Reykjavík Grapevine - 28.08.2009, Síða 38

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2009
THE SEA, THE SEA, THE UNENDING
SEA
There is something elemental that hap-
pens when you face an unbridled ocean.
It’s something so primal; it affects the
very core of our DNA. Herman Melville
wrote: ‘[The sea] is the image of the un-
graspable phantom of life; and this is the
key to it all.’ How bloody apt he was.
Stare that roaring North Atlantic
straight in the eye from the edge of a
sailing boat, no land in sight, watch it
breathe, swelling in and out like the
gigantic living creature it is, and you
truly realise who you are; and it ain’t that
much, believe me.
STRAIGHT INTO THE UNBRIDLED
Ísafjörður’s Borea Adventures and their
ship Aurora are a must for anyone who
wants to experience adventure on the
North Atlantic, in the Westfjords, Green-
land, the Faeroes, or even all the way to
the Arctic (they scaled the 2770m active
Beerenberg volcano on Jan Mayen just
last year). Think an Icelandic version of
Jacques Cousteau, only without the wool-
ly red caps and the beards, and you’re
getting warm, only sometimes they sail
straight through blizzards and alongside
icebergs.
Sigurður Jónsson (Siggi) and Rúnar
Karlsson procured Aurora from Sir Rob-
in Knox-Johnston, the first man to sin-
gle-handedly circumnavigate the globe
non-stop. Sir Robin conceived the Clip-
per Around the World Race, in which
Aurora raced four times. The lady Aurora
is quite a lass; and, as I find out the hard
way, she knows these waves and winds by
their first names. Aurora is presently the
only deep ocean sailing boat of its class
in Iceland, now in her fourth summer of
adventures on the high seas.
“We see Aurora as our mothership,
our portable mountain cabin. During
the day, our tours set out across wild
country, but in the evening, our guests
come home to a piping hot stew,” says
Siggi, Aurora’s seasoned skipper. “Our
philosophy is threefold: firstly, to be one
with nature—the elements, the wildlife;
secondly, to learn about local cultures—
the food, the life around the fire; thirdly
to experience nature through outdoor
activities—sailing, skiing, kayaking,
climbing, hiking. We try to make it a
complete experience. And, being that it is
an adventure, there’s always something
unexpected. But of course, that’s part of
the fun. Aurora never stays in one place
too long. The adventure, you see, always
continues.”
Speaking from personal experience
by now, I ask, “Do you often see people
go through some kind of personal trans-
formation by the end of the trip?”
“Sometimes when they board, you
see this strange glimmer of surprise on
people’s eyes, like: Are we really going to
sleep there? Is the toilet really going to
be working? Or perhaps there’s a snow-
storm outside, and for a moment they’re
wondering what the hell they got them-
selves into. Normally after three days or
so, people start to find the rhythm. On
their third or fourth day, they’re enjoy-
ing it more than they thought they ever
would.”
“But oftentimes,” says Rúnar, “when
they leave, they’re sad it’s coming to an
end. I don’t know if you’d call it meta-
physical, but we often get people telling
us that the trip has somehow given them
some new insight on things.’
G-FORCES, THE BENDS, THEN,
FINALLY, BLISS
Looking back on the three and a half
days spent sailing from Húsavík to Fug-
lafjørður in the Faeroes, I can’t help but
smile. I could never have guessed what
it would be like shooting across the icy
Atlantic. Most of the time, there was
nearly no sleep at all. In a bunk with a
safety net, if tied properly, you won’t fall
on the floor like I did; but try and find
a sleeping position with Aurora pitching,
tossing, rumbling, creaking.
Sometimes, when she’s sailing at
twelve knots or more, it sounds like
someone is desperately shaking a mara-
ca directly over my head all through the
Trip provided by Borea Adventures. Check
them out at www.boreaadventures.com.
Travel | THE MIGHTY NORTH ATLANTIC
Fly and discover
Action-packed day tours 2009
websales@airiceland.is / tel. +354 570 3030
Air Iceland is your West Nordic airline, a customer-driven service
company responsible for scheduled domestic flights and flights
from Iceland to the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
Air Iceland offers a variety of day tour packages, in Iceland
and to Greenland, which include flight, bus transfer and
guidance. All these magical locations are but a short,
comfortable flight from Reykjavik.
Come fly with Air Iceland
BORGARNES
STYKKISHÓLMUR
SNÆFELLSJÖKULL
DRANGAJÖKULL
FLATEY
NESKAUPSTAÐUR
BLÖNDUÓS
SIGLUFJÖRÐUR
BOLUNGARVÍK
HRÍSEY
FAROE ISLANDS
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
VESTMANNAEYJAR
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
ÞÓRSHÖFN
HÚSAVÍK
GRÍMSEY
Blue Lagoon
Geysir
Gullfoss
Jökullónið
Kárahnjúkar
Krafla
Hallormstaður
CONSTABLE POINT
Greenland
ILULISSAT
Greenland
KULUSUK
Greenland
NUUK
Greenland
NARSARSSUAQ
Greenland
AKRANES
REYKJAVÍK
KEFLAVÍK
The Metaphysical Art of Sailing the North Atlantic
Sailing from the West Fjords to the Faeroe Islands; there and back in one piece - almost; and then, somehow
making friends with Father Sea