Sue & Charles Sail Ariel-: 2015

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Ariel in Sønstabøvågen, Norway on Sunday morning, 30.august 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

Torshavn, Faroe Islands

I am way behind on the blog but will try to catch up. From Akureyri we intended to make for Raufarhohn but in the end decided to stop in Huasavik. We had visited Husavik on our bus tour from Akureyri and it is a very nice harbor. We arrived in the afternoon and tied up alongside the fish dock immediately behind two cruising sail boats. I went in search of the harbor master but he found us an indicated we could stay but would have to move down the quay before noon the following day because he had a fishing boat coming in. The next morning both cruising boats left, and we moved to the end of the quay leaving lots of space for fishing boats. We remained there for the rest of our stay. The tidal range in Husavik is about eight feet which makes organizing mooring lines a bit of a challenge, not ot mention the challenge of getting on and off the boat at low tide.

We awoke the second morning to discover that Jan Pietersma, our neighbor in Reykjavik had arrived in the middle of the night and had tied up to Ariel. We were very pleased to see him because he has a small boat, single hands it and had intended to sail from Reykjavik to the East Coast of Greenland. Apparently he set out to do that after we left Reykjavik but changed his mind after two days and decided to return to Holland - a very good decision in our opinion.

Sue and he had a discussion about Ham radio as he was trying to improve his Ham rig. Unfortunately, the US Ham radios do not have the same bands open to Ham operators in Holland. We did not have and 5 or 7 MHz bands so he could not communicate with his friends at home.

We are now in Torshavn capital of the Faroe Islands in a marina with five other cruising sail boats (more on that later) and I hope we get to see Jan again before we leave for Shetland.

Husavik claims to be the first town (as opposed to settlement) in Iceland and is now a whale watching center as well as a fish processing center. Four very traditional wooden fishing boats, two gaff rigged schooners and two with no sails leave multiple times every day with a new load of tourists to go see the whales. They have an almost perfect record of success which I find very interesting we never saw one whale on our trip in or out of the fjord. They do a very good job of documenting their sightings and it does seem as if the whales know the boats and oblige by showing up at the appropriate time and place.

In addition to the traditional boats there are RIBs and conventional cruise boats that go out as well. Husavik has a very interesting whale museum with some huge skeletons hanging in the ceiling. Apparently whenever a beached whale dies somewhere in Iceland the museum staff negotiate with the landowner to take possession of the skeleton which then gets displayed in the museum.

There is also an Explorers museum and a cultural center with an interesting collection of local wooden boats in the basement. We very much enjoyed our stay in Husavik and made good use of the extra days there waiting for the weather to improve. It is an overnight passage from Husavik to Seydisfjordur, our final destination in Iceland.

We decided to bypass Raufarhohn (and the trout cooked over sheep manure) because the weather window looked short and we wanted to take advantage of it. In the end we motored the whole way (except for about two hours of a beam reach in the fjord going out) in head winds that veered around the compass to stay exactly on our bow as we turned to starboard around the northeast corner of the island. It is 600 miles from Reykjavik to Seydifjordur and we motored the entire way; with only a couple of exceptions the wind stayed within 15 degrees of dead ahead. The conventional wisdom for going from the West to east coasts of Iceland is that the wind gores anti-clockwise and the current goes clockwise. We chose to go clockwise and can therefore confirm the conventional wisdom is correct.

The highlight of this passage was crossing the Arctic Circle. We did so at --- on --- and remained above it for about an hour. Since then we have moved steadily South and are now are 6- degrees North. Even though we are now mid way between summer solstice and equinox the night sky remains lit at these latitudes.

We arrived Seydisfjordur at 1600 hours on Sunday August 16th and called the harbor master on Channel 12. His instructions were very hard to understand but there was a very inviting and empty floating dock right next to the big ferry terminal so we decided to tie up there and then find out where we should really go. As we came in the harbor master drives up in his pick-up and helps us tie up. He was perfectly OK with our staying there and although the floating dock had no power or water it was close to town and brand new. Seydisfjordur is a small town at the head of the fjord and is the place where the car ferry from Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands comes to. It is a rather sleepy place without the ferry in town but there are two restaurants and a hotel.(fully booked) and we spent a very pleasant evening.

The weather for Monday was forecast to be very reasonable for a passage to Faroe. Sue decided she really needed to get back to Annapolis,and so we put her in a taxi at the ferry terminal for the airport about 25 kilometers away and she caught the midday flight to Reykjavik and then the Iceland Air flight to JFK the following day. She is now back home fixing all of the things that have gone wrong in both White Stone and Annapolis. We miss her and the quality of the food has markedly deteriorated.

