Iceland: Puffins And Whales Up Close

The swell made it impossible to anchor off Bakkagerdi, the small town in Borgarfjordur so we moved over to the east side of the fjord and tucked in behind Hafnarholmi peninsula.  It took two attempts to get our anchor to set in the rocky bottom and a local boat came out to watch, probably wondering why we weren’t coming into the small fishing harbour.

Puffin Landing , Hafnarholmi Peninsula

The peninsula was full of nesting puffins and kittiwakes. We could see people with telephoto lenses waiting patiently on the well placed viewing platforms for the perfect shot, even though it was getting late. In the morning we went ashore to make our own attempt at photographing the puffins. When we took the dinghy into the fishing harbor, we realized its tight entrance was deceiving and there was actually plenty of space for Snow Dragon. However, by being at anchor we had a better view of the fjord and were happy with our decision.  

Puffins, Hafnarholmi peninsula

To avoid getting swept along with a tour bus group that had made a quick stop to check out the bird reserve, we went over to a less popular platform where the kittiwakes were nesting with their adorable fuzzy chicks. While the kittiwakes were dozing in between feeding their chicks pre-chewed food, the puffins were busy catching fish to feed their young. Returning with multiple fish hanging out of their beaks and pausing outside their burrows long enough to dry off before disappearing inside.

Road Out Of Bakkagerdi

Our plan had been to return to shore and explore the mountains but we knew that westerly winds were coming and we needed to move on. Our compromise was to take Snow Dragon back across the bay and have a walk near Bakkagerdi. The harbourmaster met us as we were tying up our dinghy and mentioned that we liked to anchor in some strange places. When we asked if anywhere in town had Wifi, he kindly gave us a ride across the street to the restaurant where we split a beer and a fantastic batch of fries while we did a quick email check. It was still tempting to take off into the mountains but we stuck to our plan of enjoying a short walk. Finally, we pulled anchor at 8.30pm and set off on an overnight passage.

Midnight Sun

An hour into Krystina’s watch, she looked out of the pilothouse window and saw a humpback whale fluke. She turned off the engine and let Snow Dragon drift to give the whales the choice of coming over to see us. Frances had just gotten to sleep but didn’t mind being woken up once she went on deck and saw two humpbacks approaching us. For 30 minuets they stayed closed to us, occasionally fluking and disappearing then reappearing on the opposite side. We had been cursing the lack of sailing wind but the calm made it ideal conditions for stopping to watch the humpbacks searching for food, not a bad way to start the day.

Humpback Whales Alongside Snow Dragon 

For more photos please click on Puffins And Whales Album

Iceland: Inventing An Anchorage

Low Cloud, Seydisfjordur

Before leaving Seydisfjordur, we topped off Snow Dragon’s water tanks with the dock hose that was fed directly by a powerful stream, giving the continuously running hose a life of its own as we wrestled it onboard trying not to douse each other in the ice cold water. Krystina took advantage of the exceptional water pressure and hosed Snow Dragon off to clear the salt from the deck, hardware and windows. A quick task with no scrubbing required thanks to the force of the water.

After spending a good portion of the previous day glued to our computers trying to download the mac version of our satellite weather program which turned into a true test of patience. For both us and the staff of the Hotel Aldan Cafe.  Luckily the staff at the Café were very understanding and allowed us to stay as long as we needed. The upside of spending the beautiful day inside was Krystina was able to use the time to uploaded two new blog posts and photo albums while enjoying the view from the Café. With Ocens WeatherNet finally installed and tested, we were ready to leave Seydisfjordur and go somewhere a little more remote.

 

Lodmundarfjordur

Lodmundarfjordur, the next fjord to the north, was not an official anchorage but the chart showed appropriate anchoring depths and we thought with the settled weather we would give it a shot. Surrounded by horizontal bands of rock, raised beaches and snow scattered table top mountains with no town and only 4WD access. Lodmundarfjordur was indeed the quiet, spectacular fjord anchorage that we were hoping for. 

