Iceland and Faroe Islands

[Dockhead]

OK, thanks to all for all these very useful comments.

I guess the biggest issue here is timing. Maybe what I need to do is use May and August for getting up and back to Northern Scotland, so that I'm not up in the open ocean during the risky periods.

But this is actually not necessarily all that tough in any case -- Orkneys to Faroes and Faroes to Iceland are both less than two day passages each. It should be possible to choose weather windows. Even if I come straight back to Ireland from Iceland, that's only 600 miles. These are not massive ocean crossing passages.

It sure is tempting to go on to Greenland -- just 155 miles further -- but this must be just a bridge too far with so little time and without my being able to just take off the whole summer from my work.

[Dockhead]

Due to the frequent SE winds, it looks like it might make sense to sail around Iceland in the clockwise direction -- maybe Faroes right on to Reykjavik on the West Coast, then depart from someplace like Reydarfjordur on the East Coast in order to get a more Southerly angle on Stornaway or Ireland.

The currents run clockwise, too.

[Juho]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

It sure is tempting to go on to Greenland -- just 155 miles further -- but this must be just a bridge too far with so little time and without my being able to just take off the whole summer from my work.

Even with Scotland, Orkney, Faroe islands, Iceland, Ireland and working at summer it seems that you enjoy passages and coastal sailing more than tourist attractions and landlubber life.

[brian black]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

The last four years in a row I have done exactly the same cruise over and over again -- depart Cowes on 1 May, transit the English Channel through the Dover Straits, cross the North Sea to Helgoland, then Elbe River, Kiel Canal and into the Baltic, then cruise from one end of the Baltic to the other, then back again in August. I've been doing it over and over again because, first of all, it's a bloody awesome cruise, covering 10 countries and some of the coolest places I've ever been, but secondly because I have work in Finland and cruising there during the summer is easy to harmonize with my work.

It's all so good that I'm tempted to do it for the fifth time, but I have long wanted to go further North and so now I'm toying with the idea of doing an Iceland cruise I was working on some years ago --

up the East Coast of England and Scotland to the Orkneys, from there to the Faroes, then on to Iceland, circumnavigate that (the Arctic Circle runs just North of the North Coast of Iceland), and back directly to Scotland, then cruise the Western Isles en route to the Irish Sea, Land's End, and home. It's similar in mileage to what I've been doing the last four years so ought to be realistic over a four month window.

But I'm not quite sure whether the timing is right in terms of weather. Because of my work, I will have to leave the boat somewhere for a month or two in the middle, and so probably most of the sailing would need to be done in May and August. Is August too late to be sailing back from Iceland and cruising the Western Isles? August is cold already in the Northern Baltic. Is May too early to be going up there? I guess I could break up the trip there into two parts, get the boat up to the Orkneys by mid-May, leave her there for a few weeks, then continue in a better season, say the middle of June.

I know the weather in the North Atlantic in those latitudes varies from dead calms to violent gales, and that the proportion between these extremes varies a lot month by month. I would be very grateful for any tips anyone with experience or knowledge might have.

Hello, I have sailed this route many times over recent years on my way to East Greenland so maybe this will help in your thinking. From Orkney to Torshavn in the Faroes should present no problems as the forecasts are accurate and sea time should be well within the forecast period. Torshavn is suitable as a place to leave a boat with permission from the harbour master. On to Iceland then - work out the tides (not easy) then pick your point of departure and again get a met download. There are several ports south of Seydisjfjordur which are suitable for arrival and where you can clear customs. Seydisfjordur is good for crew changes with an airport and good ferry connections to Europe.You might then think of Husavik - also first class facilities and friendly people. On round and past the Horn the best place is Isafjordur where you can be sure of a welcome, a small marina and plenty of engineering experience available if you need repairs. Again, with permission, you could leave a boat here and if you wanted someone to keep an eye on it, I could suggest a couple of people who might help. All this assumes you are going anti-clockwise round Iceland which although going against the prevailing current, is no big deal but it has the advantage of skipping the south coast which is exposed with no shelter until you reach the Westmann Isles - again, a winter harbour and a good place to leave a boat. More info if you want it. Fair winds. Brian Black

[Sysunday]

The summer of 2017 I made a single handed cruise with my 22 ft Danish designed Marsvin from the Netherlands via Peterhead, Kirkwall to Faroe, and then back again via Scalloway.
Faroe is beautiful!
Here is a video of the trip:
https://youtu.be/ed7Yf-THgJs

[conachair]

What about a little hill walking in Jan Mayen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESPTWo2Z4ec

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by conachair

What about a little hill walking in Jan Mayen?

Sounds great, but Jan Mayen is halfway to Svalbard, another place I am dying to see, and I can't cover the whole area in one summer.

[Pete7]

So many great places to go, you need to retire

How about the drone and video work in this film. If he is single handed I am struggling to work out how the drone is controlled whilst he climes an ice berg?

I like the idea of carrying fresh rations so you don't need a freezer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJhct9CPlPs

[N1774]

Dockhead you might want to take this into consideration when plannign the Faroes. Shetland Race: Viking Offshore Race 2018: Hordaland Seilkrets

Not sure how many will be going all the way to Iceland or Faroes, but I can imagine they might take up a lot of room in Torshavn...

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by N1774

Dockhead you might want to take this into consideration when plannign the Faroes. Shetland Race: Viking Offshore Race 2018: Hordaland Seilkrets

Not sure how many will be going all the way to Iceland or Faroes, but I can imagine they might take up a lot of room in Torshavn...

Thanks; good tip. I'll be long gone from Faroes by then, though.