A blue sunny morning in Reykjavik, so leaving Gringo up at the top of the mast, with Mike directing Umiak’s operations John and I set off for a local ‘touroid’ walk around the centre and learnt some of Reykjavik’s and Iceland’s history, including their timely request for independence from Denmark in 1944, when the Danish had other things to worry about.

A quick bite to eat, farewell to Gringo, and then there were three! He waved us off in glorious sunshine and a calm marina, straight into a big swell and force 5/6 to get our sea legs back and straight into the action. With a reefed main and the stay sail up, we ploughed out to sea and round the corner along the SW coast of Iceland and then out towards Scotland. We had some good views back to steaming sulphurous volcanoes and the barren and rugged coastline.

 

Over the next four days, the wind dropped, increased and dropped again, changed direction, so we did a bit of motoring here and there, had some pouring rain, beautiful sunny moments, magnificent rainbows, views of a beautiful waxing moon, the Northern lights, and a little hitchhiker. We think that it was a young northern wheatear, 250 miles in each direction of land. He sheltered in the folded stay sail on the deck, and we expected to find him still there, maybe a bit pancaked, when we reached Scotland; but no, he must have taken the chance of a big crossing.

We rounded the Butt of Lewis early on Thursday the fourth! Great to see land again and to hear the cheery tones of the Stornoway Coast Guard and his conversations with other hardy sea farers, most of which we failed to comprehend.

Tracey