On shore we joined the gravel road and followed it along the raised beach admiring the orchids, dwarf willow and buttercups before turning uphill to the snow, which was unfortunately too rotten to walk on in trail shoes. We continued around the snow and up to a point were we could see the next range of snow-covered mountains and overlook the fjord. Along the trail their were thousands of moths fluttering near the ground seeming to enjoy the relatively warm day, showing no fear that we might accidentally step on them.

 Krystina Running, Lodmundarfjordur

The 4WD drive trail was a pleasure to walk on and in the morning Krystina decided to take advantage of the spectacular surroundings and go for a run. This time we went in the direction of the river valley and beach at the head of the fjord. Frances started off running as well but kept getting distracted by photographing orchids. At first we thought the stream was going to prevent us from reaching the beach but then we found the primitive log bridge that was put in to allow adventurous 4WD access. Before heading back we sat on a rock near the water and enjoyed watching families of eider ducks and a curious seal who swam over and inspected us. 

    Primative Bridge on 4WD Track 

For More Photos Please Click On  

Lodmundarfjordur Album

Iceland: Returning To A Familiar Place

Icelandic Fishing Boats Passing Snow Dragon At Sea 

Our voluntary delay leaving for Iceland did not negatively impact our passage. Twenty knot southerly winds prevailed, only reducing and then turning to light headwinds as we neared Iceland’s dramatic southeast coast. At first we could only glimpse snow-capped peaks above the fog, suddenly the fog cleared and we could see the mountains meeting the sea.

Twelve miles offshore the Icelandic Coast Guard called on the VHF and asked why we hadn’t reported our entry into Icelandic waters. When we explained that we thought we needed to be closer to be in VHF range due to the mountainous surroundings, they were very understanding. After answering a few questions they asked us to email them our full names, passport information and cruising plans. The officer on duty was already reading the email when Krystina called him on 16 to confirm the information had been sent. He then asked her to give details that would help the Coast Guard identify Snow Dragon in the event a search and rescue operation was needed. After being thanked profusely for our cooperation they alerted customs in Seydisfjordur with our ETA.    

Snow Dragon Approaching Southeast Iceland

Seydisfjordur is the same port of entry we used three years ago in May during Snow Dragon’s first trip to Iceland. This time we clearly weren’t the first boat of the season, there were three sailboats filling the visitor’s dock so we came up to the neighboring commercial quay instead. A port security officer kindly offered to help us with our lines but when he didn’t secure our bow line immediately we could not use the tension of the line to power the stern in with the engine. The combined current from the outfall of all the streams swollen by melting snow pushed Snow Dragon away from the dock. With Snow Dragon sitting perpendicular to the quay we knew we needed to convince him to untie the bow line he had finally secured and let us re-approach the dock. After trying unsuccessfully to pull Snow Dragon in by hand, he finally got the message that even with another guy helping him, she was too heavy to be manhandled and released our line. Our second docking attempt went much more smoothly and the guys made sure we were far enough back that we would be out of the way of the other vessels using the quay.

 

 A custom’s official promptly came and checked us into Iceland. A very simple process where the official fills out most of the forms for us and only needs a few signatures. When we told him it was Snow Dragon’s 15^th Birthday he was highly amused and thought it was a wonderful occasion to celebrate.

Snow Dragon doesn’t return to the same place often and it’s strange being able to walk off the boat knowing exactly where everything is. With our weakness for Icelandic sweaters, it wasn’t surprising that in less than an hour of being on land, Krystina had already purchased an Icelandic felted wool jacket. While we were using the café Wi Fi and having coffee Frances found herself explaining to a French couple what Angelica looked like and where they might find it, it made us feel like locals.

Back on Snow Dragon we returned our attention to celebrating Snow Dragon’s birthday. After debating opening a bottle of champagne or a bottle of Ukrainian sparkling, we deciding on the sparkling since it was from a place that Snow Dragon had been. We toasted Snow Dragon and our friend Ingrid who shares the same birthday. Then we thought we should actually “toast” Snow Dragon. Krystina suggested her bow sprit and Frances the mast but we realized that both of those had been replaced and weren’t 15 years old. In the end we settled on the cockpit.

