A Sailor’s Reminiscences

This digital edition presents the memoirs of Olavus Vullum Bjørnson Vestbø, a Norwegian sailor who recounted his youth aboard the proud sailships of a vanished age. His voyages took him across the Atlantic in hurricanes, into the harbours of Jamaica, Boston, Copenhagen, and Rangoon, and aboard ships crewed by men of every nation and disposition.

The original manuscript was translated from Norwegian by B.C. Berge, Olavus’s nephew. This digital edition was transcribed and edited by Ken Tannenbaum, Olavus’s great-great-grandson, as a tribute to a life lived at sea.

The illustrations accompanying each chapter were gathered to evoke the world Olavus inhabited — the ships, the ports, the storms, and the quiet moments between.

The Author

Olaus Wullum Bjornsen Westbo (1859–1940) was a Norwegian-born pioneer and family patriarch who helped shape the Scandinavian-American community in the Pacific Northwest. Born in Norway as one of twelve children to Bjørn Nilson Vestbø and Gunhild Olsdatter Berge, Olaus carried his family’s heritage across the Atlantic, eventually settling in Tacoma, Washington.

A central figure in the Westbo lineage, Olaus established a lasting legacy alongside his wife, Bertha Olava, raising a family that bridged Old World traditions with New World opportunities. His life story is one of migration, resilience, and the quiet strength of the immigrant experience. He is remembered today by his descendants for his role in anchoring the Westbo name in American soil. He rests at the Old Tacoma Cemetery, leaving behind a sprawling family tree that continues to honor his journey.

About the Contributors

Bernhard O. “B. O.” Berge was a prominent figure in the Norwegian-American community of Illinois, known for his leadership in legal and fraternal organizations. He was the son of Ole B. Berge and Gunhild Bjornson, making him a direct grandson of Olaus Wullum Bjornsen Westbo’s parents (and thus Olaus’s nephew, though often linked as a “grandson” in broader family contexts due to the close multi-generational ties of the Berge and Westbo families).

Kenneth Tannenbaum is a fifth-generation Norwegian-American and a great-great-grandson of the pioneer Olaus Wullum Bjornsen Westbo. Carrying forward a family legacy of exploration and structural building that began on the Vestbø farm in Norway and moved to the shores of the Pacific Northwest, Kenneth now navigates the digital frontiers of Silicon Valley.