Freediving in Northern Norway's Paradise

Arrival and fish soup

The course starts with Kjetil meeting you at Helligvær express-ferry pier when you arrive from Bodø on the 21:00 or 17:00 boat depending on your travel plan, and driving you up to the house. Warm fish soup is waiting at Mariehuset while Kjetil tells the story of the island and Mariehuset, followed by a good night's sleep before the course begins after breakfast on Saturday morning.

Theory, gear and the first dive

After breakfast on Saturday we have 3-4 hours of theory and a gear fitting at the school, a few minutes' walk away. During the theory break we have a packed lunch, head across the road to the friendliest, best-stocked Coop in Norway for snacks and drinks for the weekend if you'd like. All food and non-alcoholic drinks are always included in the course. After the final theory session we take the gear down to the changing rooms and fit it to you. Then comes the course's first dive, a short drive to the north end of the island, to a sheltered, shallow natural harbour with a ladder, clear water and a sandy bottom for practical training and exercises. We'll go through the basics: safety, breathing, equalisation in practice, buddy rescue, communication in the water, and how to freedive safely in pairs.

After the exercises and the dive we change and take a hot shower at the school, then head home, light the fireplace, and cook dinner together - perhaps with a few freshly caught scallops in the pan as a starter. The sun stays up far into the late hours up here, and you'll have plenty of time in the evenings, together or on your own. If the weather's good, we walk to the top of the island in the evening with tea and dessert, and take in the panorama of the Lofoten wall and the midnight sun. If it's rough, we head into a lavvo, light the stove, and enjoy a homemade dessert and good drinks while the weather rolls past outside.

Theory, open water and underwater foraging and hunting.

Sunday brings porridge and freshly baked bread for breakfast. With tea and coffee on the kettle before the final short theory session at the school, where we'll go through underwater hunting and foraging, among other things. We change at the school and take the boat out to a few amazing dive sites where you go in pairs and get the chance to try underwater hunting with harpoon, scallop foraging, or simply enjoy the incredible nature above and below the surface. We practise safe, responsible underwater hunting and foraging, with respect for the regulations, minimum sizes, local conditions and the life of the sea, so everyone can keep enjoying nature here in the future. Packed lunch, coffee, hot chocolate, tea and snacks come along on the boat.

If the fishing luck doesn't show up underwater, anyone who wants to can borrow a boat, life jackets, a map and fishing gear after dinner to see if the fish bite on a hook instead. We also have kayaks and bikes for free exploration. After dinner we gather for a quiz from Saturday's and Sunday's material. The winner takes home a signed copy of the book on underwater hunting, "Hold Pusten!".

Whit Monday

This Monday is Whit Monday - a public holiday on Helligvær, and we plan to make the most of it! If you'd rather take a long, slow morning to yourself, or join us for the final dive, it's entirely up to you and how you feel that day. Either way we plan a calm breakfast and take the boat to a beautiful island some ten minutes away by boat, free to dive and take in the area, before packing up on land and being changed at the school by 12:50, ready for the 13:50 ferry home.