A new friendship
A new friendship
Mathea Knudsen and Hedvig Lyngedal met on board Statsraad Lehmkuhl. Not long after the ship left Arendal, they had agreed to rent a car together and drive to Portugal.
Mathea and Hedvik are both from Bergen, Norway, and fellow sailors on the leg from Arendal to La Coruna.
Hedvig has sailed with Statsraad Lehmkuhl once before, and has lots of good memories.
- I felt that I needed an adventure, from an otherwise too quiet time being a student under the corona.
Something completely different
Mathea, on the other hand, has never been on board a tall ship before. But sailing is not new to her, she and her sister owns a small sailboat.
She quickly realized that sailing a ship as large as Statsraad Lehmkuhl was something completely different.
- I thought I had some knowledge from before, but still felt very blank when I came here.
One week holiday
Both girls leave the ship in La Coruna on August 28. There, Hedvig had planned to rent a car, and drive to Portugal to take a week off alone.
- But I had a little hope of meeting someone who perhaps wanted to join, it would have been fun.
Got along
Mathea and Hedvik ended up on the same muster team on the day of departure, and started talking together even before the boat left Arendal. They quickly got along.
- It took about ten minutes before you asked if I wanted to join Portugal, Mathea laughs, and Hedvig laughs even louder.
Was tempted
Mathea planned to fly home from Madrid two days after arriving in La Coruna.
- But I did not really have anything I had to go home to, so I was very tempted to join.
She decided quickly.
- I thought about it a bit, and when we finally got mobile coverage I bought a plane ticket, she smiles.
Hedvig further explains: - She looked at me and said: I'm booking a plane ticket now, if it's still okay?
Waving to the ship
On their road trip, the girls plans to visit the coolest places around Portugal, eat good food, swim and enjoy their holiday. They will visit Porto and Lisbon, among other places.
- We promise to wave and greet Statsraad Lehmkuhl when it arrives in Lisbon!
Social without a mobile
Hedvig and Mathea are happy that they ended up on the same team on board, otherwise they might not have made friends.
They like the good mood on board, and how wonderful it is to be social without mobile coverage. The girls also play with the idea of sailing with the ship again.
- I want to go to Shetland someday, says Mathea.