Gregers and I refueled and filled the water tanks and departed Seydisfjordur at 1015 hours and motored down the fjord.

There will be a description of both Faroe and Shetland later. We have made a two night passage from Torshavn to Scalloway and a one night passage from Lerwick to Norway and will continue south down Norway's west coast to Kristiansand which is our jumping off point for Skagen in Denmark. We leave here (Sonstabovagen) tomorrow morning for Stavanger.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Husavik- the Whaling Capital of Iceland

Husavik was part of our Diamond Circle tour out of Akureyri. We knew it was a nice harbor but we were not sure if we could find space here. The harbor master wanted us tied alongside the pretty new cement,with nice built in fender fishing dock. Here we have enjoyed free electric ( european) and water. They run the water all the time. Fishing boats come along this dock further down and a fork lift- like truck picks up the huge plastic bins filled with fish just caught.

I have nearly completed a knitting project here. Everyone seems to knit. The yarn shop here has good quality icelandic wool at very inexpensive prices. (Yarn can even be purchased in the grocery store!) There is a nice bakery who not only dispenses coffee and pastries, they have a nice assortment of sandwiches and bread and are a meeting place for the locals. It is not uncommon to see three of four kids with bike helmets getting their goodies and juice unattended by parents.

There are tourist shops of course and several restaurants, two grocery stores, a nice hardware store. We went to the Whale Museum which was very interesting. The lava in the country side is where the Apollo astronauts trained for their missions. So the museum features all things Norse and Apollo. The museum of life has old objects used in everyone's home from yesteryear but the lower level has their version of a Maritime museum with old boats and fishing gear.

Old fishing boat upgraded to take out "whale Watchers" in droves. Two are sailing and two are motor boat versions. All have AIS. Every Boat around here has AIS as required.

Husavik harbor

Main part of marina with coffee shops, pub restaurants and the old church,

Look behind the Whale boat- Ariel is tied to this dock.

The harbor

Polar bears are pretty big..and could easily get on your boat.

Fish are moved around in heavy plastic bins by forklifts.

Akureyri Country side tour

Building next to famous Akureyri Church with typical sod roof.

The Outlaw statue which is close to the college. A few blocks away is a wonderful formal Garden.

Ariels spot on a floating dock. When we came in the fog was so thick we could not see until right on this in the harbor. The loud and low fog horn next to us turned out to be Holland America ship in town till 2pm. Quick turn off our fog horn at 8 am before we wake everyone!

A Restaurant top view of the harbor below We were known in the area as the boat that arrived in the fog. Flying the American Flag got us attention.

We did an all day tour with the Saga Travel group, five people in a van for 15. It was wonderful We saw every level of the countryside. Here are the sulfur bubbling erupting grounds of the geothermal beds heating iceland .

This a part of a mythological formation .. a horse shoe shaped wall created when a horse made a huge hoof print.

Jokulsarglufur glacial canyon--another land layer!

waterfall Dettifoss - the most powerful waterfall in Iceland.

No fog at the harbor- prime spot for us!

Akureyri

Well we did see and made a decision, because the forecast was good for two days to make it all the way round to Akureyri in one go. We left Olafsvik at 1000 hours on Friday and motored out into a stiff breeze, forecast to moderate. Well it didn't until about 2000 hours.when it reduced to about ten knots. or the next two days as we turned North, then North East then East and finally South the wind wind veered at each turn so it was always within 20 degrees of our heading. We tried motor sailing a couple of times with very little success. The first ten hours were the worst with the wind dead ahead and gusting to 30 knots plus an adverse current we were, at times making three knots. After the wind moderated it stayed reasonable but with quite a big sea running. At 1700 on Saturday the fog closed in an Icelandic Coast Guard cutter passed us in the opposite direction - we picked him up on radar but no AIS signal. At midnight the Icelandic Coast Guard called us on channel 16 wanting to know our position, destination and ETA. They also wanted us to call them every 6 hours which we did until we arrived. They expect you to identify yourself with boat name and call sign.

At 0100 on Sunday as we started to enter the Eyjafjordur (the longest fjord in Iceland with Akureyri at its head) the fog started to lift giving a fabulous view of the mountains all around in the half light. It is about 5 hours up the fjord and was uneventful except about an hour before we arrived we ran right into a dense fog bank and could see very little. We did arrive at 0620 about two minutes ahead of a 450 foot Holland America cruise ship we could not see but could hear. Our fog horn sounds very puny against the deep blast he put out every two minutes. The charts for Akureyri are not very helpful and neither is the cruising guide so we arrived in thick fog with no clue where the best place to tie up would be. After cruising around for a bit we found an opening in the breakwater with masts on the other side. We entered through the gap and - mirabile dictu - there was a pontoon with 60 feet of clear space on it that we tied up to. It turned out to be right in the middle of town and the harbor master was OK with our staying there as long as we wanted.

