A voyage from the Faroe Islands to Norway on a Viking-style boat ended tragically. The sailboat sank in a heavy storm. The services managed to save five people. One, an American, drowned.
Due to Hurricane Ernesto causing a threat in the North Atlantic, the departure from the port of Tvoroyri was postponed several times. Finally, the expedition began on August 24. Six sailors planned to sail to Norway on the “Naddoddur”, a boat built on the model of original Viking ships. In Norse mythology, this is the legendary discoverer of Iceland. The “Sail2North” expedition was to end after a week of sailing.
On Tuesday evening, August 27, a storm that had developed in the western Atlantic a few days earlier reached the Norwegian Sea. Waves were up to six meters high and winds were blowing at 80 kilometers per hour.
Despite the terrible conditions, five people were saved.
At the first mayday signal from a boat on the Norwegian coast, helicopters took off. Upon arrival, rescuers decided it was a false alarm. However, after another hour, “Naddoddur” sent another request for help. Despite the terrible conditions, two helicopters and a rescue cutter managed to find the boat.
Five people were rescued, citizens of the Faroe Islands and Switzerland. The body of the sixth crew member, an American, was found several hundred meters from the capsized boat. Norwegian services did not reveal her identity.
The survivors were taken to a hospital in Floro on the west coast of Norway. Their lives are not in danger.
Bergur Jacobsen, who is chairman of the Naddoddur sailing club in the Faroe Islands, told the BBC that everyone was very sad about what had happened.
He said the 10-metre boat had already taken part in previous expeditions to Iceland, the Shetland Islands and Norway.
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