Adventurer sets off with nine huskies along Helgeland coast

Bengt-Are Barstad has launched a new expedition, rowing a 23-foot Nordland boat from Ertenvåg in Gildeskål municipality, Nordland, with nine Alaskan huskies and 200 kilograms of dog food on board, Dagbladet reports.

Barstad, 56, spent six consecutive years living outdoors in Norwegian wilderness, a journey he documented on social media and in a series on Naturkanal 1. Now, he aims to row south along the Helgeland coast, possibly as far as Levanger in Trøndelag, where he has his base.

“This project is very simple: 2,000 days outdoors, and the chaos continues at sea,” Barstad told Dagbladet as he arrived at the dock. He chose to start in Gildeskål, where he lived as a child, to “close the circle” after his 2021 northbound journey began from the same harbor.

His inspiration partly comes from Alf-Henry, a local fjord fisherman from Gildeskål. Barstad described his current vessel, built in 2022 by Ulf Mikalsen, as “a jewel of a boat,” praising the seafaring qualities of traditional clinker-built designs. He estimates his gear weighs 400–500 kilograms, but the boat remains manageable even with the dogs.

“It’s complete chaos,” he admitted of traveling with nine huskies. “The trip would be much easier without them, of course. But they’re the pack.”