We stayed in Akureyri for two nights. It is the largest town in Northern Iceland and is a delightful place after the cruise ships leave. They have a very fine botanical garden outside of which is a most arresting statue in bronze entitled "The Outlaw" . I tried taking pictures of it but it is very hard to capture its power so I have included a link to photographs on the web that do a much better job than I did. I think this link works and it gives you several views:

Link:

" The OUTLAW"

Outlawing people was a common punishment in the time of the original Norse settlement and seems to have come about because there was no civil authority to enforce the laws - although they had a very active and well developed legal system. Once someone was outlawed he was supposed to leave his home and no one was allowed to provide shelter or help him in any way. In my opinion a lot of that comes through in the sculpture.

While we were in Akureyri Sue and I took a full day tour of some of the more interesting sites in northern Iceland. They included a very active part of the mid Atlantic ridge with similarities to parts of Yellowstone, the Dettifoss waterfall - the largest and most powerful in Iceland, Lake Myvatn which is rich in aquatic and bird life and the Asbyrgi Canyon, a spectacular ring of cliffs said to have been formed when Odin's eight legged horse Sleipnir touched the ground with one of his hooves. We also stopped at Huvasik, whale watching center of Iceland - more on that later. Our tour guide was a young native of Akuyeri with great affection for his town. Utterly scornful of all things Reykjavik including the people. There are three hockey teams in Iceland, one from Akureyri and two from Reykjavik. The Akureyri team is in first place (of course).

We departed Akureyri on Tuesday (August 11th) at 0900 bound initially for Seydisfjordur. We were supposed to get strong winds from the West moderating later in the afternoon. In fact we did have two hours of a good reach up the fjord before the wind came around to the North (of course). Later that morning one of the sheaves on our mainsail sheet tackle disintegrated and we decided to put into Husavik for the night. This decision was also influenced by the weather. There is a large low pressure system to the South of Iceland that is forecast to move North and remain fairly stationary over Iceland. That is producing fairly strong South East winds between Iceland and Faroe that are likely to persist for at least a week and maybe longer. Our eventual departure from Seydisfjordur will have to wait until we have winds with a northerly component so we might as well be tourists as we cruise around the rest of this coast.

The rest of the trip to Husavik was uneventful except the wind was on the nose the whole way; we arrived at 1800 yesterday. We are tied up alongside the fish wharf and because the tidal range is less than 6 feet here it is quite comfortable. The whale watching boats go in and out sll the time - we have not seen any whales since we left Reykjavik.

We intend to leave here for Raufarhofn, the northern most town in Iceland within the next day or so. Their culinary specialty there is lake tout cooked over sheep manure. By reputation it is delicious and I intend to find out.

Pictures Touring Olasvik area

Anastapi Harbor

Anastapi view

Typical Fishing boat with life raft on cabin top. They use three or so of these reel arrangements to catch fish.

Harbor scupture

Cows being transported by boat to another island for grazing in the old days.

Seals being skinned for meat and fur

Fulmar- this bird follows us everywhere. It turns it they think we are a fishing boat with a free meal coming as they are know to eat what the fishing boats discard.

Wild Horses - a stout breed with short legs. Horseback riding is available throughout Iceland.

more horses. Golf courses and swimming are other activities available.

Snow covered mountains. I understand now is a great time for helicopter skiing. There are wonderful ski trails in places.

Waterfalls can be found in the country side. The geology is amazing. Lava rock or glacial rock. It takes a long time for the lava rock to become covered with vegetation.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Olafsvik - Part II- August 5th

Olafsvik - Part II

Well if you are following our track it went out into the bay and then stopped. Actually it went out turned around and came back again, as did we. Strong winds out of the NE meant a very close reach to make the point and then right on the nose for about 10 hours to or destination. We decided to return to Olafsvik and try again on Friday when these winds will have abated and will, eventually come around to the SW. So we have rented a car and are exploring the peninsular. Tonight we are in the Fransiskus Hotel in Stykksholmur. The hotel is brand new and is a part of an old monastery, the other parts are a cathedral and a hospital. Stykksholmur is a nice little town with a harbor - the ferry goes from here to Flatey Island and then on to the other side of the bay. We will be going the same way on Friday if this wind does in fact lay down. Tomorrow we wille xplore the town, there are two museums and a lighthouse and then move on to the South side of the peninsular before returning Olafsvik on Friday. We will try again on Friday afternoon hoping for an early arrival in Isafjordur on Saturday. We shall see.