A taste of Iceland
I mainly wanted to post this video of an Icelandic fishing trawler in heavy seas two years ago (don't worry, there's a political point to this if you don't like the video).
As a country without an army (320.000 souls in the middle of the Atlantic - any country who can project force all the way to our rocky shores is too strong to defend against) our fishermen have long occupied a similar status in the national consciousness as fighter pilots in other countries. They were the courageous men who braved sea and treacherous weather to bring wealth to shore.
In decades past wrecks were not uncommon and every decade had its black day, when a quite large number of ships would sink in a matter of hours. A relative of mine was on board a fishing boat during one such night in the winter of 1968, when humidity and blistering cold produced icing on the boats so quickly that two of them sank and a third ran aground. His crew had to work for hours on end hacking the ice off with axes to keep the boat afloat. Twenty five men, Icelandic and British, died that one night.
Fishing is also a very volatile business. Overfishing has destroyed communities that depend on the industry as many natives of Newfoundland know very well. So, almost thirty years ago, Iceland instituted a quota-system that has led fishing companies to consolidate and make great strides towards better productivity while preserving fish stocks. The quotas are transferable and can be collateral for loans. In all but name the quotas are the property of the holder.
Our current left-wing government hates this system as it has made some of the more industrious and clever fishermen and company owners very rich. A special tax on profits is not enough according to the government. It wants to confiscate the quotas and lease them back to the companies, while reserving some of the quotas for the politically deserving. No matter that our highly indebted nation needs every scrap of foreign currency we can get our hands on and the fishing industry is essential for external trade - the socialists want to strangle it in the name of social justice.
I'm not sure if there is any particular lesson in this for my buddies on Ricochet. At least it can serve as a reminder that the fight against socialism is as international as socialism itself and that socialistic policies are destructive wherever they are implemented.
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May '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
Do Icelanders consider themselves Europeans? Or do y'all think of Europe as the British do?
I've heard many stories about the dangers of the North Sea. It's a wonder Iceland was settled so long ago, when ships were smaller and made of wood.
Jan '11
Re: A taste of Iceland
Icelanders do think of themselves as European, but many Europeans who come here seem to see us as some kind of Diet-Americans. They see us as overly materialistic and too hooked on US culture...or something. Who can fathom the Eurocratic mind?
One metaphor for Iceland's place in the world comes from the world of condiments. Many Europeans (Belgians f.ex.) put mayonnaise on their french fries while Americans use ketchup. In Iceland we use a special "cocktail sauce" that is, amusingly enough, a 50/50 blend of mayo and ketchup.
Jul '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
Who are these deserving people the government wants to have the quotas? African-Icelanders? Some sort of Pigford thing?
Or maybe lesbian, gay and trans-gendered Icelanders? Ho, ho...all aboard the love boat!
May '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
I've heard Sweden referred to as Little America. We'll call you America on the Rocks. You do enjoy vodka, don't you?
Try those fries with steak sauce: A1 Bold. If you tell people you travelled to Texas and wrestled a bull to get it, I'll vouch for you.
May '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
That video--wow! It's not just the waves; at one point that boat is no more than 100 yds from some very evil looking rocks.
Seafood is great and all, but you guys might want to consider raising rabbits or goats or something.
Jan '11
Re: A taste of Iceland
The deserving are municipalities that have lost their fishing industry and are in the correct constituency. The municipalities would then distribute the quotas to their remaining fishermen (not all fish species are part of the system, so some of these towns still have small fishing boats).
That's the argument at least. The leftwingers are very hot for small fishing boats and very cold on trawlers. Small boats employ more people (less productivity - yay!) and are considered more environmental.
Thankfully racial politics are practically non-existent here. We're all descended from Irish slaves and from their Norwegian slave owners/abusers. I recently settled the reparation issue for myself by handing myself some cash and telling myself to be thankful for getting any at all.
As for drinks I'm partial to beer, but will drink vodka and the occasional dirty martini. America on the Rocks sounds good. Are you guys shopping for a 51st state by the way? :)
Re: A taste of Iceland
Thanks, Bjarni, for sharing a slice of life that many of us might never know about!
Sep '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
Is it hard to be a conservative in Iceland? I would suspect left wing parties are blaming capitalism for the financial collapse and extolling the virtues of socialism. It would seem to me that the party which was not in power prior to the collapse will be able to demagogue this issue for many years to come.
Jul '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
Bjarni Olafsson:
Are you guys shopping for a 51st state by the way? :) · Feb 10 at 4:21pm
Naw, go for territorial status, instead. That way you get all the goodies like high-speed rail, but you don't have to pay Federal income taxes.
