English
M/S Vestgar is a magnificent and majestic version of a veteran boat that is an ideal choice for both large and small parties and excursions. Vestgar is equipped with two comfortable saloons and plenty of deck space to move about. Aft, the deck is covered and forms a warm and cozy meeting place for those who need air. Inside, there are varied seating areas so people can bolster themselves. A Perfect boat for excursions with larger groups, where there will also be opportunities for food and drink.
Vastgar was delivered from P. Høyvolds Mek. Workshop in Kristiansand for Øygardsbåtane L/L in 1957. During this time she ran on the combined cargo and passenger route between Øygarden and Bergen. She was furnished as a traditional liner and sea bus. On the upper deck there was a large, bright and pleasant lounge with 81 seats and in the lounge on the main deck there were 90 seats. In total, the boat was certified for 252 passengers. On the front deck there were loading frames with cargo space. It even had its own post office and livestock stable. The boat had an 8 meter high mast with a boom that could take 2 tonnes.
In the 70s, the islands around Bergen were more and more connected to the mainland by bridges, and there was no longer the same need for local ferries. M/S Vestgar was the last scheduled ferry that ran between Bergen, Fjell and Øygarden. Friday 30 May 1979 at At 13.00 she set out from Torgutstikkeren for the last time on the route Geitanger – Ramsøy – Hernar – Nordøysund – Tjeldstø. An era in the history of transport in the district had ended.
Vestgar was subsequently put into circulation, renamed Vestgar Senior and put up for sale. It was now ready for a new era in the boat's history.
The boat was rebuilt in 1979/80 at Fyllingen Slipp AS in Langevåg near Ålesund. The cargo racks were taken away, the post office disappeared, and a new booth was built on the starboard side. The rows of benches in the lower saloon were removed, the saloon divided up, and a living room for the crew and a reading room were created. Two additional cabins for officers were also made at the stern of the saloons below. The chimney was moved backwards, and the upper salon was extended aft and converted into a meeting room. Later, the mast and boom were also removed.
The mission boat "Messenger of Peace" sailed along the Norwegian coast with the gospel, and was one of the joint initiatives of the Pentecostal movement in Norway. The attendance was large when the Messenger of Peace began visiting small coastal communities. People lived at this time in several small and often roadless communities along the Norwegian coast, but this gradually changed with urbanization. The messenger of peace often stopped at small local communities along the coast. Meetings and Bible lessons were held, as well as evangelism in the places visited.
In 2007, Fredsbudet faced an extensive and expensive necessary rebuild to be able to sail on. In July 2007, Øygardsbåtane AS therefore bought Fredsbudet, in order to preserve it as a veteran ship for the region as the last scheduled ferry that was on a route in Sotra and the Øygard area. The boat was again named Vestgar.
Due to the extensive changes that were carried out when the boat was used as a mission boat, it is not possible to put Vestgar back to the way it was when it operated on local routes between 1957 and 1979. The boat will therefore forever bear the stamp of its total history.
Nevertheless, the boat has been restored to the greatest extent possible back to its time as a local route boat. In addition to rehabilitation and beautification, it has also been fitted to the mast and boom.
Today it can be difficult to understand the impact boats like Vestgar had on the local villages they linked together in their time. Nevertheless, it feels as if you are going on a little journey back in time when you board the boat, where you get to experience what it was like to travel between the villages in the post-war era.
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