Kopasker 66:17.9N 16:26.9W
Millybrown
Mark Hillmann
Thu 26 Jun 2008 18:52
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We arrived here about 7 last night after good
downwind sail, 40 miles in 7 hours.
The landscape is still flat but the names
interesting.
 The stack on the left is called "Karl" and the hill
called "Steep".
At the stack were the only gannets and guillemots
that I have seen in Iceland.
This afternoon both a dunlin let me very near on a
walk along the shore and arctic terns carried out an attack.
Presumeably both had nests near. Without a
hat or cane to protect a bald head, I retreated after photography.
I have seen terns draw blood on the Farne
Islands.
  Cold the weather may be, but the visibility is
astonishing, mountains round Akureyri 40 to 60 miles away can be clearly
seen, rock and snowfields.
Further north clouds clearly identifying mountains
can be seen. These must be over north west Iceland, Isafjordur, 140
miles away.
This morning two powered inflatables called at the
harbour with 7 people on board. They were on a round Iceland trip.
That must be cold in these air temperatures, sat outside doing 20 or 30 knots.
It makes a yacht with a (sometimes) heated
cabin to retreat to, seem positively civilised.
There were also two officials from the Icelandic
fishery department. They said that while Iceland was reducing quotas
Norway and Russia were increasing them. The experts are unable to agree what the real situation
is.
The large plant here is apparently for shrimp
processing. There is no quota on them and they are easily fished, but
there is no useful market. So that is closed too. You can only suspect from all the fishery woe but
apparent prosperity that when the fish are landed
there is money being made.
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