Sunday 5 June 2011

Sjómannadagurinn (Seaman's Day)

Ahoy there landlubbers! 
Last Thursday was a public holiday to honour the Seamen of Iceland and celebrations spanned from the Thurs through to Sunday.   There were various events on around the country, here there was a fun run for ladies, cakes and coffee provided to the seamen by the womenfolk, night time social events and a free boat ride around the fjord on one of the fishing vessels in harbour.  I opted to skip the fun run and take the boat ride. 


 

 
 The fisherman are away on the boats for about a week at a time...sometimes longer. We were allowed to wander around the boat and were able to view the living/sleeping quarters, kitchen and fish prep area.  The size is very deceiving to the eye and we did not even see the freezer area which was further below deck than we ventured. 

 
Lounge area with leather sofas, TV and entertainment system



 Kitchen area all equipment was super large, to feed the crew and the hot plates had bars around the edges to stop pots sliding off.

The fish processing area was a couple of floors below deck and seemed to run nearly the length of the boat.

The sleeping quarters were either single or share and all had TV and ensuite.


I loved the huge scale of the ropes and chains

It was lovely to see the town from a different view



We were given a ride around the fjord


 

I just love this pic of Unnur....she came well prepared for the windy conditions

Sigga and I with the town behind us

 Although we were all a little wind blown by the end of the trip...it was still an enjoyable interlude to the day.

5 comments:

  1. Looks like a nice boat. Pretty good living quarters. What is their main catch?

    Unnur looks very cold.

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  2. A few years back I got to go out from Grenivik on Eyjafjordur. I had to borrow a hat because of the cold, but it was an awesome feeling to be out on the water in such a boat.

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  3. Kerry I think they catch mostly cod.

    Jon it was a lovely morning out although we did not go out very far and stayed safely within the Fjord. I was also surprised that the boat did not at all smell fishy.

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  4. "I loved the huge scale of the ropes and chains" kinky?

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  5. Thanks for the wonderful outing by picture... Oh how much I miss being on a boat/ship in Iceland. Who knows when my next voyage will be, but I'm looking forward to it!

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