Robukta

Robukta is one of the bays at 'Sydspissen', the south tip of Tromsøya, a little east of Telegrafbukta. Several locals have told me that it is named Robukta, because there once was a rowing club there. However, it seems to be decades ago that this rowing club closed down. I have found little information about the old rowing club on the web other than that it was started in 1920.
http://digitaltfortalt.no/things/fra-roregatta-til-brylkrem/H-DF/DF.4325
https://www.flickr.com/photos/perspektivetmuseum/7157245078/

I am hoping to find more information. More so, I would very much like the new Tromsø Roklubb to become located at Robukta. It is one of the best locations in Tromsø for a rowing club. The water one the south and west side of Tromsøya is well shielded against the wind by Kvaløy. Also, the sea current is less intense than in Tromsøy Sundet, which is important when training new rowers. In addition, the surroundings are simply very beautiful there.

Boat transport 2

By the way, I also asked the shipping company Norlines how much it would cost to ship the rowing boats to Tromsø by freight ship. They estimated 30,000 kr. plus tax. Ouch! They also suggested that transport by road would be more practical. So it seems driving the boats myself is the cheapest option.

I have also put out a request for offers on the transport on two different web pages (transportanbud.no and anbudstorget.no). So far one company has showed interest, but I havn't received any actual offers on the transport.

Transporting the boats from Oslo to Tromsø

The boats are waiting in Oslo for us to pick them up.

I have arranged a possibility for renting a car with a powerful motor and a trailer hook.

I have also made arrangements for a cheap rent of a boat trailer made specifically for rowing boats.

Both the trailer and the car needs to be returned to Oslo, so that means a 2x3 days drive Oslo-Tromsø-Oslo.

I have been trying to find a driver with trailer license that would help me drive the boats from Oslo to Tromsø on a proper boat trailer. Unfortunately I have been unsuccessful. My usual trailer driver is unavailable for the time being due to a newborn child and a new house. I have therefore concluded that I have to take a trailer license myself. It has to be fast though so it doesn't delay things for months. I am corresponding with a traffic school about it.

In the meantime I have estimated a budget for the boat transport. It becomes rather expensive, approximately 22,000 Norweigian kroner in total.

Båttransport Oslo-Tromsø-Oslo

Trailer lessons                                                                                    7 x 680 kr =    4760 kr.

'Lastsikringskurs' (mandatory)                                                                                   1000 kr.

Nissan Patrol                                                                                       7 days rent,     8000 kr.

Benzin/gasoline                                                          2 x ~1750 km, ~1 kr/km =      3500 kr.

Flybillet Tromsø-Oslo-Tromsø                                   ~900 kr  + ~1700 kr (flex) =  2800 kr.

Accomodation Trondheim and Bodø                         2 x 2 nights, ~500 kr/stk =      2000 kr.

In total                                                                                                                     22.060 kr.

Therefore Tromsø Roklubb is about 20,000 kr. short of becoming a reality. Help is needed!

I have written Norges Roforbund again to ask if they can offer some economical support to the boat transport. If they had the money they would like to help. Unfortunately it turns out they have lost their main sponsor and they are already struggling with their own economic situation, so there is not much hope there.

Finding a boat house for the rowing club

I have contacted Tromsø Kommune for assistance, but I have had very little response from them sofar, only a confirmation that they received my letter.

I have walked round the entire coast of Tromsøya and scouted for useable boat houses. The longest of the rowing boats are 11 meter long, so most boat houses are too short.

I talked to the kayak club, which has a suitable boat house. Unfortunately it is already packed with kayaks and they could use even more room for kayak, so no solution there.

I also had my eyes on the large red double boathouse by the large wooded pier in Folkeparken by Telegrafbukta. I managed to establish that the boat house belongs to Tromsø Museum, but they use it for storage, so there is no room for Tromsø Roklubb there either.

Next I went along the coast of Tromsdalen and in Tromsdalens Marina, there is a (also red) large triangular boat house that would be very suited for a rowing club. I learned that it belongs to 'Læring gennem arbeid - Naustet', which is a school under Tromsø Kommune. Again, they use the boat house for their own activities, so no extra room there either.

I got a contact that knows a friendly farmer, a little outside of town, that has a boat house but this also turned out be packed full with boats already.

Finally, a new member of Tromsø Roklubb has offered that we can build a shelter for the rowing boats in his garden. He lives about half a kilometer from the coastline, so it is not very practical, but it is a start and we will go for this solution until we find something better.

Time for an update.

There are two main priorities for Tromsø Roklubb right now.
1) Transporting the boats from Oslo to Tromsø
2) Finding a boat house for the rowing club

I have been working on both priorities and have made some progress, but in climbing one obstacle there is not long til the next one.