Jan '11
Re: A taste of Iceland
In a small community like ours it's much harder to demonize the other (not that people don't do it of course). Everyone knows a socialist windbag or a heartless conservative, often they are your family members, school friends or co-workers. So being a conservative or libertarian isn't hard at all. You can wear yourself out hoping for a real conservative/libertarian political party, but that's another story.
The party which led the government when everything went to hell was the center-right Independence Party and they have been whipped pretty hard for two years. Like Obama/Pelosi/Reid in the US the leftist government here has made many long for sanity in politics.
Jul '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
I watched the video. So, please, Someone explain to Me: the boat that is featured is rocking like nobody's business, but the cameraman seems to have smooth sailing. Why isn't the cameraman rocking just as much as that boat? If the cameraman is on a boat that can run through the waves smoothly, then why didn't the people on the smaller boat just ride with the cameraman?
Jan '11
Re: A taste of Iceland
(One more comment before going to bed)
I think the ships are both entering the harbor of the Heimaey island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. The entrances to harbors like that can be very tricky for a part of the way, but once you're through the rough patch it's pretty smooth sailing. Also some runs (I'm not sure this applies to this particular harbor) are such that once you are committed to entering you can't really turn back. The weather can change pretty fast and sometimes ships start a run in what seems to be all right conditions only to find them deteriorate once they've started the run. That might account for some of it, but I'm just guessing..
The camera might also have some sort of anti-shaking doohickey and the cameraman might simply be used to take pictures while sailing.
Jan '11
Re: A taste of Iceland
Bjarni Olafsson: (One more comment before going to bed)
The camera might also have some sort of anti-shaking doohickey Feb 10 at 5:35pm
That would be a "gimbal."
Jun '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
I know that you're dreaming dreams of the Eddas right now, but upon breaking your fast could you send a future traveler to your delightful island some travel advice? Best month to visit, must-see sights, etc.?
Jun '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
Great stuff Bjarni. Thanks. I'd be interested in what the opinion on the street is about the banking crisis and Russia's involvement. I've lost track of what's going on there. Any insights?
Jan '11
Re: A taste of Iceland
Best time for travel is June-July. Twenty hours of sunlight and a decent chance of good weather make that the ideal time to travel around the country. The so-called Golden Circle is very easy to travel, you get to see Geysir (the "original geyser"), a pretty waterfall called Gullfoss and Þingvellir, the site of the ancient Alþingi (parliament) and the geological border between Europe and America.
The interior highlands are also interesting to see, as they are the largest desert (as in swathes of sand - there's a lot of rain there) in Europe. The black dunes are quite a sight. I worked there during summers building dams when I was younger.
You could also visit over the new year and see the largest, most chaotic fireworks show in the world. Homes and households compete in burning as much cash as humanly possible :)
As for Iceland and the crisis - that deserves a special post I think.
Jan '11
Re: A taste of Iceland
Thanks for the amazing video, but also for a picture of how leftist thinking is affecting Iceland. It sounds like it's nothing new there, but with something I read this morning in mind, my first thought was "I hope they stamp that out early." What I read was an excellent blog post from last year that points out how blind so many are to the crimes of the left during the last century. It quotes Ricochet's own Claire Berlinski, as well as Jonah Goldberg. I won't bother excerpting; the whole thing, including the comments, is well worth reading. As one of the commenters states, "I have no doubt many liberals have a kind heart and good intentions. I think they underestimate how far they'd take their political innovations if there was nothing or no one to stop them." Let's hope Iceland isn't so easily fooled by the promises of Socialism.
May '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
Speaking of fishing, this book,
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
Mark Kurlansky
is surprisingly interesting, and it has big section on the now forgotten Cod Wars, which involved Iceland and Britain.
May '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
Bjarni Olafsson: (One more comment before going to bed)
I think the ships are both entering the harbor of the Heimaey island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. The entrances to harbors like that can be very tricky for a part of the way, but once you're through the rough patch it's pretty smooth sailing. The camera might also have some sort of anti-shaking doohickey and the cameraman might simply be used to take pictures while sailing. · Feb 10 at 5:35pm
I doubt the camera was stabilized. Probably the cameraman was on a much bigger ship, maybe a cargo ship. Also, as you say, the waves are amplified by the sudden shallowing at the harbor entrance. The cameraman's ship has passed the rough spot and the fishing boat also reaches smoother water at the end of the video (The last part is a repetition).
There is a good series explaining this on youtube made by the New Zealand Fisheries.
May '10
Re: A taste of Iceland
Bjarni, I have friends in Sweden who I've been meaning to visit for some time. If we were to swing by Iceland one summer, what are the odds we could get there without having to brave swells like that?