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Skookum Posts: 2
10 days ago
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Hi OCC folk,
I am taking "Skookum" out of her shed in Finalnd and back to the North Atlantic this summer, 2025. Having some paper chart back up would be wise. I have old charts of the Baltic and Shetlands. Can anyone help me with any paper charts of Faroe and Iceland please? Old, photocopied, marked..., I don't mind. Happy to buy, or rent, or borrow and return in them in September - whatever works for you.
Cheers
Geoff Payne
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Dick Posts: 396
10 days ago
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Skookum wrote:
Hi OCC folk,
I am taking "Skookum" out of her shed in Finalnd and back to the North Atlantic this summer, 2025. Having some paper chart back up would be wise. I have old charts of the Baltic and Shetlands. Can anyone help me with any paper charts of Faroe and Iceland please? Old, photocopied, marked..., I don't mind. Happy to buy, or rent, or borrow and return in them in September - whatever works for you.
Cheers
Geoff Payne
--
Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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Dick Posts: 396
10 days ago
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Hi Geoff,
Good luck on finding used or borrowed paper charts. You might try the Cruising Association if a member (and you might become a member as they had excellent information and a great port officer in the Faroes). There is (or used to be) an outfit in Bellingham, US, where they copy charts in black and white and sell for much less $$ and I have heard of Ocean Grafix. Google both for information and reviews.
We did have some old paper charts when going to the Faroes and to Iceland, but do not remember using them. We did use old paper charts for Greenland: they were not to be relied on blindly (fog or night).
Our present SOP, when offshore, is to operate primarily on e-charts on a laptop/chartplotter with Navionics on an IPad as a back-up. We like to have enough small-scale paper charts to deal with a catastrophe: likely a lightening strike where all mother-boards get toasted. These can likely get a boat safely off a port/harbor where one could call for local knowledge or follow a boat in.
We are likely to have paper charts if coastal cruising and intending to do some gunk-holing: this is not a safety decision so much as it is so much nicer to plan our wanderings looking at paper charts.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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Skookum Posts: 2
6 days ago
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Thanks Dick,
I have indeed joined CA. So I will pursue that line too. Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers
Geoff
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Dick Posts: 396
6 days ago
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Hi Geoff,
I write harbor notes for everywhere we visit. Below is an example of my area notes and of one of the harbors/islands we sailed to. If interested in more information, contact me off-line at Alchemy128(at)gmail.com.
Enjoy, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
THE FAROE ISLANDS May-June 2017
These notes were written by Dick and Ginger on Alchemy and reflect our personal likes and dislikes. Many reasonable people may differ. Our intention is for these notes to be a supplement to the regular guide books. There is some overlap, but if the guidebook says it all, I may not mention the port/anchorage at all. Please also notice the dates for which we are reporting conditions. The weather/crowds/ambience may be quite different at various times of the year or my notes may be quickly out of date; please send a quick email with changes. Thanks, Dick & Ginger, s/v Alchemy.
Please do not copy and or distribute. I do these notes for myself, OCC members and friends. I would hate to see them on Facebook and the like.
Area notes:
1. Good to very good cruising guides are “Arctic and Northern Waters” by Andrew Wilkes and the Cruising Association (CA) guide by Michael Henderson. It is a good time to start reading the Sagas, which can sometimes be found at the local bookstore in Torshaven or can be found on-line.
2. The Bradt guide to the Faroe Islands is excellent, with lots of detail and hiking suggestions.
3. If a member of Cruising Association, there is an HRH in Torshavn who is a great resource.
4. The warning reports of Faroe-ese current velocities is not exaggerated. Download the app “RAK” for Faroe currents which, we found, is more accurate, more detailed, and easier to use than other resources.
5. If arriving from the W and the currents are against, consider a stop in Vestmannahavn (or Eidi) as you will only have to buck current for a few miles. Then continue on to Torshavn when the current turns. Or stay a while (see below). I believe one can check in at either place.
6. The tourist offices have excellent hiking guides. The hiking in the Faroes is fabulous, but there is always the real danger of thick fog/clouds, especially in the high country. Take a compass and a good sense of your back-trail: following trails in thick fog/clouds is not easy while confusion/dis-orientation is easy to come by.
7. Also, one can be on a nice hike in the sun and only want a T shirt. If the sun goes behind a cloud, a drizzle emerges and the wind picks up, one can become very cold very fast. Take lots of layers and waterproofs. Weather is very changeable.
Tvoroyri, Suduroy:
We came in late (still daylight, but would have been easy in the dark with radar) and anchored easily and comfortably at the end of the fjord. Although the day was only hazy offshore, the island was shrouded in thin fog and invisible till ½ mile away: a little unsettling. The designated anchorages at the mouth of the fjord were reported to be rolly by a cruiser who came in later. The next day we rafted off a wooden fishing boat turned day charter boat on the nearby wooden wharf where we had power (you need a long cord) and there was water. Bathrooms/showers were a walk away at the harbor office where the HM gives you a key. Another cruiser stayed on the wharf near the fuel dock/fish factory.
The tourist office and the Bradt guide list some hikes that sounded excellent, but we never saw a cloud ceiling less than 200m and so did not do them. We did walk up the river valley where there is a well delineated trail and a very nice loop which starts in back of the school/community center. We also walked the roads down toward the WWII ruins which had some impressive farm compounds and some excellent columnar basalt formations at the shoreline. Get info at the tourist office where you can also get the key to the church--worth a look-see.
We had lunch at the café MorMor where we had superb fish soup and bread. The museum needed a call from the tourist office to be opened, but we did not go. The fish factory (the north one, which makes salt cod) was worth a visit. We went to buy fish, but also used that as an excuse to get a look. They ended up giving us the fish. Across the fjord is a salt storage facility from the old days, now a community center where there is a display of photos of all the ferries that have serviced the island. Ask if music might be happening there. A very pleasant community. No fees.
Skookum wrote:
Thanks Dick,
I have indeed joined CA. So I will pursue that line too. Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers
Geoff
--
Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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