Sailing to Iceland

Aboard a Swan 65 s/y Vahine

By Erik Plankton

October 15^th, 2021

The route and boat

1332 nautical miles (2466 kilometers) across the North Atlantic ocean from Copenhagen to Reykjavik aboard the legendary s/y Vahine. In 1973 it was the largest fiberglass yacht at the time and the first of the 65 foot Swans launched. The boat is owned and operated by Sail Training Association Finland.

Length: 18 m (65 ft)
Width: 4,8 m (15,7 ft)
Weight: 32 000 kg (70500 lbs)

Copenhagen

After parting ways with my beloved Endurance 37 the plans for longer sailing trips were open. In December 2020 I got word that the legendary Swan 65 s/y Vahine was sailing to Iceland this summer. It did not take much thinking before two places on the boat were secured. Of course, I thought that by June 2021 the Covid situation would be sorted out, and traveling would be straightforward again. After a lot of uncertainty, the trip was given a green light and we flew from Helsinki to Copenhagen, where the previous crew had sailed the boat from Finland. Two covid tests later we were walking towards the harbor in Copenhagen when suddenly about 10000 cheerful Danes lighted up the city like a carnival. Denmark had won a soccer game and it was full-on party mode. This was a bizarre and exhilarating feeling after being in a semi-locked-down society for over a year.

The next day we walked to the pier where the boat was. The chief mate had done all the planning and was on a massive grocery run for food for 12 persons for over two weeks. With a little help from the crew, the food was tucked away and everyone was aboard. After some introductions and a safety briefing from the captain, we were on the way towards Iceland!

Kattegat - Skagen

The trip started in sunny warm weather with very little wind so we motored towards the northern tip of Denmark enjoying the views. The captain and first mate are volunteers from STAF with a long experience sailing Vahine. The rest of us, ten persons, were the crew. We were divided into three shifts with a rotating schedule. There are no tourists on these trips. Everyone takes part in sailing, cooking and cleaning. We noticed that the alternator was not charging the batteries properly so we planned a stopover at Skagen to make some repairs.

Skagen

The magnitude of commercial fishing started to unfold when we arrived in Skagen. I have never realized how big modern fishing vessels are. And there are hundreds, even thousands of them just in the North Atlantic alone. But this also meant, that mechanical help was quite easy to find and we managed to get an electrical and metal worker for the next day to fix the broken bracket for the alternator. Meanwhile, the crew had time to walk around town and enjoy some very nice and fresh seafood. A string of World War II bunkers lies on the beach, which is slowly eroding into the sea.

Setting sail towards Shetland

The winds favored us after Skagen and we set sail towards Shetland rounding the southernmost tip of Norway. Fairly light winds with magical sunset turned into greyness when we reached the open ocean. Vahine being a heavy boat requires about 7 m/s of wind to get going under sail and after that, she goes like a train. A magnificent boat to sail as the wind picks up!

Getting into the rhytm

The trip from Skagen to Shetland was about 410 nautical miles and took four days. Soon the crew was getting into the groove and the watches rotated smoothly. Sail, sleep, cook/clean and repeat. The boat is constantly heeled over to one side with the waves creating forces that require you to hold on at all times. Especially to your morning porridge so that it is not all over the place. Cooking is one of the most difficult tasks when the sea is heavy. Knives and boiling water is not the most friendly combination when you are constantly thrown all over the place. I have never seen an oil rig in real life and it was mind-blowing to realize how big they are.

Arriving in Sheland

Accompanied by some friendly seagulls and good weather we arrived in Lerwick. But due to corona restrictions, we were not allowed to step ashore, except for a couple of lucky ones who tied the lines to the dock. After topping up the tanks with diesel and water the crew toasted a shot of whiskey and continued on towards the Faroe Islands. The current in the narrows is pretty strong and we decided to anchor into a bay to wait for the tide to turn favorable. Unfortunately, the anchor windlass jammed and caused a total blackout on the boat, which meant we had lost all electricity. Luckily being an old-school diesel, the engine stayed on. A local seal probably wondered what the hell we were doing as we did circles around the small bay for almost three hours while making satellite phone calls to Finland to sort out the problem. Eventually, we found out that the windlass had blown the master fuse of the whole electrical system (and not its own fuse). After replacing the master fuse, all systems were operating again and it was safe to continue towards the Faroe Islands.

Open sea

From Sheland it took around 30 hours to reach Tórshavn. A nice leg to enjoy the beauty and serenity of the open ocean.

Life aboard Vahine

Sailing is easy when the weather is not heavy, but cooking aboard a rocking boat provides challenges. Some creative dishes were made. And coffee is important - always.

Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

We landed in Tórshavn in the middle of the night in calm weather. A large fishing vessel had suffered an engine failure and was skilfully towed into port by two tug boats. The old part of Tórshavn is very pretty with grass-roofed buildings. Those are the administrative headquarters of the Faroe Islands - pretty cool.

Sightseeing

We had some extra time to hang around in Tórshavn since we did not get to see Lerwick due to the Covid restrictions. But before going to town the entire crew had to get Covid tests. The whole procedure was well organised by the local authorities. Taxies took us to the test facility and we got the negative results within a couple of hours. Then we were free to explore the town and enjoy the first shower in five days. We bought some cod fishing gear before enjoying a nice dinner at a restaurant. The next day a local seafaring legend visited our boat and told some great stories about the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Fjords of Faroe

To Klaksvik

From Tórshavn we headed north to a smaller town of Klaksvik. Now the raw beauty of the islands and fjords really hit us. Steep mountains everywhere with clouds hanging low on their slopes. Some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever sailed in. The tidal currents can be very strong in some places and you have to know which way they are moving. We had to steer 30 degrees against the current to get the correct heading.

Klaksvik

Next stop was Klaksvik - a smaller town that lives off fishing and some tourism. The surrounding mountains provide some excellent opportunities for a day hike.

Hike to Klakkur

The athletic division of the crew took on an ambitious and somewhat tedious undertaking to hike the northern cliffs of the Faroe Islands. This plan involved an early morning boat ride and a local guide who took them on really narrow and steep sheep trails by the cliffs. A scene in the latest James Bond movie is filmed there by the way. Me and Erika took a straightforward approach and walked from the boat to the top of the Klakkur mountain. Saw a lot of sheep and absolutely loved the views from the top. The weather and cloud coverage changes constantly so it is not guaranteed you will see anything once up on the mountain even if the weather is sunny when you start. After the hike, it was bliss to enjoy a nice meal and soak yourself in the communal swimming pool.

Towards Iceland

Our next stop would be Vestmannaeyjabær, a small volcanic island just south of the main island of Iceland some 400 miles away. This would be our most remote leg of the trip with virtually no other vessel traffic around. But first, we explored the northern tip of the Faroe Islands with its majestic cliffs that rise up to 800 meters from the sea. A sight I have never witnessed before. The pictures do a poor interpretation of the sheer scale of the awesomeness. Luckily the sea was very calm and we were able to very close to the cliffs where the water was only 40 meters deep. Now it was time to drop our lures and see if we catch anything. After about 30 minutes we had enough cod, pollock, and haddock to feed 12 persons. Now I could check Atlantic cod fishing from my bucket list. Seabirds immediately knew what we were up to and gathered around the boat to see if there would be some fish guts thrown overboard. And it was mayhem when it happened.

Whale watching

We had seen only a few dolphins along the way so everyone was keen to spot more marine life. A few pilot whales were our only visual catch. The massive high pressure that was stuck over Scandinavia for the summer meant, that the air was not moving in the North Atlantic very much. We had to rely on motoring to make progress for the 400 mile leg towards Iceland. We hoisted sails on every chance there was enough wind to get the heavy boat going.

Vestmannaeyjabær

Eventually, we landed on Vestmannaeyjabær, which is a small island on the south coast of Iceland. in 1973 there was a massive volcanic eruption here that caused a loss to many homes, and the lava flow almost cut off the entrance to the harbor. 50 years ago this town lived off almost solely from fishing, but nowadays tourism plays a big part too with multiple daily ferries from the Iceland mainland. Absolutely beautiful scenery and yet again another communal swimming pool with hot tubs to soak a sailors tired body in.

Surtsey

Leaving Vestmannaeyjabær we took a little detour and headed up north to check out the island of Surtsey, which is an island that popped up out of the sea in a volcanic eruption in 1963. Before that, it had been laying 130 meters below the surface. The island is an environmental sanctuary and ground for interesting studies on how plant and animal species inhabit new ground.

To Reykjavik

On our last leg towards Reykjavik we encountered some proper sailing with winds in the 16 m/s (31 knots) region accompanied with waves up to 5 meters. The boat trucked along at 9 to 10 knots without any problems. But cooking inside was very difficult and this was the first time on the trip I felt a bit seasick when chopping onions inside. We admired the glaciers of Iceland along the way.

The end

After a 1332 nautical mile journey, we arrived in Reykjavik in good spirits. It was time to clean the boat thoroughly and prepare it for the next crew who would take it to Dublin. Vahine is constantly on the move and will head to the warm waters of the Caribbean for the winter, before returning back to Finland someday. This amazing boat has already a million miles under its keel and will hopefully never stop.

Thank you

To Eric and Pia from STAF for the safe passage and to all the crew members and new friends we made along the way. This was probably not the last time I will be aboard Vahine.