The Norwegian
The Norwegian
A life less ordinary
(To Be Published/Released Late 2024)
“Some books are by necessity extra heavy as they contain an honest, factual, whole unabridged lifetime, void of censure.”
This website is meant to be viewed in conjunction with the three-volume autobiography “The Norwegian – A Life Less Ordinary.”
The Norwegian – A Life Less Ordinary.
Welcome to my autobiography, The Norwegian.
My personal story is not a lamentable one. I reveal the honest story of an authentic but untypical life, from earliest childhood to a ripe mature age. My life’s story is closely connected to those of my friends and colleagues, particularly those who have worked in diving and subsea construction. Along the way, I share important technical and historical details of North Sea oil exploration, experienced hands-on from down below and from deck level, as well as sharing personal thoughts and feelings. While some readers may find these less interesting, they are still a part of my journey. Nevertheless, they are included because it is my autobiography. The intermissions appear both in shorter chapters and intermingled into others. I have truly been blessed with a life jam-packed with excitement and adventure, filled with wondrous people and unforgettable experiences.
The story is not in any sense a novel but rather an epic, comprehensive, wide-ranging, detailed factual account of a lifetime of adventure and toil. Fishing, violence, naval inshore and offshore diving, nightclub and hotel trades, extreme sports, relationships, offshore pipelaying and construction, subsea intervention, business ventures, farming, and much more are all included. These volumes are based on in-depth research, numerous interviews, a prodigious amount of reading, and long walks down memory lane.
In 2018, while contemplating retiring from a life on the high seas, a life that was enthralling and, at times dangerous, at long last, I seriously began pondering upon the opportunity to take time to write an extensive work, ignorantly perceiving that being an author was an undemanding occupation signified by wine, cigars, and bliss with an added dash of boredom. By 2023, five years hence, the ever-evolving autobiography has grown to well over two thousand five hundred pages. I now sometimes wonder if the opportunity was a blessing or a curse. Writing is, to put it mildly, painstakingly hard work, however driven one’s personality is, especially so when you have slight dyslexia and enter into an entirely new occupation and acquire knowledge on how to delineate one’s thoughts and memories onto paper. Albeit, having a personal library with over eight thousand books has undoubtedly alleviated the monumental task.
With optimism, I hope you find reading about my journey enjoyable. I found great satisfaction in living. Documenting this vast, all-encompassing fifty-eight years in the making jigsaw puzzle of many pieces has been daunting. My wish to pen my story is now coming to fruition. It’s a fantastic journey I now find myself on, and I am pleased to say the book is becoming more enriched and explicit than I possibly could have anticipated. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading these three volumes, and trust me; they are indeed volumes. With a hand on my heart, I pledge the first-hand reminisces from hundreds of great people recorded, extensively and objectively researched therein are honestly and accurately penned.
However, time and memories are not always perfect cohabitation partners. I am a hoarder by nature and have, throughout the years, saved pictures, newspaper clippings, notebooks, dive logs, timesheets, payslips, tax forms, bank documents, company accounts, diaries, and much more. This habit has alleviated the thousands of hours spent writing, reminiscing, interviewing, reading, and researching. If you have the desire to understand the actual, factual inner workings and details of deep diving, flexible/rigid pipelay, and subsea construction, you will find them on these pages.
My sister Tanja Laura Dinessen kindly stepped into the void that materialised when Malcolm Charles Schaverien, aka Harlan Wolff, tragically passed away far too young in March of 2021. I am eternally indebted to Malcolm and owe him an ocean of gratitude. Prior to his saddening early demise from a heart attack, he assisted in writing the first two hundred pages and encouraged and motivated me to lay aside my offshore hat and don an author’s cap.
Daniel M. Dorothy, a friend, successful published author and editor, stepped in and joined the team in May 2023 to assist with the enormous task of editing and styling the penned chapters—an undertaking in itself.
Paul Cade, my webmaster, since 2018 has spent hundreds if not thousands of hours painstakingly developing the website and associated timelines—in Paul’s own words, the most extensive website he has ever constructed.
Karene Ivy Espiritu Casido-Bacang has been working her magic on the book cover layouts and more.
I am humbly grateful to my family, close friends, naval and work colleagues, and numerous other great people who continue to assist through countless interviews, e-mails, and communications via social media platforms. Accessing their thoughts and memories is conjuring this decades-long dream into reality. What’s next? Only time will tell. I’m not fond of inactivity and believe I will only be happy if constantly active; perhaps becoming a full-time farmer?
