Grimsey, A Small Detour

Instead of going directly to Husavik, we have detoured to Sandvik on the island of Grimsey, 30 miles north of our intended destination. There is no serious reason behind our change of plan other than that is what we felt like doing when the final navigational decision needed to be made late last night.

It took us 36 hours to reach Grimsey from Seydisfjordur, mostly under power. Conditions were not ideal when we left Friday night, the sea was still turbulent from the strong northerly that had come through. The wind was almost sailable but not strong enough to keep the sails full with the steep waves, so we kept motoring. Eventually the waves mellowed, greatly increasing our comfort. By Saturday, the wind had picked up and we were able to sail for most of the day before the wind died for the night and did not return until shortly before we reached Grimsey.

Everything seemed normal this morning as we came up to the wharf until Frances asked for a wrench. It is not unusual for Frances to request a tool but she doesn't normally do it as Krystina is getting ready to cleat Snow Dragon's bow line to the dock. Sure enough Frances had a good reason for making the request at such an inopportune time, the throttle handle had fallen off. Luckily the engine was at idle and Frances was still able to shift gears, putting Snow Dragon into neutral as Krystina fetched the wrench and then scurried to get the bow and the rest of the lines secured. Overall it was a perfect docking and Snow Dragon came gently to rest against the tires covering the high wharf.

As we were putting on the sail cover, a local fisherman came by to welcome us. We invited him on board for coffee and as we chatted he asked us if we enjoyed our life on Snow Dragon. When Krystina replied "yes, but it's a lot of work", the fisherman smiled in that knowing way that only someone who has experienced life at sea and spent countless hours repairing their boat can smile.

Before leaving, he pointed out his boat and kindly offered to help us repair the throttle handle if needed. We were able to replace the sheered bolt ourselves but it was nice to know help was available if we needed it. Eventually we'll make it to Husavik but for now Grimsey is beckoning to be explored. Unfortunately we don't have access to wifi right now so you'll have to wait for photos until we do.

Smooth Sailing, Norway to Iceland

Approaching Seydisfjordur Iceland

Just as Norway was beginning to show signs of summer. We crossed over to Seydisfjordur on Iceland’s east coast, where winter still lingers with the occasional blizzard. Aside from the temperamental weather, Seydisfjordur is a warm and friendly place with beautiful scenery and some lovely architecture, which we have explored intensely over the past few days. 

The passage was surprisingly relaxed. We had been seriously watching the weather pattern around Iceland since April, hoping that by the end of May we would find a long enough window to make the crossing. Our opportunity came just shortly after Gerd, whose house we had moored Snow Dragon in front of during the winter, joined us in Trondheim on May 15^th for the passage.

Frances & Gerd tightening the rig

After tightening Snow Dragon’s rig, dinner with friends and refueling the following morning. We left the dock at Trondheim and sailed the 35 miles out of the fjord to the nearby island of Storfosna. Where we anchored for one last night of uninterrupted sleep and a hike before making the crossing. We had stopped at the island several weeks prior and it was nice to come back and see the changes that had taken place with the arrival of spring. 

Dinner with Adrian, Tove & Gerd

Once out on the open ocean, conditions remained calm with light winds and mellow seas for the five day, 613 mile passage. Barely a drop of water touched the deck and only minimal sail adjustments were needed. Most of the time it felt as if Snow Dragon was sailing herself and we were only along for the ride. Even with the mild conditions all three of us struggled with sea sickness at different points during the crossing. We had not done any ocean sailing since October and it took a while for us to readjust to the motion.

The one down side to the light winds was the dense fog that surrounded us for the second half of the passage and did not lift until Iceland’s mountains were towering above us. Luckily there was no traffic which both our radar and newly installed AIS confirmed. Our only company was the occasional bird, whose numbers increased as we approached Iceland.

It is slightly unusual for a noncommercial boat of Snow Dragon’s size to be running AIS, which gives the name, position and course of ships in the area as well as transmitting our own information. When we were 45 miles out, the Icelandic Coast Guard called us on the radio by name to enquire where we were going. They then arranged for the port captain and custom’s official to meet us at the dock, despite are arrival time of 11:30pm.

The port officials were welcoming and did not seem to mind that we were accidentally flying the Faroes courtesy flag instead of the Icelandic which was put up my mistake due to mislabeling by the Norwegian flag supplier. As we answered questions and filled out forms they told us that we were the first yacht to arrive this year and that there had only been nine last year. They were also happy to hear that we had been greeted by the fjord’s resident humpback whale as we came into the port after not seeing any marine life during the crossing.

Four days after we arrived another sailboat came in from Norway and we were quickly reminded of how lucky we were to have had such great conditions. They had 40 knots of wind and 6 meter seas and were forced to divert to Seydisfordur for protection instead of continuing to their intended destination on the north coast. Their experience reinforced our decision to motor when the wind was too light instead of waiting for it to fill in and potentially end up with more than we bargained for.  

After spending six days in Seydisfordur, we are now ready to make our way to Husavik on the north coast. There are few protected harbors on Iceland’s north-east corner and with that in mind we plan to sail nonstop to Husavik.

The past two months have been a bit of a blur as we focused on getting Snow Dragon ready for Iceland and making our way down the Norwegian coast from Tromso to Trondheim. Over the next few weeks we hope to have time to write both about our experience in Iceland and the memorable moments we had before leaving Norway. 

For more photos please click on Seydisfordur Ablum.