65:52.68 N, 23:29.28 W

 

þingeyri, in the Dyrafjorður

 

We now understand why all the fishermen bar one stayed in port today: the wind got much stronger as we left the shelter of Talknafjordur and the sea built in proportion, so we spent quite a few hours beating with 25 – 32 knots over the deck. 1 reef, staysail and 1/3 of the yankee. Peter did a sterling job steering for much of it but got quite wet and so cold. The wind is still from NNE, and gale warnings keep being issued for the seas between here and Greenland: the tenth day in a row with the wind same direction, same strength.

 

However it’s no issue for the boat, just for its crew, so we made it fine and are now tied up snugly in þingeyri (no idea what ‘thing’ means in Icelandic) which we reached around 10pm. Tomorrow for exploring: we’ve a choice between a hike up the biggest peak around here (996m but with a 10 mile walk in so a long day) or hiring mountain bikes and staying lower. Today the cloud never left the hills, so we’ll have to see what tomorrow brings.

 

It’s getting further north: more snow, colder and less populated.

 

View towards the south side of the entrance to Dyrafjorður

 

And to the north, showing a glacier which doesn’t reach sea-level