Nordurfjordur 66:02.9N 21:32.7W
Millybrown
Mark Hillmann
Wed 9 Jul 2008 03:32
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After a day in Siglufjordur looking at the herring
museum, a museum to something that was commercially wiped out in 1967, but is
now part recovered. According to the museum the three Icelandic herring
stocks were effectively cleared by overfishing with new equipment and bad
weather. One stock is apparently back in a
good state now, one is recovering and they hope the third will be recolonised by
fish from these two, but that has not happened yet.
All the pictures are of powered fishing boats, they
say that Iceland has no tradition of sailing boats.
The commercial fishing industry changed Iceland
from a backward agricultural country to a modern one. It was established
by Norwegians around 1900, which seems early for powered fishing boats but
possible. There was film of large open rowing boats with about 7 men,
netting the herring and then transferring them to steam vessels.
Siglufjordur was apparently "the herring capital
of the world". By 1900 the Baltic and
North Sea herring stocks were probably much reduced.
After a quiet afternoon we set out at
9pm. The fog on the hills had not lifted all day, if it had we would
have managed a walk.
We motored down the fjord and picked up a breeze,
but it died and we motored through a calm night until the breeze came in at
about 5 am. Adam and I both enjoy the peace of gently motoring or sailing,
effectively by yourself with the other asleep. Reading, checking the
navigation or keeping watch.
But at 5:20am I rushed down to wake Adam: He
was in the cockpit within a minute, I had just seen whale spouts and
fins. It was a group of about 6 whales blowing three times, on
the third time I clearly saw fins as well. Looking at our book and
whale card we decided they were fin whales, the largest of the whales, but also
fast. We did not see them again, their next resurfacing could have been
several miles away.
We sailed on, intermittent drizzle or wet cloud all
morning, but a good breeze pushing us along. We got into Nordurfjordur at
2pm after deciding against an anchorage at an island with, apparently, lots
of birds and scarecrows.
A local ferry boat came and berthed next to
us. He did not recommend the anchorage shown near the island - too
many rocks. He gave advice on good anchorages and fjords worth
visiting. He spends his winter fishing in Isafjordur where we are heading
next, and runs walkers out to isolated fjords in the summer.
An English yacht then came in, a big one, 50 foot,
owned by a couple who charter it out. They anchored out in the fjord and
motored ashore in their dinghy and we invited them for a cup of tea when they
came back from their walk. They live on their boat and do charters when
they can. They have tried Iceland for the last two summers but have been
disappointed with the response.
I agree with them, Iceland is a lot more
interesting and has better scenery than most places. Cold it may be,
when the wind goes north, but a hat is easily added and the cabin is
heated. Little fishing harbours in snowy mountain scenery seem much
better than 1,000 yacht marinas in Spain.
We then had a walk and supper and as the forecast
is for the wind, when it gets up to be from the west we headed out at
midnight. So here we are 2:30am zigzagging along four miles off the coast
in an area with offshore rocky patches. The picture on the chart
plotter, confirmed by the echo sounder, make it so easy, but doing this with
traditional navigation would have been a full time job. Now I can
steer, write blogs, make cups of soup and navigate at the same time, while Adam catches up on his sleep. My
turn next.
 Here is the skipper at Nordurfjordur to dispell the
rumour that this has all been posted from Maryport. OK, I know we could
have edited me in, but would we do that to a photo of a harbour not shown on
charts, maps or in the pilot book?
On the right you can just see the small boat
harbour. We normally go in those, as they suit our boat better,
but we did not see this one.
"Just as well", the ferry man said "the yachts
that try always go aground". It has not
been dredged.
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