Djúpalónssandur is named after two nearby lagoons (Djúpalóns = 'Deep Lagoons)
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| Djúpalónssandur |
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| ICV lunch break overlooking Djúpalónssandur |
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| Djúpalónssandur |
These lumps of metal, which bestrew part of the beach, are the remains of the Grimsby trawler, Epine, which ran aground here in 1948.
An article in the Grimsby Telegraph from 2013 tells the story:
"Look after the boys!”, yelled the skipper.
Shortly
afterwards he was swept to his death as rocks tore through the engine
and boiler rooms of the trawler.
One
man managed to swim ashore and four others were rescued after
clinging to the rigging of the stricken vessel.
THE
memory of the Grimsby trawler Epine lives on at Grimsby's Central
Hall in Duncombe Street.
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| Pic: Grimsby Telegraph |
There
a memorial window is a moving reminder that 14 men perished aboard
the vessel when she ran aground off the west coast of Iceland shortly
before midnight on March 13, 1948.
Just
five men survived. Survivors told how skipper Alfred Loftis clung to
the sea-battered bridge and yelled: "I do not mind what happens
to me so long as the boys are all right. Look after the boys."
It took rescuers two hours before they managed to get lines to the Epine and a breeches buoy rigged up.
As
the battle to reach the blizzard-battered trawler continued many of
the crew were dying of exposure to the biting cold.
Those
who perished were: skipper Loftis; second engineer W Tulloch, third
hand W Birch; deckhands W Syer, G Robertson, R Chapman, F Moorwood,
AE Maul; trimmers L Richardson, DS Chapman; firemen HG Broomfield and
H Dracup; cook, HA Marsh and wireless operator CH Burnett.
Although
the cause of the stranding was given as an error of navigation it did
not remove the respect felt among the fishing community for skipper
Loftis.
Chief
engineer TA Smith who was one of those who clung to the rigging and
survived told the Grimsby Telegraph when he came home: "Skipper
Loftis was a great man. He was one of the finest skippers anybody
could sail with." (Grimsby Telegraph, 2013)
If you have the patience to wait while dozens of ads you will ignore are uploaded you can read more at:
And an official record is here:
This is a treacherous coast, edged with jagged volcanic rock and at times battered by extreme weather. The consequences of this for fishermen can be seen from the tourist map, obtainable from the visitor centre at Malarrif. Even along this small stretch of coast by Djúpalónssandur it shows there have been 7 shipwrecks between 1857 and 1987.
Dritvík
Dritvík is a very beautiful bay a kilometre or so from Djúpalónssandur. A tranquil place now, it was the scene of teeming activity for three centuries or more. Fishermen would gather here during the early part of Spring to intercept the arrival of abundant shoals of fish.
They stayed here for many weeks, sleeping in makeshift stone shelters. Catches were brought ashore to be processed and shared out. There was something of a party atmosphere with singing and drinking at night and catching up with old friends. Which, to my mind, says a lot for the resilience of human nature: it must have been a fiendishly uncomfortable place at that time of the year, stuck out on the edge of the Atlantic, battered by gales, lashed by storms and with no proper, really dry, shelter.
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| Dritvík |
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| Dritvík, looking inland towards Snaefellsjökull. There is both fresh water and tidal salt water in this lagoon. The fresh water, being less dense, sits on top of the salt, so long as it's not disturbed. The fisherman could, with care, skim off water for drinking. |
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| Rescue Shelter, and remains. The remnants of structures used by the fishermen can still be found around the bay. |
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| ICV volunteers installing metal protection into the path down to the bay to prevent erosion |
ICV
- Iceland Conservation Volunteers - is the volunteer arm of the
Icelandic Environment Agency. For more information visit:
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