Svend Foyn, the inventor of the harpoon gun, and the ship in which it was first carried, the Spes and Fides are the subject of this stamp design. The Spes and Fides (she was popularly called "Spissa ") was the first modern steam-whaler and was delivered to Svend Foyn's orders in 1864. She had a round stern, and her hull was green with a yellow band. Rigged as a schooner, sail was only used during favourable winds, but never for whaling. The vessel's first voyage was in the spring and summer of 1864, when her catch amounted to three whales. Her second voyage, however, was not until 1866, when she left Norway on June 18, but the trip was unsuccessful, as was the third voyage in 1867, when only one whale was caught. The first successful voyage was in 1868, when Svend Foyn, having replaced some of his equipment with better gear, shot 30 whales.
From then on the expeditions of the Spes and Fides continued to be successful.
On November 23, 1904, the ship was sold to B. C. Skancke, of Mehavn, Norway, who retained her name, but did not use her as a whaler. In January, 1912 she was taken over by Andreas Widero, of Aalesund, but resold on November 27 of the same year to Th. Bergh, of Narvik. She was then lying at a Tromso shipyard in damaged condition. Her new owners sent her to the Oren Mekaniske Verksted for repairs and reconstruction. On January 4, 1913, under the new name of Evanaes, she entered her new service, transporting fresh herrings. Her last voyage was from the Storfjord on December 18, 1917 with a cargo of fresh herrings for Melbo, Norway. She met with bad weather and adverse winds, and took water. Her engines stopped, while she was about seven miles from Tisnes, near Tromso and she sank, the crew of seven men taking to the ship's lifeboat. Eventually they reached the coast. During her long life the Spes and Fides underwent many transformations which greatly altered her appearance. She was built by Nyland Verksted to the plans of Svend Foyn himself, with an overall length of 94 ft., 93/4 in. and a beam of 14 ft 11 in. I have seen one or two reports stating that the Spes and Fides carried a total of seven harpoon guns on her forecastle head during her first whaling season.
Sea Breezes 11/54
Norway SG391