Safe and Sound

The Iceland sailors are safe and sound, having arrived back on schedule at Clifden yesterday (July 30). There was a warm wellcome for the tired but happy sailors as they completed the trip with a pleasant sail from Inishbofin. There was a small party on board in the Bay, followed by a wonderful celebratory dinner in Katherine Lowery's house in nearby Ballinaboy.

Nick, his brother, his nephew, his cousin and Paul are all well and in good spirits, despite the demanding adventure. The most difficult part of the trip was the final few days in Irish waters, when southwesterly gales meant slow progress and sheltering at the Inishkeas (feeding on crabs) and Achill Sound. The stop-over in InishTurk (North) was very enjoyable. Now everybody is having a well-deserved rest.

Expected to Arrive Clifden Boat Club 4.45PM Today

I got this text message from Nick Wednesday 29 July 2009 at 14.46:

Eta white lady 4.45. N

A littler earlier Sean texted me to confirm they had left Bofin and are sailing to the Boat Club, Clifden Bay.

Expected Back in Clifden Late Wednesday Afternoon

I got a call from Sean. He is going in to Inishbofin tomorrow (Wednesday) morning to be picked up by Nick and the Iceland crew to sail the final leg back into Clifden. I don't know for sure, but my guess is they will arrive into the Boat Club/Clifden Bay area around 5ish.

Achill Head rounded; Arriving Clifden Wednesday or Thursday

I got this message from Nick on Monday 27 July 22.49:

P At achill so und south, at pub, guiness grt. Wont b hm til wed earliest. Sw gale tmr. N

This message arrived a littler earlier (21.55):

Hi, just rounded achill head in stiff sw breeze, vy lively. Gng to achill sound south 4 nite. sw gale predictd tmr, may nt arrv til wed? N

Windbound at The Inishkeas with mackerel sushi & wasabi

I got this text from Nick on Sunday 26 July 20.17:

P. Windbound at inishkea north, gng to inishturk North n its pub tmr, sean may join us. Gd sail frm faroes n st kilda, 2 gales, boat lively n safe. Mackerel sushi n wasabi yday n tday, fab. Peat fire, books, backgammon day as we lie at anchor. N

I had earlier heard from Sean that the sailors are on the approach back to Clifden. On previous days, I had been wondering how the Clifden2Icelanders were getting on (and getting a little concerned).

Leaving The Faroes in a Force 7!

I received the following message from Nick at 02.58 on July 19:

Leaving Faroes, wind picked up, Force 7 and heavy cross chop Lat 61.20 now. All well. N

Back in Vagar Island

Message from Nick 15 July 16.15:

Indulgent day at sandvagur town at vagar island. Surreal land shapes, wild. Salted cod, which we caught in iceland, n potatoes on 4 din. N

Return Journey Started Already!

I had no contact for several days until the following message from Nick (14 July 21.45) indicating that the return journey had already started and the sailors were almost back in the Faroes

Paul. In sight faroes. 20 miles west of sandoy island where we wl anchor in a south cove in ths N wind. Left bakkagerthi, iceland, a grt little town, 140 ppl, butifl. Boat did 160 nautical miles per 24 hr fr icelnd w ease. Peat fire on, dryng out clothes n interior. Nic

Heading out of mjoifjordur

Message from Nick on 9 July 12.35:

Rturn crew arrivd in reykjavik dis am. Sun no clouds, heading out of mjoifjordur nw. 3500 ft peaks, hundreds of snowmelt streams cascading into fjord. N

News From Iceland

Latest message from Sean Tuesday 7 July 21.33:

Hi we r 2 nw. Moved north 2 a narrow fjord mjoifjordur steep sided vdeep water .snow on top .we walk 2 waterfalls nw and climb up a bit. Fishin supurb . People friendly they rarely c yachts here. Sean

I received this text message from Nick on Tuesday 7 July 11.36:

P. Totally indulgent stay in noskapstathur town. Cybercafe w xcelnt cappucino, sauna-spa, post off, supermarket, beer n pool. I need da rest up. Wild rhubarb on 4 bkfast. Adin left yday to hike iceland a wk. Eric lvs tmr, sean fri. New crew arr sat. Ah, toilet blocked. N

This suggests they are at the town of Neskaupstadur, http://www.nat.is/travelguideeng/neskaupsstadur.htm

Also, Sean called me late on Sunday (they day they arrived) from a Cafe in the town where they landed. He said all is well. He told me there is good fishing that Louis Brennan would really like; he caught a large cod and a haddock in just a few minutes!

Iceland Reached Safely

Around noon (Clifden time) Sean was interviewed live on Connemara Community Radio (http://www.connemarafm.com/) by Eamonn McLoughlin (http://www.connemaraproperties.com/). Sean confirmed that all on board are safe and all well after a good sail from the Faroes. He described how they were now making their way up a fjord on the South East side of Iceland; he could see parts of the steep mountain side despite very heavy fog. He said the temperature is only four or five degrees and there is snow on the mountains!

Sean sent me this text at 09.14:
Comin in 2 iceland nw wow its cold s

The first indication that the sailors were approaching their destination was a text message from Nick sent at 08.05 Sunday morning July 5th:
P. Iceland in view. Easy sail fr faroes. Al othrs aslp. Mking coff as she sails herself. N

Gales and Rough Seas Forecast

I haven't had any contact from the sailors today, but I have just sent them their weather forecast for The Faeroes and Southeast Iceland:

Easterly 4 or 5, increasing 6 or 7, perhaps gale 8 later in southeast Iceland. Slight or moderate, increasing rough in Southeast Iceland. showers, fog patches. Moderate, occasionally very poor.

I think this forecast should speed them on their way to Iceland, but I hope the gale does not get any stronger.

Leaving the Faroes for Iceland

Text message from Sean 12.16 Friday 3 July: Hi jst leavin fr icland fine day warm no wind yet motoring sean

Trouble going into Varger Island

Text message from Sean received 17.05 Thursday 2 July: We were in vager island heading fr eysturoy is spactular cliffs 900m

I think the lads will have a bit more craic in the island of Eysturoy the second largest island in the Faroe Islands with a population of 10,000: http://www.framtak.com/eysturoy/ I believe they are still contactable on mobiles.

Sean called me earlier Thursday afternoon (while I was walking at Tully Mountain). He sounded in good form. All is going well despite some difficulty going into a Killary Harbour-like port on the most western Faroe Island (Vager Island?). Visibility was less than 100m due to a calm fog. All was going OK until suddenly the ebbing tide started to cause the boat to spin (apparently the Faroes tides can be very strong). Then to complicate matters further, a strong wind started to come down off the steep mountain side. Nevertheless, the boat was anchored safely and the sailors went ashore. Apparently there wasn't much "craic" on the Island; only a couple of shops and no pub. Sean said that it was bizarre to see young children out catching pollock at midnight and very bright. Sean said they were waiting for the fog to clear before heading for Iceland.

I think there are some photos of Vager Island on http://blue7700.blogspot.com/2008/08/blog-post.html

Approaching The Faroes......

I got a phone call from Sean just before 7PM (Clifden time) on Wednesday 1 July. He sounded great; it has been fair sailing so far with lots of sunshine and moderate (Force 3ish) winds. All are well on board. Sean said they were approaching The Faroe Islands and intending to "head in there for a pint" this evening. The plan is to to spend some time in The Faroes tomorrow, before heading off on the final ~250 mile journey to Iceland. So you can probably contact the sailors on their mobiles for the next day or so!