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By Root 3172 0

heard of the Englishman Darwin and his famous theory about the survival of the fittest, and some people may have tried to make you believe that 'the fittest' means 'the strongest' and that Darwin is saying that only the strongest will survive. But that's not what he means. The fittest are those who catch the wind. And that's you. Your town mirrors the way you sail: you've always known how to navigate your way through life's upheavals. That skill you can carry forward with you. But you'll have to abandon the ships whose decks you learned it on, because they're sinking. The age of sail is long gone, but the age of the sailor has just begun. Trust me: a town that's been the home of sailors for generations possesses a unique capital in a world where everything needs to be transported and the continents move ever closer to one another. The difference is that from now on, you'll put your skills to use on a deck that trembles from the vibrations of powerful engines working beneath it."

He presented us with the same vision he'd given the town's various brokerage firms over the previous few days. But he went a step further. He confided secrets about the future of the shipping company that he'd kept from the others. He predicted that in time the Boye company would merge with all of the town's other shipping companies until only one big company remained. And this company would be rich not only in capital, but also, more important, in experience—centuries of accumulated experience, generated by the inventiveness, persistence, vision, and will to survive that lay beneath the construction of the breakwater, the acquisition of the telegraph, and the creation of one of the country's biggest merchant fleets—an experience that even now, at a time when Marstal was in a decline, inspired us to continue the fight to find new or forgotten corners of the globe where we could sail ships that should have become obsolete many years ago.

Isaksen held out his hand and counted on his fingers: inventiveness, persistence, vision, will to survive, and, more than anything, the ability to unite in a common purpose to achieve what was impossible for the individual. Five fingers, one hand. The hand that catches the wind, the hand of flexibility, the hand that seizes every opportunity that presents itself!

"It's the best kind of hand there is," Isaksen said. "With this hand you can shape the future to your own liking, and that's what you should be doing. The company already owns one shipyard. That's important because you need to control every link in the shipping trade chain, from the construction of the ship to the lading of the cargo. But the shipyard must switch over completely, not just to steel ships, but also to steam and motor vessels. That way we'll be able to control the price of every single ship we launch under the company's name. And here too the right conditions already exist. After all, the shipyard isn't short of skilled and experienced shipbuilders. It will require greater tonnage. We'll need to dredge channels so the new ships can pass through. We'll build our own Suez Canal, right across the archipelago, where it's shallow, and out into the open waters of the Baltic. We also's need to move into the business of ship's provisions so we can supply not just our own ships but others too. In addition, one day we'll have to move into the fuel business. We'll own coal mines and, later, oil fields, because the motor ship will eventually replace the steamer. That way we can ensure a supply of fuel for our fleet at stable prices."

Not only would we sail, but we'd manage half the world, and our town would be at the heart of it all. That was what Isaksen was telling us.

When he finally finished, our faces were flushed. We were exhausted, confused, and reeling with the kind of giddiness you feel when you step off a merry-go-round. We rose to our feet and applauded him: brokers, office clerks, skippers, first mates, and blushing wives. Even Ellen, Emma, and Johanne got up to clap. This time they didn't need to glance at one another first for confirmation,