin (Galicia), interviewing witnesses of the exodus and digging into archives. ALNITAK in the wake of prolific PDF

The entire journey home is of around 2.500 nautical miles. In 2024 we sailed along the coast of northern Spain, visiting some emblematic places for Alnitak and Toftevaag, as O Porto, Vigo, Marín, Celeiro, Santander and Pasaia.

In 2025 we will continue north joining the maritime classic boat gatherings at Douarnenez, and Zeil Amsterdam and Öckerö (Sweden), ending in Arendal and Halsnöy. If you are interested in joining the Toftevaag or participating in any of the other Alnitak expeditions, visit www.alnitak.org.

Hunting down illegal fishers in the Alboran Sea

8th of April 2023, we’re on Board the R/V Toftevaag, approaching the Island of Alboran just before sun set. We’ve had a magical today since we left Almeria early this morning, with many observations of common, striped and Risso’s dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, beaked whale and several loggerhead turtles found basking on the flat calm surface. We even managed to deploy satellite tags on two of these turtles. The historical Toftevaag (Norway 1910) is the main vessel of the MEDTOP surveys, a Mediterranean top pelagics monitoring program that has been running now for over three decades.

But our mission this time is not so much about tracking live animals. Toftevaag has just started a 30-day survey in the southern Alboran Sea to provide evidence of one of the most outrageous illegal fishing activities in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean. We are going out to report and document pelagic driftnet operations conducted by Morocco, Algeria and Italy.

Exactly a year ago Toftevaag conducted a first survey with the aim of validating a backtrack modelling of a beaked whale that stranded in Balerma (Almería) caught in an illegal driftnet. We had heard from the Spanish Mediterranean longlining fleet about illegal driftnetting in Morocco, but there was no evidence of this. The backtrack modelling conducted by SOCIB is a tool generally used in crime investigation. This time we were applying it to marine biodiversity investigation. We had no idea of what we were going to find, and we were also a bit nervous about entering Moroccan waters that were still not open due to Covid-19. After waiting for darkness to fall on the edge of Moroccan waters (in close quarters with a drug smuggling rib) we headed south hoping to find an illegal driftnetting operation. We didn’t find one. We found 42 nets, one of which we managed to inspect, finding a dead common dolphin. Basically, it wasn’t only a threat for marine biodiversity, it was practically impossible to navigate these waters! We faked having engine problems and managed to get into the port of Al Hoceima in northern Morocco. The outcome of our ship-board survey and port survey in 2022 was reporting 940 vessels operating over 2200 Km of illegal pelagic driftnet only in Mediterranean Morocco!

The data and images were presented to relevant authorities, Spain’s government, EC DGMARE, the Mediterranean General Fisheries Commission, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, NOAA and the USFWS. Unfortunately, we did not see the impact we hoped for.

So, in 2023, we are turning a little bit away from our “science and public policy” vision and going back to direct non-violent action.

At the border of the Alboran Marine Reserve and Morocco’s kingdom jurisdictional water. Its pitch black now and we can see the Lights of Morocco’s coastline in the distance. We have selected a fully international crew, hoping that this will help us if arrested by Moroccan coast Guards.

“We are motoring slowly west along the limits of the Isla de Alboran Fishery Reserve and NATURA 2000 site. Given the recent press coverage of our expedition and our collaboration with the Spanish longlining fleet, we half expected no Moroccan fishing boats entering Spanish waters. And that’s exactly we saw. In just 15 nautical miles of effort, we observed 6 driftnet operations. We also expected Spanish authorities to make a point about being on top of this situation. And that’s exactly what happened. As we were approaching the seventh driftnet, the Guardia Civil came into action. Three Moroccan boats were arrested and brought into Ceuta.

We just got in to Motril, back in Spanish mainland. Tomorrow the forecast is bad, so we can catch up on reporting and answering the media. Also working on the maintenance of Toftevaag. Keeping a 113-year-old boat active six month per year is a challenge, and the first expeditions always have nice surprises.

Fortunately, working at sea has its good counterparts. Heaving the sails and feeling Toftevaag ride the wind and waves, sunrises, sunsets, sailing by the stars,…

We can’t help thinking of those amazing dolphin pods we were with yesterday. Over the last decades we have been witnesses of how driftnets have decimated cetacean populations in Alboran. Long finned pilot whales were very abundant and nearly always found in large pods, as were the common dolphin. Our preliminary data shows that unit group or family size for the pilot whales has decreased from 14 to less than 9 since 2012.”