Paal Stefan Dinessen
The Norwegian (3 Volume) Hardback Dust Covers
Click to enlarge
About the initial Co-Author / Biographer (Deceased)
Harlan Wolff is the author of best-selling crime novels Bangkok Rules & A Farewell to Paradise.
About The Editing Magician / Revision and Proof-Reader
Daniel M. Dorothy is the acclaimed author of Mango Rains, an epic tale of a woman’s lifelong search for her missing daughter and Paul Millard’s Time Travel Chronicles Trilogy, Fat Tony’s Diner (I), The Chosen (II) and Chased Through Time (III).
Introduction to The Norwegian
A life less ordinary autobiography
Paal (Pål) Stefan Dinessen, author.
Harlan Wolff (deceased), the initial co-author of the first chapters of The Norwegian, author of best-selling crime novels Bangkok Rules & A Farewell to Paradise.
Tanja Laura Dinessen has assisted with the dictation of The Norwegian, is a writer of several yet unpublished books, and is a commercial pilot and captain. When Harlan sadly passed, she kindly paused work on the biography she had started writing about her husband, commercial pilot Arve Haakon Hansen Dinessen’s escapades and fascinating life, and provided immense help up until the draft of “The Norwegian” was completed in June 2023.
Daniel M. Dorothy, a friend and published author, stepped in and joined the team in May 2023 to assist with the enormous task of editing and styling the penned chapters—a significant undertaking in itself.
Malcolm Charles Schaverien, aka Harlan Wolff, may he rest in peace, penned these words shortly before his untimely demise. “The Norwegian” is a book that explores the exhilarating dimensions of life: success and failure, rags to riches, friendship, marriage and divorce, love and hatred, triumph and tragedy, life and death. It portrays a journey of relentless determination, perseverance, and an unyielding spirit. The book is a treasure trove of diverse career paths, bold adventures, romantic entanglements, unbridled passions, and a penchant for extreme sports that keeps you on the edge of your seat. But delve into the book, and all will be revealed.
Paal Stefan Dinessen’s autobiography narrates the myriad lives lived by one man. If one had to encapsulate his existence in a single word, it would be ‘intense’—a relentless roller-coaster ride that seems almost beyond human endurance. Sadly, many of his friends and acquaintances did not survive. Yet, Paal’s resilience and commitment to living life to the fullest stand as a testament to the human spirit.
Paal possesses an innate aversion to inactivity that propels him ceaselessly. Spend an hour with him, and he will likely persuade you to climb a rock face, leap from a tall building, paddle a kayak during a storm, or ascend a mountain. He thrives on activities that are wild, obsessive, and often reckless. (Refer to the short video below)
Adopting Paal’s lifestyle poses a significant risk to most people in their fifties or sixties unless they are equally tenacious. Fortunately, most of us know when to assert ourselves, decline, and, if necessary, cling to the wreckage of our keyboards during storms.
This remarkable story begins in Zambia and concludes in Thailand. There is even a happy ending, but let’s not delve into that now, for endings belong at the end of the book, not at the beginning. Perhaps too much has already been disclosed. Even in middle age, Paal remains as dedicated to his pursuits as ever. But do not be misled by my reference to him being middle-aged.
Paal is not just a man of extreme sports and daring exploits; he still competes in marathons and engages in activities many would consider sheer lunacy, bordering on suicide. He is also a man of solid principles, applying his stubborn resolve to ethical decisions just as vigorously as every other aspect of his life. While not conventionally or fanatically religious, unless you consider adherence to vegetarianism and conservationism as forms of faith, perhaps beliefs we all should adhere to.
Paal has enjoyed his share of fame, in fact, several months of it, having been featured in the press many times. Not only is he a naval frogman, saturation diver, tattoo parlour owner, hotel owner, nightclub owner, and a plane crash survivor in Thailand, but he was also a rescue diver during the Kursk submarine disaster.
In late 2000, Paal made headlines and appeared in television interviews and documentaries in Norway and Russia, making him well-known for a time. Perhaps Paal Stefan Dinessen has always been somewhat of a celebrity. But are the deeds performed away from the spotlight any less significant? You, the reader, should decide.
Short BASE Jumping Video
BASE jumping is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend safely to the ground. “BASE” is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: building, antenna, span, and earth (cliff).
The Norwegian Blog
Prelude – Rebel Without a Sandwich
Rebel Without a Sandwich : "It is better to walk than curse the road." – Zambian Proverb