Lögberg-Heimskringla - 28.01.2005, Page 2

2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 28 January 2005
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Almost half a century
ago, in January 1956,
Erlendur Óli Leifsson
went to Vancouver, Canada, to
finish his course in instrument
flying. He had taken his pilot
training in Iceland and had
quite a few flying hours. He
went to the Royal Flying Club
in Richmond and flew there for
a while. “I’ve sometimes said
to my friends that Iceland made
a trade with North America in
1956. The beautiful flower lu-
pin was shipped to Iceland and
instead they got Óli,” he jokes.
A fisherman for decades
“My plan was to stay in
Canada for two years, but
then there were no jobs avail-
able for pilots in Iceland,” Óli
continues. “I had started fish-
ing and at the time fishermen
eamed a lot of money fishing
in the Bering Sea west of Alas-
ka. That kept me busy and I’m
still here.”
In winter and spring he
fished halibut, then salmon in
the summer, and herring in the
fall. After working forhis friend
for a year he was approached
by a skipper, Bill Wachmuth,
who wanted him to join him as
a mate. They formed their own
company, had their own gear
and took care of the operation
as such, but paid the boat own-
er a percentage of the income.
“We were very success-
ful, especially on the herring,
because we went further north
than most of the fleet, and I’ve
never looked back since,” Óli
says. “It took us about six days
to go north to the Bering Sea
and we sold most of the catch
to the Americans, either to
Bellingham or Seattle. Every
trip took about a month and
the regulation stated that after
every trip you had to tie up for
eight days before you started
up again. This was hard work.
We were eight on the boat and
sometimes we worked 20 hours
a day for several days in a row.
We could be fishing for days
without seeing other boats. But
I loved fishing and it was very
rewarding.”
They fished together for
about 16 to 17 years. After
that, Óli fished for others for
about three years and the fol-
lowing four years he looked for
schools of herring for the De-
partment of Fisheries in Cana-
da. “I’ve been retired for a few
years, but I’ve gone on trips
He trained to become a pilot, but in-
stead Erlendur Óli Leifsson spent
most of his life as afisherman. Steinþór
Guöbjartsson found out that he is
one of the driving forces behind the
lcelandic Canadian Club of BC.
PHOTO: STEINPÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
Among other things, Eriendur Óli Leifsson is a board member of Höfn, the Icelandic Care Home in Vancouver.
in between because I miss the
fishing,” Óli says.
The first accident on land
Óli never had an accident
while at sea but he has been
limping since August and that
does not suit this active man.
He is, however, optimistic that
he’ll soon get an operation and
be back to normal.
“I was going swimming in
the pool in Hvammstangi, Ice-
land, before going to Hofsós
and Siglufjörður. I was begin-
ning to take a shower when I
found out that I had forgotten
my shampoo in the dressing
room. I ran to pick it up, slipped
on the wet floor and tore mus-
cles in my knee. A doctor was
called to the scene and I asked
him if a bone was broken.
He said no. ‘Thank God. I’m
happy to hear that,’ I said. He
smiled and said: ‘That’s what
you think/ I found out that he
was right and I was wrong.”
Plays an important role
One of the first things Óli
did upon arrival in Vancouver
was join the Icelandic Canadi-
an Club. He has been an active
member ever since and a board
member for years. Óli is an
honorary member of the INL
and at present he is a direc-
tor-at-large of the ICC of BC
and a board member of Höfn,
the Icelandic Care Home, and
Iceland House, and involved in
activities of the Scandinavian
Centre.
“I’ve always enjoyed being
around Icelanders and people
of Icelandic descent,” Óli says.
“We have many things in com-
mon, we think alike and the
culture ties us together. I feel I
belong at the club, and in par-
ticular it has been interesting
to meet people from Manitoba,
second or third generation of
Canadians of Icelandic descent.
They have settled here by the
coast and I find them more Ice-
landic than many of my Icelan-
dic friends in Iceland.”
Soon after Óli came to Van-
couver, the Lutheran Icelandic
Church began construction.
He started working there as a
volunteer. “My first work was
to nail the fioor,” he recalls,
and points out that as a board
member of the Icelandic Care
Home he is responsible for the
decision to tear it down before
a new one will be built for resi-
dents who will live in their own
assisted living units. “We are
not too happy about it, but we
have no choice,” 'he says, refer-
ring to decisions made by the
provincial govemment.
Strong ties with Iceland
Keeping in a good touch
with Iceland is one of Óli’s pri-
orities. He is originally from
101 Reykjavík, played junior
soccer with Valur Football club,
was later a member of Þróttur
Football Club and worked a
few summers for Eimskip with
young men like the late Jón
Asgeirsson and Ellert B. Sch-
ram, the President of the Na-
tional Olympic and Sports As-
sociation of Iceland. Erik Þór
and David Óðinn are his and
Kathy’s sons, and he is proud
of their Icelandic names. If he
is in town when groups from
Iceland visit Vancouver, he is
there to greet them and take
them on sightseeing tours. He
regularly reads Morgunblaðið
on the Intemet and listens to ra-
dio and TV news. “I’m a news
freak,” he says.
He is known for his opin-
ions on different matters in
Iceland and enjoys discussing
“hot” issues. “I enjoy it more to
talk to people when they don’t
agree with me because then we
can discuss many sides of each
issue,” he says.
Óli Lives in Port Moody,
BC, has his apartment in Reyk-
javík and a summer house and
spends two to three months in
Iceland during the summer.
“Iceland is the best place on
earth in the middle of the sum-
mer,” he says, and emphazises
that he does not miss the win-
ter months November, Decem-
ber and January there. “The
weather makes no difference,
but these months are too dark
for me in Iceland,” he says.
“The summer there is another
story, and I look foreward to
every trip. As I grow older I
enjoy the Icelandic landscape
more and more and I like trav-
elling around the country.
“I’ve been fortunate and I
have the best of both worlds.
You can’t ask for more.”
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