Toftevaag’s diary on her last expedition in the Mediterranean in March – April 2024

Article for “The Islander Magazine” – April 2024

In our expedition “North” we are investigating the story of Ants Lepson, our first skipper on board Toftevaag for Alnitak. Ants Lepson was 14 when his family escaped from Stalin and sailed across the Atlantic to America and freedom on board the “Prolific”.

In 2022 we started our research after talking to Ants Lepson about this amazing story of 69 refugees sailing on board a 70ft boat for two months. We interviewed two witnesses of when the Prolific found shelter in the port of Marin (Galicia – Northwest Spain). We found several old photographs of the Prolific and the port of Marin of 1948. We walked down the old dock where the Prolific was berthed and the small streets of this beautiful small port, imagining how it must have felt for these 69 Estonians to step on safe ground after nearly going down in “
la costa da morte”.

After arriving in America Ants Lepson became a sailor and later in life also a famous painter. His brother Indrek also became a sailor and writer, and we recently managed to contact him. Indrek sent us a beautiful article that he wrote about their adventure crossing the Atlantic.

We invite you to get a quiet reading place on your yacht, a bottle of good rhum and read this amazing article that goes from the night of the escape under fire of the Soviets, to the arrival at Ellis Island in New York.

Here’s how the story starts……PDF

“In the still evening air, the sound of the tractor struggling to get the boat afloat was deafening, and echoed through the forest like gunshots, and for all I know, some may have been, as there were partisans in the forest, whose purpose was to eliminate any Russians who might venture too close.

The intent was to board, and silently row out of earshot, and then start the engine. Estonia was basically occupied, any activity that caused suspicion was harshly dealt with. People simply disappeared. It was impossible to keep our actions unobserved for any length of time. As we started to board, mother took her shoes, and handed them to me and told me to hold onto them. As I was the fat one, father picked me up and placed me in the boat, and my brother, being the skinny one, was put in the boat by my mother, and others started to climb aboard. It was an orderly, though anxious process as people started to climb on board and take their places. (The boat was 27′, with a partial deck covering the front half, with thwarts, or “benches” going side to side. On the deck were lashed two drums of fuel, and a short mast in the middle, near the coaming, the purpose of which is a mystery to me.

Then it happened. A red flare ascended into the darkening sky. We had been discovered. Caution gave way to panic, as people scrambled on board. Shouts mingled with gunshots, a desperate push, and we were off the beach. Father started the engine, and at full throttle we pulled away. Soon a Russian vessel gave chase, and it would have been a short journey into oblivion had they been able to apprehend us. By then evening had become deep dusk, and as we were heading toward a dark horizon, we were a difficult target to hit, or catch, as, in spite of being dangerously overloaded with 33 people, we had a lot of power, and speed. Too much of both, as that nearly accomplished what the Russians could not.”

Extract of “Escape from Estonia” by Indrek Lepson

“The jib soon tore to pieces, and had to be lowered, and only the mizzen, previously a canvas cover on a rail car, stood up to the fury. No thought was given to raising the mainsail under these conditions. Our situation seemed hopeless, we didn’t know how far the cliff laden shore was, and we seemed to be destined to end our journey smashed upon them. Questions, and accusations were voiced by many, and the captain was accused of leading us into this predicament, for not having sought shelter sooner.

Then, through the mist, appeared a vision of hope; a three-masted schooner, who saw our predicament, came near us, and signaled for us to follow her on a course that was favorably down wind. We partially hoisted our mainsail, set a small jib, and with the aid of our motor, were able to stay close behind them. When they saw that we were unable to keep up with them, they reduce speed by lowering a sail, and we were just able to catch up. They led us toward the shore, and the cliffs, to a channel, and with huge waves smashing on to the reef on either side of us, we entered a calm bay. Seeing that we were safe, the vessel turned around and resumed her journey.

While the storm was still churning the waters outside, there was barely a ripple where we were, and soon even the sky cleared, and the sun came out. We see a space at the fisherman’s dock, tie up there, and soon there is a curious throng assembled to stare at this boatload of people who speak a strange language. Soon after, quantities of oranges, and other fresh fruits of the island start to arrive at the boat, which are welcomed with great joy and gratitude. We are in Marin, a small, seemingly impoverished, fishing village, at the NW corner of Spain,

but there was also great apparent wealth, and whether wealthy or poor, they were equally generous toward us, having learned of our mission.

The boat, as well as many on board, is battered and bruised, but no thought is given to doing any repairs for the rest of the day, as everybody was exhausted from the recent ordeal, and simply rested.

