Dear Coast, from Træna Badstue

The first thing that strikes you when meeting Siw and Anita – apart from the gold rubber rings around their waists – is their energy. If anyone can persuade you to take a dip in the sea above the Arctic Circle, it’s these two.

Anita Sjøset and Siw Jeanette Berg are part of the collective behind Træna Badstue sauna. In 2016, a group of architects, artists, and locals worked together to convert the island’s oldest boathouse into a sauna room – or badstue in Norwegian – and meeting place.

The wharf building was once used to store a boat and fishing gear but by 2016, it hadn’t been used for half a century. “The house was so rotten that it was almost falling down,” says Siw. “We cleaned it out for days, it was so full of old rubbish.”

Now, the building is one of the most atmospheric saunas in Norway. It’s lit by candles and has views of the Helgeland coast, and steps take you directly into the sea when the tide is in and onto the rocky shore when it’s out.

The Arctic dip duo

Anita has lived in Træna since she was four years old. Siw moved here in 2019, a year after she first set foot on the islands. She knew within her first few strides that it felt like home and that she wanted to live here,

Together, they run our Arctic Dip – Sauna & Swim excursion, which you can join when you sail with us on The Svalbard Line. We can’t think of anyone better to introduce you to the hot sauna, the chilly sea, and the invigorating experience of flitting between the two.

Every time we sail into Træna, the pair is waiting in port, waving Norwegian flags and wearing their inflatable gold rings, blue hats, and t-shirts printed with their own laughing faces. It’s a sight guaranteed to make you smile, if not laugh out loud!

As we talk, they regale me with stories about their lives on Træna, such as the time they swam across to an island the day after Siw had watched a documentary about orcas…

Siw: It was all black underneath but then I saw this white thing coming under me. I had just learned that when orcas attack, they turn their pale belly towards their prey.

Anita: We do have orcas here.

Siw: Oh my god, I got so scared! I never panic in water but this time I did.

Anita: And then I started laughing at you!

Siw: And I figured out it was the sandy bottom because we were nearing the island! Anita was just laughing. She was about 10 metres behind me…

Anita: I’m a slow swimmer…

Siw: She was almost drowning she was laughing so much. And I was panicking and laughing. I really thought an orca was coming to get me!

Anita: But we survived!

Conversations with Anita and Siw go like this. They’re quick and funny, with lots of back and forth. They finish each other’s sentences, and they’re both hilariously outgoing – although they insist that Anita is the shy one (truth: neither of them is remotely shy)!

They are the perfect distraction from the part of the excursion that many people feel a little nervous about: immersing yourself in the ocean this far north.

Tips for an Arctic dip

With that in mind, here are Anita and Siw’s tips for making the most of your Arctic sauna and swim experience.

1. Take it slowly when entering the cold water

"I take your hands and tell you to look into my eyes, breathe deeply, and focus on what I what I'm telling you to do. We take it slowly. Then you’ll go back into the sauna and back into the sea again.” says Siw. “We get the best hugs from people when they leave. They say, ‘Thank you, I could not have done this without you!’”

2. Wear a hat doused in cold water when you’re in the sauna

"It keeps your head and your brain cool so you can stay in the sauna more comfortably for longer," says Anita. “We always have hats for people to borrow and when they go into the sea it looks great with all the different colours!”

3. Wear neoprene shoes to protect your feet

"We always wear good shoes of 5mm-thick neoprene to protect our feet when we walk along the rocky shore,” says Anita.

Neoprene shoes will help if you feel the cold in your extremities, too, as does holding your hands out of the water. “We both get really cold hands and that helps a lot,” adds Siw.

4. Sing a song to distract yourself from the cold

“Singing occupies your brain, so you don’t focus on the cold,” says Siw. “It’s a great distraction.”

“We do this sometimes when we’re swimming,” adds Anita. “It gets really cold in the middle of the channel even though we wear wetsuits, so we start singing because we have to occupy our brains with something else, especially if there’s a bit of wind and a small wave in my face or water up my nose!”

5. For the biggest buzz, dip before dressing

"If you go straight from the sauna into your clothes, you get tired,” advises Siw.

“When we take a sauna late at night, we go from the sauna into our clothes because then we want to sleep. But if you go from the water into your clothes you get a lot of energy, a lasting rush.”

Try it for yourself

If the Arctic Sauna & Swim experience gives us even half the amount of energy that Anita and Siw have, it’s well worth a try! And there’s no-one we’d rather have guide us through it.