Sumara of Weymouth

Sarah has caught her flight back to England and Gudrun has now arrived in Iceland. Charlotte flies out on Sunday. Ray arrives on the evening of 3rd August. It’s quite complicated!
The weather doesn’t look brilliant but there does seem to be a small window of opportunity on Sunday to get around the Reykjanes headland (but now Monday may be better). My friend Jon who used to be an Icelandic fisherman came to visit on Thursday evening and we chatted about the sea area. Jon has experienced 18m high waves just off the headland in no wind – gulp. In a strong south westerly it can be really truly nasty. The south going tide is not as strong as the north going one so it is pretty important that we clear it in one hit. It is coming up to the strong spring tides too. The ideal situation seems to be to arrive at the north tip of the headland at high water with a reasonably strong north easterly or northerly wind. That should allow us to clear the 18nm run south to Reykjanes before the foul tide. It looked like Sunday morning would be a suitable time to get underway but the depression is moving west so Monday could be better. Sumara would then stop at Grindavik on the south coast which is near to the airport to pick up Ray. Thembi may try to get to the Vestmann Islands or stop with us. Thembi may even leave today but it is too late for Sumara to catch the tide. More bad weather is due so we will keep a very close watch. The south coast of Iceland is notoriously dangerous. The high mountains are fronted by long low areas of soft glacial sand which is indistinguishable from the sea and doesn’t show on radar. The tide sets heavily towards the beach. Many ships have mistaken the wet sand for sea and abandoned their ships. It is the walk across the sand to the refuge huts which normally claims the lives of the seaman. The ships rarely break up in the soft sand. It is our intention to head south away from this coast before setting our course for Scotland.
We are still hoping to visit the Vestmann Islands but if time is too tight we will at least see Surtsey. This is the new island formed in a recent volcano eruption. Only scientists (and Tillman?) are allowed to land there as they are studying the way vegetation and life get a hold on new land. If Sumara doesn’t leave on Sunday Gudrun will take us for a drive to her birth place and to see her plot of land. We Skippers are being a bit indecisive but it’s a tricky call.