We were thankful to be safe, and basked in the warmth of the sun, and the generosity of the populace. We must have presented a strange sight indeed, an old boat, crowded with young and old, from the age of six months old to over sixty, everybody in a happy mood, talking gibberish and, seemingly ravenous, scarfing down the variety of fruits, many of which we had never seen. From bow to stern, the boat was a patchwork of damp clothing, drying wherever they could be hung, and as they dried, they became light enough to start wafting in the breeze like “Irish pennants”. We remained in Marin for a scant four days, preparing, and repairing, the boat to be seaworthy again to continue our journey.”

Extract of “Against all odds” by Indrek Lepson

Article for “The Islander Magazine” – May 2024

Toftevaag arrived in the port of Marin on the 20
^th of April after a successful last campaign against the Moroccan pirate driftnet fishing fleet in the Alboran Sea. On the quay, Toftevaag is welcomed by the Consul of Estonia, the Maire of Marín and the families of fishers who remember the rescue of the Prolific in 1948.

Toftevaag left its home port in Almerimar on the 10^th of April, as planned, stopping over at Motril to prepare the trip to Moroccan waters. On board, together with Alnitak a team of the Environmental Justice Foundation was equipped with aerial and underwater drones to try document illegal fishing operations in the southern Alboran Sea.

After a smooth sail with light a light easterly breeze, the Toftevaag put down all the canvas a few miles to the west of the Island of Alboran, waiting for sunset to enter Moroccan waters. The crew of Toftevaag had been warned to avoid entering Morocco given that the Moroccan authorities had issued a information about Alnitak’s intention to expose Morocco’s massive pirate fishing operations at ICCAT and the FAO General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean. Tension was building up as Toftevaag was drifting close to fast ribs of the drug and people traffic mafias. Under cover of darkness Toftevaag proceeded to cover a series of transects through the region where the pirate fleet had been encountered in 2022 and 2023.

It wasn’t long before the first lights of illegal pelagic driftnets were spotted. And soon after the Toftevaag could hardly make way through the labyrinth of these “curtains of death”. Around us, to our physical horizon (6 nautical miles from our crows nest) we re surrounded at all times by nets ranging over 5 nautical miles each. At sunrise we started our aerial drone filming operations of Moroccan vessels hauling in nets. We caught one red handed just about to haul in a common dolphin. They stopped hauling in and let the net down, waiting for 2.5 hours for us to go away. Seeing that we were determined to document the catch of a protected species, they finally manoeuvred to cut the piece of net with the bycatch and sailed away.

For two days and two nights we managed to survey the area, avoiding Moroccan patrol boats. In total we spotted 36 driftnets and over 40 vessels of this pirate fleet. We spotted only a few scattered common dolphins that seemed as bewildered as us trying to make way through the maze of nets. Sadly, this survey for the fourth consecutive year highlights the collapse of cetacean populations in the Alboran Sea. With the miles covered under survey effort, we should have encountered dozens of large pods of dolphins and pilot whales. We have witnessed how the unit group size (family) of the long finned pilot whale has plummeted from 14 animals to less than 8. This year, we encountered only a group of 4 whales, despite the perfect conditions for visual survey detection.

It is not surprising though. In 2005 Tudela et al presented the results of a study that estimated a bycatch of over 5.000 dolphins, whales, and sea turtles per year, and over 50.000 elasmobranchs.

Just before reaching Ceuta, at the Straits, we encountered a loggerhead turtle and deployed a satellite transmitter. This turtle, named “Johnny” has since travelled on a constant speed and course heading to the other side of the Atlantic to initiate its reproductive cycle. Toftevaag’s crew celebrated 33 years of research in the Mediterranean on the 17^th of April, heading for cape Saint Vincent.

“Juan” the turtle, finally crossed the Atlantic as her satellite track shows. Her story is very much in line with that of Juan Ballesteros, Toftevaag skipper and solo sailor who encarnates for Alnitak the purest spirit of the ocean explorer.

With a beautiful forecast of favourable winds, Toftevaag seemed happy sailing into the Atlantic and North! After the visit to Marin in honour to Ants Lepson and the courage of his family and the other 65 Estonian refugees on board the Prolific, Toftevaag entered her new home port in Cudillero (Asturias) on the 5^th of May 2024.

Article for “The Islander Magazine” – August 2024

The beautiful fishing port of Cudillero will be the home of Toftevaag from May 2024 to March 2025. Combining cetacean and seabird surveys in the
Cañón de Aviles MPA with restoration work, the WildSea Cantabrian programme is keeping her busy yet another year.

