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🇮🇸 Iceland /Good News

Shoveled Herring to Right the Boat in Stormy Seas, Recounts Icelandic Skipper Sigurjón Guðbjartsson at 85

From Morgunblaðið · () Icelandic

Translated from Icelandic, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Sigurjón Guðbjartsson, an 85-year-old businessman from Siglufjörður, Iceland, has a distinguished 70-year maritime career, including 60 years as an owner and captain.
  • He recounts two near-death experiences at sea, most notably an incident where his herring boat capsized due to shifting cargo in rough seas.
  • During the capsizing, crew members had to shovel herring back to the center of the boat to prevent it from sinking further, eventually reaching safety.

Sigurjón Guðbjartsson, an 85-year-old entrepreneur from Siglufjörður, Iceland, has navigated a remarkable 70-year career at sea, dedicating 60 of those years to captaining and owning his own vessels.

His extensive maritime experience includes two harrowing encounters with disaster. One particularly perilous event involved a 180-ton herring boat from Vestmannaeyjar, the Sigurður Pétur, which capsized in a storm. With the hold full of herring, the shifting cargo caused the vessel to list dramatically, with seawater breaching the hatch.

The list was so great that the sea washed over the hatch, which was fortunately well-sealed.

— Sigurjón GuðbjartssonSigurjón describes the severity of the capsizing incident when seawater breached the hatch of the listing herring boat.

"The list was so great that the sea washed over the hatch, which was fortunately well-sealed," Sigurjón recounted. The crew discovered that the bulkheads in the hold had broken, sending the entire catch to one side. To right the vessel, men were sent into the hold to shovel the herring back to the center.

I tried my best to steer as well as possible in the swell because nothing could go wrong.

— Sigurjón GuðbjartssonSigurjón explains his critical role in steering the unstable vessel during the storm, highlighting the high stakes involved.

Sigurjón, unable to shovel due to a hand injury, was tasked with steering. "I tried my best to steer as well as possible in the swell because nothing could go wrong," he explained. The danger was immense; if the accompanying seiner boats, tethered to the listing vessel, had taken on water, their added weight could have pulled the Sigurður Pétur down. Likewise, a complete capsize would have trapped those below deck.

"That's why the captain put two men on the towlines with axes to cut the ropes if it happened," Sigurjón said. Slowly, the boat righted itself, and they managed to reach Seyðisfjörður to unload their catch. The Sigurður Pétur was later renamed Garðar and now rests on a beach in Skápadalur, attracting tourists.

That's why the captain put two men on the towlines with axes to cut the ropes if it happened.

— Sigurjón GuðbjartssonSigurjón details the emergency measures taken to prevent the boat from capsizing completely, involving men with axes ready to cut the towlines.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Morgunblaðið in Icelandic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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