64:09.29 N, 021:56.34 W

 

Tied up snugly in Reykjavik harbour after an 11 hour sail round the Reykjaness peninsular to move only 25km as the crow flies. The wind was not that strong, between F5 and F7 from the NNE, but once we'd rounded the corner to head north it got surprisingly rough. Actually rougher than any conditions we've yet been out in Awelina.

Only 15 miles to go before we can bear away...

 

To keep progress in the waves we had to have a bit more canvas than we’d normally carry for the wind strength, so we had 2 reefs in the main, staysail and 1/3 of the yankee. This worked very well and we did 7 knots or even more while hard on the wind and through the waves. We say through as it was really quite wet with the cockpit drains working hard for the first time as the occasional green water came over the sprayhood. Surprisingly we saw no other yachts...

 

But we did see a big trawler which seemed to be keeping us company, getting ahead and then stopping and waiting for us to catch up before starting off again. We suppose he was fishing but he stayed within 1/2 a mile of us for 20 or more miles, in fact until we were safely entering Reykjavik harbour. Inside the harbour it was incredibly sheltered with barely a breath of wind – perhaps this explains why the Vikings chose this spot to build their major settlement.

 

We tied up next to a large live-aboard catamaran and started cooking lamb tagine at 22:30, but it was still light. Tomorrow we’ll buy some fresh vegetables, explore a bit and then move on.

 

Bah, nothing. I remember when our top-gallants carried away and the mizzen went by the board ....