At the end of June 2024, Toftevaag participated in the local fisherman festivities. She has now become part of the beautiful scenery of Cudillero, and the crew is enjoying the amazing local foods and cider.

One of the main restoration tasks of the winter months will be the reconstruction of Toftevaag’s wheelhouse, an essential element for sailing back in the cold northern waters of Norway.

SAVE YOUR SPOT ONBOARD!
The next part of Toftevaag’s journey north will start in March of 2025, and we have three unique milestones on the way that require planning ahead.

Maritime Festival of Pasaia 2025 – May

In May we start the Journey North with a week of maritime festival in the port of Pasaia “
Pasaia Itsas Festibala” https://pasaiaitsasfestibala.org/es/ , hosted by the town of Pasaia, the Basque Government and the Albaola Faktoria project. Albaola is a Basque – Canadian project to build a replica of the whaling ship “San Juan” that has boosted maritime culture activities in Pasaia. https://albaola.org/

Hop aboard! On Toftevaag we will organise two expeditions around this event:
# Expedition Toftevaag North 2025 – 01 “The Pasaia Maritime Festival and last preparations for the journey home of Toftevaag” (5 – 10 May – 8 bunks available).

# Expedition Toftevaag North 2025 – 02 “From Pasaia to Douarnenez” (11 – 20 May – 8 bunks available).

13th EDITION LA SEMAINE DU GOLFE DU MORBIHAN – 26th MAY TO 1st JUNE 2025

https://www.semainedugolfe.com/home-2232-0-0-0.html

An international maritime event, a cultural and popular festival, in the magical landscape of “Petite Mer” (Mor Bihan in Breton).

More than a thousand traditional and classic boats divided into coherent and identifiable flotillas, which sail every day and vary between ports and anchorages. Result: a sea party “exploded” that drives the entire Gulf of Morbihan. It is the particular geography and the physical characteristics of this “small sea” (its islands and islets, the narrow gully that separates it and protects it from the high seas, the tidal surges, the choppy water, the currents and counter-waves currents) which determine and rhythm all the nautical program of the event.

Hop aboard! Your share of costs 2.000 including insurance, port, and ship expenses.

Fête Maritime de Douarnenez 2025 – July

Until mid-July the Toftevaag will be sailing in Brittany and participating in the “Fête Maritime de Douarnenez”. Once again, Toftevaag will be visiting another of Europe’s most beautiful and authentic fishing ports, these maritime festivals are not only about gathering old boats. During these days, the entire village is an explosion of maritime culture magic, with boating competitions, flea markets, music, food and fun.

After Douarnenez, Toftevaag’s sail plan will depend on the weather conditions and the secrets of the fishing ports along the way. As in Portugal and Northern Spain, we our expectations are high specially along the coastline of Brittany and Southern England. We expect to make a stop at Dunkirk just before entering the locks of Ijmuiden to sail up the canal to Amsterdam.

After Douarnenez, Toftevaag’s sail plan will depend on the weather conditions and the secrets of the fishing ports along the way. As in Portugal and Northern Spain, we our expectations are high specially along the coastline of Brittany and Southern England. We expect to make a stop at Dunkirk just before entering the locks of Ijmuiden to sail up the canal to Amsterdam.

Sail Amsterdam 2025 – August 20 to 25

Due to the Covid 19 crisis “Sail Amsterdam 2020” had to be cancelled. So now for 2025 you can expect the famous Sail Amsterdam event to be one of the most amazing maritime culture celebrations of the century. You can be part of it onboard Toftevaag.

https://www.sail.nl/en

https://www.instagram.com/sailamsterdam.official/?locale=es

After these maritime festivities, Toftevaag will continue north another 400 nautical miles to enter the Hardanger Fjord and tie up by the newly open Maritime Museum of Halsnöy.

https://www.halsnoy.com

https://www.visitnorway.es/que-ver-en-noruega/noruega-de-los-fiordos/hardangerfjord

Your share of costs 2,500 Euros to cover port fees and insurance.

Technical data of the sailing ship:

Name: Toftevaag
Registered port: Rotterdam
Nation: NL
Type of rigging: GALEASSE
Year built: 1910
Yard: Lars Olai Sjo, Toftevaag, NOR
Overall length: 23.00 m
Length (hull): 18.00 m
Breadth: 3.75 m
Draught: 3.00 m
Ship’s hull: Holz / Wood
Power: 120 PS
Engine: Vetus Diesel C6

In this link you can download a PDF with the basic notions and navigation characteristics of our Ship Toftevaag