More than a few days in Reykjavík

We ended up spending a few weeks in Reykjavík Harbour moored at Siglingafélag Reykjavíkur (https://www.brokey.is). Now the curious sailor will probably think “Is that much time really needed there” and to that we can say YES because there is plenty to see and do, and NO because it’s all a little expensive.

We would have left much sooner, had it not been for us visiting relatives in Iceland and friends visiting us on the boat, and organising a few important deliveries.

At the harbour we were lucky to get a berth behind the locked gate, which was very nice as there were a lot of people hanging around the other un-secure dock. The harbour has a very friendly and helpful guy working there and living on his boat. He greeted us when we arrived and gave us the key to the gate. He is also the guy you need to contact if you need fuel (which is cheeper for local fishermen than for visiting sailing vessels and cheaper elsewhere in Iceland). The marina has free laundry and toilet/shower facilities and is located close to all the attractions in the heart of the town.

That being said it is expensive to stay in Reykjavík. All other marinas and harbours we have visited gave us a discount when staying longer than a week. Reykjavík is all about tourist money, so it was full price for the whole stay.

Some work before play

Discovering the perfect 2 wheel transport for sailors – The Brompton!

Whilst most of our time in Reykjavik we were in “Holiday Mode” we did have a few chores to attend too. Before we left Scotland we had hurriedly bought an electric bike with the intention of buying another, but we quickly decided it was taking up too much space aboard and it was difficult to pack and unpack. So inspired by some fellow sailors we had met in the Westman Isle, who were really happy with their Brompton folding bikes, Steve set about trying to source some while we were in Iceland. Unfortunately there are no Brompton resellers here and Brompton themselves do not ship to Iceland. However we managed to find an excellent refurb seller on eBay happy to ship to Iceland. Within a few days two almost new 6 Speed C-Line Explore bikes had arrived and cleared customs. We even found a local buyer on Facebook for our electric bike.

The Brompton bikes are absolutley brilliant, folding to a very manageable size they immediately extend our range for exploring, make shopping and gathering supplies easier, and give us some important exercise when ashore.

We even made a couple of storage bags to give them, and the boat, some protection.

Oh No our VHF died!

On our way to Reykjavík, in the heavy rain, our ageing cockpit VHF radio handset finally gave up. We had some problems with it last year in Norway and Steve managed to bring it back to life, but this time it was definitely beyond recovery. So we had a new ICOM M410BB VHF shipped from Germany and while Sarah escaped for a day with a friend, Steve spent the day installing it. The difficult bit as always was running the cable from the chart table to the helm pedestal but other than that it was an easy installation. With the new radio being a hideaway unit where everything is controlled from one of two command mics we decided to keep the old ICOM M601 in situ (but disconnected) as an emergency spare.

Spectra Watermaker Service – Testing PureOcean Marine 316L stainless steel filters

Following a discussion with Pure Ocean Marine about their innovative 316L stainless steel 5 and 20 micron filters (as an alternative to disposable paper filters) we agreed to undertake some testing them in our Spectra Newport Watermaker. With a filter change due, we took this opportunity to install the new filters and will be running with these as we continue our cruising this year. The results so far are fine: the quality of manufacture appears to be very good and our water maker is performing as it should. The real test now is to see how easy they are to clean and reuse, and how many reuses we can get from them.

The aim being to reduce the need for carrying large numbers of paper filters, to reduce the disposable waste, and to hopefully save money longer term.

If you are interested in these filters please contact Steve or enter the promo code SnowBearSailing at the Pure Ocean Marine checkout for a little discount.

TLC for our Engine

It was also time for some engine maintenance: replacing oils and filters. And all the usual checks: topping up the rolls batteries, lubricating the dripless shaft seal and giving the waterline, Watt and Sea and hydrovane rudder a clean.

Cheaper or free things to do in Reykjavík

As a tourist in Reykjavík you will quickly feel that everyone is trying to get your money, so we tried to find some tips for less expensive experiences in the town.

Museums and Galleries

The art museums in Reykjavík are not expensive at all and these have large and interesting collections by Icelandic artists. Our favourite was the collection at Safnahúsid, where a ticket gives to access to the two museums that are part of The National Gallery of Iceland.

Buying a ticket to the modern art museum Hafnarhús will also give you access to two other museums and at Kjarvalsstaðir there are a large collection of Icelandic artist.

Is it always great to go to smaller galleries and see art for free and at Marshallhúsið houses the Living Art Museum, they have a some great galleries for the artist to fill.

It is also mandatorily to take a visit to Þúfa the little hill with a house on the top. Don’t read about it before you go as it will take some of the experience from you. But afterwards you should read the reviews as this installation really spilts the water (a danish saying).

Public swimming pools

Reykjavík has some great public swimming pools and the rules are the same as we learned in Faroe Islands. Get ready to get naked and shower up before enjoying the mixture of hot and cold water. You can probably get around 7 visits in the local pools for the price of one visit to the Blue Lagoon and it feels a lot more authentic. But try to avoid 4-6 pm as we experienced it as very crowded.

We ended up trying 3 swimming pools and here is our experiences with them:

• Vesturbæjarlaug – feels very new and have a great steam room. The cold water is a little special as it is very shallow and you need to lie down in it.
• Sundhöll Reykjavíkur – It feels a bit older, but the walk up to the warm waters are so pretty with turquoise colours and overfloating water. But the sauna looks very small so I didn’t get to try it.
• Laugardalslaug – The warm and cold water baths were really good here, but the steam room had a funny smell and seemed very scruffy. The place have a cool 70’s look though and this reminded me of the show Stranger Things.

Places to eat in Reykjavík

Eating out in Reykjavík is fantastic even-though it is also rather pricy (especially alcohol). If you really want to splurge, then book a dinner at the top of Harpa at La Primavera. We had excellent food and service and a great view over the harbour front.

If you are looking for a lunch place close to the popular rainbow street, then you can try a vegetarian salad or sandwich at Chickpea. Is it very good but doesn’t have a toilet.

If you are on your way to The Living Art Museum, you can consider stopping at the hidden foodcourt at Hafnartorg Gallery and try the deepfried oystermushroom Banh Min from Black Dragon. It is so good!

We also saw the chance to make Sarah feel at home and went to the brilliant smørrebrøds (Open-faced sandwich) restaurant Jómfrúin. Created by an Icelandic guy who had been an apprentice at a famous danish smørrebrødsjomfru. In Scandinavia we love wellmade smørrebrød, and it takes three and a half years to become a smørrebrødsjomfru (Open-faced sandwichvirgin) 😂😂

While googling it I can see that the title has changed in 2024 to perhaps a more appropriate title of “Gastronomist with speciality in smørrebrød and catering”.

The Reykjavík Fringe festival

We arrived at the end of the festival but managed to see Elf Lyons: Raven a brilliant Scottish comedian.

A Special night at Harpa

By an accident we saw that Nick Cave and Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) were playing live in Harpa. They performed songs from Nick Cave’s long career and it was absolutely amazing.

Remember to visit other places in Iceland

Departing Reykjavick we will exploring a little more of the Icelandic west coast while waiting for the ice to clear before setting sail to Greenland.

We feel very lucky that we had people who could take us out for trips to the beautiful black beaches, the volcanos, the geysir, Selfoss waterfall and many other lovely places in Iceland as it really is the nature that is special about the place. This saved us the cost of hiring a car, that you really need to have, to get to all the fantastic places there are to see.