Saturday, July 7, 2007

070707 SYLVIA ARRIVES

Today we received with a warm welcome the latest addition to our fleet, a beautiful streamlined oak boat built 1976 in Akureyri.  The boat was named Sylvia, after the manager’s daughter, Sylvía Dís Stefánsdóttir, who was present receiving the ship in Húsavík and the first one to secure the ropes to it’s new harbour, next to our boat Faldur.

The boat is a great addition to the Gentle Giants vessels, a spacious one carrying up to 60 passengers, measuring approx. 17,5 meters lengthwise and transversally about 4,5 meters.

Captain Aðalsteinn Ólafsson brought the boat from Akureyri, along with Jesse Flores and Daniel Annisius, guides at Gentle giants.  The crew, technicians, painters and other good people of the Akureyri shipyard have been working non stop on the boat the last few days, converting it from a fishing boat to a passenger vessel, to fit all the standards required by the Icelandic Maritime Administration. 

When sailing home to Húsavík, in Skjálfandi bay a humpback whale gave a little demo on what can be expected on future trips, breaching only 10 meters away from the boat, time after time!

We welcome Sylvía to Gentle Giants, and hope that she will serve us well in the future, and bring our guests out to see some great performances of the gentle giants of Skjálfandi bay!