Frances And Krystina Toasting Snow Dragon 

To make room for the Apple Marzipan Galette that we made for Snow Dragon we went for a walk in search the rhubarb plant we had harvested during our last trip. Frances remembered it being just past the last building on the way out of the fjord. To insure the rhubarb search didn’t spill into the next fjord, Krystina set a cutoff point. A few yards from the turn around point, Frances spotted the rhubarb plant amongst the lupines. With an armful of rhubarb to make jam and chutney we returned to Snow Dragon and the galette.  

Snow Dragon's Birthday Galette

For more photos please click on Iceland Arrival Album

The Faroe Islands: Leaving Is Not Always Easy

Small Fuel Dock, Torshavn

Though it would have been nice to spend to spend another week in the Faroe Islands, we had to settle for 4 days as the weather was ideal for crossing to Iceland. On the way out of Torshavn harbour we attempted to squeeze onto the small fuel dock, between a 90 degree concrete wall and large slopping boulders. When we were almost alongside, we realized the dock was indeed too short and moved Snow Dragon away before the dinghy and outboard motor hanging in the davits came in contact with the concrete wall.

We had enough diesel to get to Iceland but it was much more cost-effective to fill in the Faroe Islands. There was a fuel depot nearby so we thought it was worth pulling up to the commercial dock and enquiring whether they could send a truck. Sure enough they understood the difficulty getting into the official fuel dock and had no problem sending a truck. We were a little confused when they asked us what kind of diesel we wanted, a choice that is not normally given. In the end we settled for the same kind the fishing boats were using, figuring that was what Snow Dragon was used to.

Fueling, Torshavn

Once Snow Dragon was topped up with 500 liters of diesel we continued around the south of Streymoy and through Vestmannasund. On the west side of Streymoy, we did another weather check to see if we could spend another day in the Faroe Islands without loosing our weather window to Iceland. The forecast showed favorable southerly quadrant wind for two days, a day of variables and then northerly for the rest of the week. We decided to risk the variables turning into headwinds and stopped at Tjornuvik, which came highly recommended by an American photographer who we met in Torshavn and our cruising guide, which listed it as the best anchorage in the Faroe Islands. 

Entering Tjornuvik 

The stop was worth the risk. At anchor we could see glorious sea stacks, explore a hidden waterfall by dinghy and walk around a delightful village. The lower slopes of the huge amphitheater were covered with very lush green grass that was soon going to be cut for hay to feed the sheep in the winter. 

We left the Faroe Islands with both sadness and excitement. Our time in the North Atlantic showed us just how spectacular the sailing based travel could be in the area and we longed to return to Ireland, Scotland and the Faroe Islands. Finally after one more trip to see the waterfall, we pulled anchor and said goodbye to Tjornuvik. Our one consolation was that we knew from previous experience that Iceland and Greenland were well worth the effort.

Krystina Inspecting The Hidden Waterfall, Tjornuvik

For more photos please click on Leaving Faroe Islands Album 

Faroe Islands: Fog, Blogging And A Day Of Pancakes

Tallship, Tvoroyri

The sunshine we enjoyed in Scotland disappeared when we arrived in the fog covered Faroe Islands after an easy two day passage from St Kilda.  In Tvoroyri, we hibernated at anchor, using the downtime to catch up on creative pursuits. Frances worked on drawing and painting while Krystina finally tackled restarting the blog. We braved the rain and fog and ventured into town for a walk and hot chocolate at a café that had originally been a traditional fisherman’s supply store. The fishermen could purchase their supplies on credit and repay it six months later when they returned from sea.

In hope of getting our propane tanks filled and the electric start on our outboard looked at we headed over to Torshavn, the capital of The Faroe islands. The thick fog only lifted long enough to give a few patchy glimpses of land while we motored in uncomfortable, confused seas. At the dock a British sailor helped us with our lines and asked us over for a drink. After a lovely visit we invited him and his partner for breakfast on Snow Dragon.

We returned from our neighbor’s at 2am and after a few short hours of sleep, prepared a large batch of sourdough pancake batter. When our guests didn’t show up as planned, Krystina went over to their boat to double check they were joining us. It turned out they had decided not to, leaving us with a large batch of batter and only two of us to eat it.

