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il roderick is swiss but has opted to live and work in iceland and he made short work of the repair that very evening after he d finished his stint on one of the sailing whale boats we were back in business husavik has a remarkable backdrop snow covered mountains seem to surround us hannah and windora left husavik within an hour of each other it is a good place to stop electric and water included in the 2000isk about 13 a night fee supermarkets running trails and as ever the most amazing backdrop of snow covered mountains dropping to the sea flatley but we were heading across the bay to an island called flatley with perhaps a dozen summer houses church and a community hall but who knows how many thousands of puffins and terns at each of the landing points on the island a bin with sticks about a metre long for visitors to carry as they wander around the island they re really needed if you venture into tern territory as the birds will attack anyone they see as an intruder by diving at the highest point your head unless you re carrying a stick pointing vertically above the head to give them something else to aim for our object was to see puffins and we didn t have to go far windora had anchored in the pool with a line ashore and we tied to them astern the shore was perhaps 10 metres away and there were hundreds of puffins stretched along the shore watching us watching them a stroll through the houses and onto the cliffs revealed birds everywhere and we spent ages snapping pics as they sat or launched themselves into space away from us a nearby island grimsay has a huge puffin colony too but the birds don t react to humans in the same way simply ignoring them for the most part we assume that with grimsay being uninhabited the puffins don t see humans as predators whereas here they re closer to human habitation and their need to have puffins as part of their diet we moved out of the harbour and onto a convenient quay and both boats left for harbours further west after a day or so windora with its powerful engine and 4 blade prop easily leaving us behind as we plugged on in lightish winds to make our way over a headland before the nw winds came in it was a pity really as the combination of a potential head wind and trying to remain in company meant we missed out on some neat places as it was we anchored for the night in a bay that on the chart seemed to have scant potential but was very good and apart from a few local skiffs we had to ourselves the following day we beat down to isafjorour where we thought windora might be the entrance was interesting with the local airfield alongside it and the channel open to the wind but once through we had a large enclosed bay before us and a sharp right hand turn took us down toward the town the only boats in view were local and it turned out that all the cruising boats including windora had congregated on the docks needless to say we opted to anchor where we could lie in comfort and light the wood stove without possibly annoying the neighbours by the following day almost everyone had left for greenland a destination we had in mind but were now unsure of the ice in scoresby showed little evidence of moving and the option would be to head further south and it then became a do we go just so we can say we went type of discussion but there was also for me the thought do i really want to cross the denmark strait twice to simply gain those bragging rights undecided to the very end but we checked out or tried to whereas the other boats us oz nz had been able to check out via the police station we needed to complete a form online and email it and still not sure why anyway by the time we left we had little of the favourable tide left a head wind and a feeling that this wasn t a good idea not a good start after several hours of tacking we managed to clear the headland found the wind had veered more to the nw and picked up which put heading directly w to gl firmly off the itinerary we called the coastguard to let them know our change of plan they didn t think we would need to check back in as we hadn t left territorial waters and only intended to stay another two weeks in iceland we headed down the west coast with a destination in mind and a decent breeze as night fell winds were gusty but ok but with a headland to round we were torn between staying as close as we dare and standing off to avoid the dangerous squalls that can be generated by the downdrafts in the end we chose a middle path and suffered for it as the winds picked up dramatically leaving us scrambling to reduce sail once past all calmed down and became enjoyable by now we were about 10 miles north of reykjavik but our destination lay 15 mile up a fjord that ran ne sw but promised excellent anchorages we d never intended to go to reykjavik but did pass a town akranes with a bay with potential before we turned for the fjord of course with fjords and mountains it is almost a given that whatever the wind the terrain will cause it to funnel and in our experience always towards you so it was and what may have looked like a decent sail turned into a war of attrition as we beat our way up this narrowing stretch of water we had one possible anchorage earmarked that was half way up but we could see as we drew closer it was a non starter a second one we came across that was much better but by then only a few miles from the destination so kept going by now having to motor tack as the tide was now ebbing adding its influence to the 30k gust coming off the snow covered mountains time passes of course and we were finally able to make our way into a sheltered bay where we anchored around midnight exhausted the following day we moved a few miles to a much more sheltered cove hvammsey where eider ducks were bred not much evidence of them but we could see on the shore one of the famed icelandic hot pots we launched the dinghy and rowed over to find a 2 metre diameter circle of stones overflowing with water provided via a hose pipe within the circle for several boulders for the bathers to sit on and we decided we d give it a go keeping the towels close for when we beat a hasty retreat from the cool water how wrong could we get the water was more than warm it was hot and getting too close to the end of the hose proved very uncomfortable steam could be seen coming from a nearby patch of ground bit of a giveaway really and several pieces of wood in that area were charred we sat there gazing across to hannah with yet another backdrop of dramatic mountains around us and marveled at our good fortune a few days later we beat our way back down see what i mean and anchored off the town we d past on the way up launched the dinghy and rowed in with the diesel jugs to find some fuel we tied up and asked a couple of chatting guys where we could get fuel and were ushered into a pick up and driven 200 metres to a nearby garage before being driven back to the pontoon such kindness one of the benefits of cruising iceland is the ability to use our uk sim as although not part of the eu it is included when it comes to charges and we were able to readily access weather info it seemed no matter where we where we always had access to a phone signal and iceland probably has one of the best signal coverage we have experienced anywhere of course the population lives along the coasts well west north and east coasts with little if any along the south so logically that s where the towers would be but we never failed to be