Summer Residents

Arctic Terns On Flatey

Flatey, a small island just outside of Husavik was abandoned in the late 1960s and has only recently been re-inhabited during the summer. We had just finished our dinner and were planning on going to bed early, when we noticed a woman and her son standing on the dock inspecting Snow Dragon. Frances invited them on board and next thing we knew we were being given a tour of the island at 9 o’clock at night on a tractor.

Our guide's name was Johanna and she invited us back to her house where we talked until well after midnight. We returned to the boat but were woken up a few hours later by 20 knots of wind that unexpectedly picked up from the west, slamming Snow Dragon against the concrete pier. Our fenders and fender boards were no match for the rough dock and we decided we needed to leave before our fenders were destroyed. Frances lashed a wooden plank against the bow sprit to protect it as we powered off the dock.

Once we got Snow Dragon anchored nearby we slept for a couple hours before putting the dinghy together. It was still deflated on deck from the crossing. We were planning to leave Flatey that morning but decided to spend one more night after Johanna invited Frances to collect eider down with her. Eiders are Frances' favorite duck and she is fascinated by the process of gathering the down.

Johanna puts a stick with a flag to mark the nest. She takes most of the down and then gives the Eiders a few days to produce more before she visits the nest again. The cleanest down is gathered before the eggs hatch but down is also collected when there are chicks in the nest. Some of the fluffy chicks run away and have to be caught and put back. The only undesirable part of the process is the smell of the eider droppings which is quite pungent.

Eider Chicks

After the nesting material is cleaned only 20 percent is usable down. Johanna collects about 70kg from approximately 500 nests on her half of the island. She then sends the down to Japan were the final cleaning takes place before it gets used in high end down products.

That night Johanna, her son and four friends that were visiting her rafted  their power boat to Snow Dragon and joined us for dinner. It was a warm evening and we were able to have hors d' oeuvres and drinks on deck before coming into the pilothouse for dinner. It was a lovely night and we were glad that we decided to spend the extra time to get to know Flatey and the people that love the island. 

Dinner Guests Leaving

For more photos please click on Flatey Album.