Came into Djupivogur, SE Iceland 2 days ago.

   We left from Inishkea North off Mayo, west Ireland, and sailed straight to Djupivogur. Winds from the easterly quadrant the entire way - NE, ENE, E, ESE. Rather surreal. No gales either. These easterlies prevented us from going to St Kilda and the Faroes as they lay to windward, so it was straight up & in.  At 5 1/2 days it was a fast run, my best by far. 

   Saw a whale spout in the distance, vertical, probably a rorqual. Not a sperm whale, as these spout at a 45 degree angle. Nearing Iceland a humpback surfaced alongside us, checking us out. 

The skies here, compared to west Ireland, are much clearer. Far less haze. Visibility excellent, often phenomenal. The first land I saw, a snowcapped mountain, lay 80 nautical miles (90 land miles) out. The clouds here are usually much higher. Few cumuli, and these tend to be light & floaty. Mainly high cirri, rich in texture & variety, feathery and ethereal. 

   Karl is quite the workhorse for maintenance & fix-it jobs. We did a whole bunch of jobs these two days. He is still at it right now as I take my holy coffee break & goof around on the computer here. Very handy having an honest hardworking dedicated sailor handyman on board. I need to find a way to incentivize him while I take the easy way out and slouch away the rest of my days. 

   Visited with Jon Karlsson, a fisherman working out of here. We meet every time I come here, and he sailed with me from here back to Clifden. He took us up the fjord to see his recent land purchase, an awesome farm property half a mile wide along the fjord's edge, and running back up the mountain range to the snowy peaks 3000 feet up. This sort of property was the dream of the Norse who emigrated 1000 and 1100 years ago to escape overpopulation and lack of freedom. 

   The pic is by his wife, Jonina Gudmundsdottir, who snapped us coming into harbour. 

   


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