We decided the best solution was to eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the middle of our breakfast of pancakes, bacon and homemade blueberry and quince jam, the customs official dropped by to clear us into the Faroe Islands. He declined our offer of pancakes but was happy to let us answer questions while we chewed.

For lunch our pancakes were topped with onions, mushrooms and a fried egg. By dinner we couldn’t possibly face another pancake and opted for leftovers. Our pancake overdose subsided in time for lunch the following day and the remaining pancakes were eaten with camembert, green onion, bacon and basil. Followed by pancakes with camembert and jam for dessert.    

In the mean time we successfully got our American propane tanks filled. The company even picked them up and delivered them, saving us an expensive taxi ride. Though they are the same fitting as a European commercial bottler, most countries refuse to fill them due to regulations. We also managed to organize a mechanic who showed up at 9.45pm on Friday night in the rain. He was more than happy to work on the outboard but we told him we completely understood if he wanted to come back in the morning when the weather was supposed to be better.  

 Kids In ATraditional Rowing Boat, Torshavn

On Saturday, the fog disappeared and everyone came out to enjoy the sunshine, strolling along the water front and sipping cold drinks outside the cafes. While the rain and fog had made it easy to concentrate on getting the blog up and running, staying motivated during the one sunny day we were likely to see in the Faroe Islands was difficult but Torshavn was Krystina’s last chance for internet access before Iceland. We also had to wait for the mechanic who showed up as promised and fixed our outboard. By the time the mechanic left and Krystina finished uploading photos and her post, the fog had returned. To get more of a feel for the area, we walked into the outskirts of the town and enjoyed being entertained by a playful sheep. 

Video Of Playful Sheep

For more photos please click on Faroe Islands Album

St Kilda: Home of Birds, Cliffs, Sheep & Hardship

Hirta Cliffs

What is striking about St Kilda is the inhospitable nature of the islands. All four of them are dominated by steep cliffs with minimal or no level ground. An environment much more suited for puffins, fulmars and gannets that nest there than humans. Only Hirta, with the highest cliffs in the British Isles and its two deep bays with no natural landing was inhabited.

Puffin Taking Off After A Dive

Apart from a small amount of gentle slopping land, it’s a rigorous vertical walk to get anywhere on the island. Even hunting sea birds, the main source of the communities food was a difficult, time consuming and dangerous task that was not always successful. The preferred method was to take a small boat to a cliff base and then climb to where the birds were nesting and capture them by hand. Though the community’s food supply was limited they always shared what they had with each other and showed extraordinary hospitality to shipwreck survivors who were victim to the archipelago’s treacherous coast.

Village Street With Houses & Cleits

The steep grass covered valley around Village Bay is covered with stone cleats that were used for storage, towering above a neat row of abandoned houses. Even the modern military base is dwarfed by the landscape.

Soay Sheep

The other evidence of the community’s existence are the Soay Sheep, a 4,000 year old breed thought to have been introduced by the Vikings. When the sheep on Hirta were rounded up for auction to pay for the communities evacuation, the sheep on Soay were left to fend for themselves on the island as they were too difficult to reach. Thanks to their isolation, they have remained genetically pure. Today they live wild on Hirta, dropping clumps of fleece around the island.

We left St Kilda with a better understanding of its hardships and charm. The weather was ideal during our visit and were able to spend the night at anchor in Village Bay. By morning the southeasterly swell began to make the anchorage uncomfortable. After another trip to shore we pulled anchor and took Snow Dragon around to Glen Bay on the north side of Hirta to find enough protection to hoist the motor off the dinghy before setting off for the Faroe Islands. Our only souvenirs of St Kilda are our photographs as the archeologist who greeted us on shore reminded us not to remove anything from St Kilda, including Soay lambs.

Soay Lambs

For more photos please click on St Kilda Album

Surprise Encounter On The Way To St Kilda

We arrived in the Sound of Harris ahead of schedule and dropped anchor for several hours to get some sleep while we waited for daylight and favorable current to continue through the shallow sound. Though the wind picked up during the night we woke to a mirror calm and had to motor through Stanton Channel. Once we exited the sound, Frances thought she spotted a pod of whales and we changed course to have a closer look at the black fins gracefully skimming the surface.