impressed anyway armed with latest forecast and updated before we drew clear of the land we felt we had a plan that would see us riding the grips from iceland down to st kilda a 600nm journey toward the se part of the problem was the 40 mile chain of rocks and shoals that stretch just west of south from the headland we were now passing the grids lay to the west of them and our track took us slowly on a diverging course to the point that we ran out of wind drifting and ever more unhappy with our lot we struggled on making then losing ground but slowly making toward st kilda it was always going to be a gamble as the anchorages are on opposite sides of the island and not protected from all directions so not an ideal end to a week long trip as it happened we got to 105nm from the island when the winds switched to the east picked up and we decided to keep heading south and take advantage of a beam wind to windward lay the outer hebs mainland scotland with ireland further south our choices looked limitless but a persistent and stiff easterly kept us firmly offshore but first we had to steer clear of rockall bank where depths rose from 2000 metres to 200 metres and the sea would react accordingly we plugged on passed the bank with a few miles to spare drifted then picked up a favourable wind out of the west by now we were some 30 nm off donegal and pushed on thinking we d get to baltimore before resting up and then heading back and we might well have done had not meteirann come up with an approaching front that would generate sw50k and further strong winds behind it initially we thought we d head into ventry harbour but snuck through the blaskets and made a beeline for valentia we d used both anchorages before but in a sw wind the valentia anchorages offers a heavily tree covered hilly surround and we knew the holding was good and there we went and stayed whilst it blew at anchor all was calm the clouds racing across the sky the only indication that something was happening outside as it went through the wind veered a little to the wnw and a swell could be felt rolling hannah as we lay at anchor we moved across to anchor just in the lee of beginish island the trip across demonstrating just how strong the winds had been blowing as wind speeds exceeded 30k and we rounded up in spray before motoring in as close as we dare to the beach a good length of chain deployed and we were well dug in albeit with our stern a little closer that we wanted but comfortable the winds continued to blow and we were happy in the knowledge we chosen to come in to shelter rather than pushing on further offshore leaving was a tad difficult as the nw wind can make the entrance uncomfortable to get out particularly in a wind over tide situation we were lucky in that the wind was only 10 12k but even so with a foul prop we struggled to exit the narrow entrance and the minutes passed as slow progress was made once clear we had a further few miles of motor sailing to clear the headland before we could turn on a more southerly course good progress was made perhaps the best since we had left iceland some 18 days or so ago and we discussed keeping going over pulling into baltimore and exploring the surrounding area in the end we decided to keep going the winds were reasonable and mostly in our favour with the possibility a stiff southerlies in a day or so pushing on we aimed for a point that would take us south of the scillies and thus give us a better slant for the lizard the tides would still be an issue but not as much as the ebb closer to the mainland might be and we duly rounded the scillies and altered course for the lizard we closed the headland and to our surprise and joy we actually managed to get the timing right for the flood and were carried north and onto falmouth not without incident of course as the weather worsened and we ended up pushed further off the sheltered coast and among the anchored ships in heavy rain at night we spent a week or so in the falmouth area meeting up by chance with friends from way back before taking a favourable if light wind back up to the plymouth area cawsand for the night then up to the lyner before hauling out at southdown to get the weed and barnacle offer hull and prop constrained as we are by draft we either had to rush through things in 5 days to make the next springs to each our berth or wait till the end of the month and chose the latter allowing us to get more done we arrived back at the quay around 7am but found our new berth and when settled it was nose down as the bottom was obviously hard in places once the water had gone bee went into the mud to try to clear enough to get us level whilst i got a last coat on the deck to no avail as the tilt was still uncomfortable but able to take advantage of nick and nadja s absence we were able to use their berth and spent days clearing rocks cement and lumps of metal to make a cleaner berth it was an awful job thick gloopy and very smelly mud that clung like a demented tentacle to legs and footwear bee who gets tunnel vision when working was deaf to my whimpering entreaties that i really was stuck and barely spared a glance in case her manic attempts to clear the rocks should be slowed down by a millisecond it took about 30 minutes for her to accept that my struggles were getting nowhere and she reluctantly abandoned digging out rocks to digging out my trapped left leg immediately returning to her more important work once she d cleared enough mud for me to be able to haul my leg free i guess she chose to wear my trousers the following day as her fee for the rescue that and the fact her own clothing was still soaking from the previous days attempt to hose the mud off before we dared wash them bee who is an indefatigable worker is also unfortunately prone to covering herself in whatever she happens to be using anti foul stockholm tar and in this case the mud at one point i thought she was using the waders i d borrowed but it was just my trousers now covered from ankle to waist in mud along with her arms face hair well you get the picture on the next set of springs we moved back into our berth but found we still suffered from a tilt and spent another day or so digging around the hull in an effort to make a decent flat spot to sit but it is much better than when we first arrived and the slant is bearable so that s it and we ll be here for the winter several storms have already come through the last over the w e and hitting almost 50k where we are no doubt more to come some memories comes to mind we re on our way south somewhere on the trip from iceland the forecast is for increasing winds sometime overnight and we decide to reef before nightfall it only blowing 20 odd knots with a bit of sea running but we rather get it done in daylight i go forward to lower the main and find the throat jammed nothing i do makes any difference and we realise that the block that controls the topsail outhaul has fouled the throat halyard and jammed it with no way of lowering the main bee opts to climb the mast hoops whilst i keep the tension on the tops l halyard her journey up was slow and controlled as she balanced speed against a pitching rolling gait but once the two lines were separated she was down the hoops faster than i ve ever seen it done harness off and the job completed before the night fell good job done you might wonder why it is bee gets all these difficult jobs and the answer is simple enough she takes the view ...
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