Vestmannaeyjar

Vestmannaeyjar, also referred to in English as the Westman Islands, are a part of a still active submarine volcanic system some 20 miles off the SW coast of Iceland. The latest addition, Surtsey (named after the evil spirit, Surtur), surfaced in in the mid-sixties. The last major eruption occurred here on the only inhabited island, Heimaey, in 1973, where a third of the town was buried under lava flows.

The island group was named after an Irish Worker's Collective, otherwise known as group of thralls, or slaves, who were put to death by one of the original Norse settlers, Ingolfur, in 874. He claimed they murdered his half-brother Hjorleifur. I'm not sure if they got a fair trial or not, but either way, it's just as well I'm sailing under the Welsh flag, not the Irish one.

The islands rise straight out of the sea in huge towering columns of rock. Sailing around here is like being in a surrealistic science-fiction move. But it's real enough.

Heimaey is a busy fishing port but also a tourist destination for mainland Icelanders.The views are stunning. I'll take a few pictures.

A small community, Heimaey has a different feel and character than the bright lights of Reykjavik. On entering the harbour I was soon directed to a secure berth by a village elder. Shortly after the Postmaster General drove down to the wharf to greet me and share some local knowledge.

At the local cafe I met local girl Sega who had recently met and fallen in love with an Englishman. He was back in England preparing a sailboat. They were planning to sail together to South Africa in the autumn. She showed me a picture of the boat, named Cariad. I told her it meant 'love' in Welsh and she swooned at the knowledge, eager to tell her beau this new revelation.

There's one other sailing boat from Belgium here. A crew of two men, they too are waiting for favourable winds to sail back home having cruised Greenland earlier this summer.

I'm keeping a watchful eye on the playful dance between high and low pressure systems as they roll across the North Atlantic. I may be here for a few days yet waiting for a spell of favourable winds. But I can't wait too long or risk the wrath of autumn gales and fearsome seas.

Until later,
Simon