Basking Shark

The whales continued elegantly curving through the water with a confusing number of fins making it difficult to count. However, the more we looked at the shape of their dorsal fins and lack of blows, we began to realize that they were actually two large sharks with prevalent pectoral fins. We turned the engine off and let Snow Dragon drift and made doubly sure we didn’t accidentally fall over the side while we photographed and watched their magnificent movement. Our suspicions were confirmed when one came along side the bow and we could see its gills flexing. Then the other came up behind Snow Dragon, using its tail to steer a sinuous course and mouth wide open to collect plankton.  

Video Of Basking Shark Following Snow Dragon

Luckily we didn’t confirm they were harmless Basking Sharks until after the fact otherwise we would have put on our diving gear and hopped in. Which might not have been the best idea with the world’s second largest shark even if they only eat plankton and small fish they still massive animals averaging 20-33ft in length.

Basking Shark Following Snow Dragon

Still jazzed by our shark encounter we continued motoring to St Kilda. Normally the idea of motoring 45 miles when there are other interesting places to stop nearby would make us reconsider our plans. But in this instance we knew that conditions requiring us to motor meant there was a good chance St Kilda would be a tenable stop. 

Approaching Hirta and Soay Islands, St Kilda

On arrival we called the St Kilda Warden on the VHF and requested permission to anchor and come ashore. He stated that permission was no longer necessary but did ask that we anchor clear of the landing stage that was used by a military landing craft to supply the base. Once Snow Dragon was securely anchored in the clear water over white sand, we made our way to shore not knowing how long we would be able to stay before the wind picked up and forced us to move on. 

St Kilda Becomes An Idea

St Kilda first came to our attention when Krystina saw the book The Life and Death of St Kilda by Tom Steel in the Iona Heritage Centre’s gift shop. Until then St Kilda had meant nothing more to us than a lump of rocks on the chart. From the brief summary on the back of the book those rocks were transformed to remote islands where a special community lived for over 2,000 years until they made the difficult decision to evacuated the island in 1930. Today St Kilda is the UK’s only UNESCO Dual World Heritage Site and remains accessible only by boat in calm conditions. Though the book peeked Krystina’s interest, St Kilda wasn’t on Snow Dragon’s itinerary and she put the book back on the shelf and continued to explore Iona.

Staffa

Back on board the story of the community continued to intrigue her. After a magical stop on Staffa, an uninhabited island also only accessible by boat, she decided to mention the idea of going to St Kilda to Frances. The archipelago required an 80-mile detour, a real commitment of time. It would only be realistic if the weather was favorable to safely stop at St Kilda’s minimally protected anchorage and then continue directly to the Faroe Islands. We agreed to shorten our time in Skye and skip stopping anywhere else in the Outer Hebrides if the conditions where right to attempt a visit to St Kilda but it seemed unlikely the Scottish weather would cooperate.

Staffa

In Skye we got a second chance to purchase a copy of The Life and Death of St Kilda. Reading the book only intensified our fascination with the history of the area. The people who lived on the island were united in their daily struggle to survive in a desolate place where food was scarce and help could only be found amongst other members of the community. With no transport, no supplies and no medical treatment, their only link to the outside world were occasional shipwreck survivors, Victorian tourists and the factor’s annual visit. By 1930 the population that once numbered up to 200 had been reduced to 36 by disease and emigration. With no chance of outside aid to fund a doctor or a ferry to the mainland, the community finally gave into government pressure and agreed to evacuate the island. Sadly their way of life and community was lost once they boarded the ship for the mainland where they were resettled away from each other and forced to adjust to a world were money was needed to survive.

Krystina Taking In The Scenery In Skye Photo By: Georina Ferry

The weather report showed southeasterly wind, the right conditions for sailing to the Faroe Islands but completely wrong for stopping at St Kilda. However, the wind was supposed to be remain light for 36 hours before increasing and we decided to take the chance and risk only being able to sail past the archipelago.