HOME SWEET HOME
After months of waiting for this day to come, our beloved oak boat Sylvía returned to her home port in Húsavík shortly after noon today.
While all our boats undergo thorough maintenance during the winter months, Sylvía was in for a special treat this time.
In early December 2023, our crew Halli, Addi and Miro sailed beautiful Sylvía, which is owned by Gentle Giants since 2007, to Stykkishólmur in the west of Iceland where she was then taken out of the water. During the last months, which she spent far from her home port in the northeast of Iceland, a brand-new engine along with new fuel tanks and a new propeller were installed – a complete makeover of this beautiful traditional Icelandic fishing boat that was originally built in 1976.
Traditional oak boats require a lot of care and maintenance and we are proud of giving our boats the best treatment and preserving this important Icelandic cultural heritage.
The new engine was carefully chosen with the environment and sustainability as a top priority. The engine together with the propeller are the newest on the market and will significantly decrease Sylvía's fuel consumption as well as sound levels making her as environmentally friendly as possible for the time being.
Not only will the new engine minimise her carbon footprint, but the new fuel tanks ensure that there's no leakage or pollution going to the ocean. Lower sound levels result in a minimal impact on her surrounding and of course, our beloved whales.
Halli, who has been working as a captain as well as in the maintenance team at Gentle Giants since 2015, stayed with Sylvía during all these months and together with the team of Skipavík from Stykkishólmur, made this incredible maintenance possible.
Yesterday morning at around 8am, the same team as back in December - Halli, Addi and Miro - finally left Stykkishólmur to sail our beauty back home to Húsavík where they arrived shortly after 12pm today.
Here, she was awaited with excitement all morning and sparkling eyes looked at her as Sylvía approached the pier.
Tomorrow, she'll be heading out onto Skjálfandi Bay for her first whale watching tour of this season - and we hope the whales will welcome and like her more than ever!
Gentle Giants' Assistant Manager Daniel Annisius and his daughter tying up the last rope upon Sylvía's arrival to Húsavík today.
Halli and the team of Skipavík from Stykkishólmur.
Halli, Addi and Miro (left to right) sailed Sylvía over to Stykkishólmur in the west of Iceland in early December - and back again to Húsavík.
Putting the engine in place.
Putting the engine in place.
The new engine and engine room.
Sylvía inside the shipyard of Stykkishólmur.
Sylvía at Húsavík harbour this afternoon - all ready to sail out onto Skjálfandi Bay tomorrow.