Monday 10/04/06

Again, not a bad start to the day in terms of weather, but it's not set to last. The big ship reappears off Holm, and I receive an email back from its company. The vessel is called Happy River, and it's en route from Wilhelmshaven in Germany to Fjardaal in Iceland. It carries 5 modules, each 26 metres high, destined for a new aluminium plant at Reydharfjordhur in eastern Iceland. Each module weighs 300 tonnes. Because of adverse weather conditions in the north Atlantic and its sheer bulk it cannot make the crossing just yet. The forecast is unfavourable, so she'll be here for a while yet. The ship is equipped with 2 cranes, each capable of lifting 400 tonnes. I duly relay to Isles FM and the Stornoway Gazette, with my own picture of the vessel, see entry for 8 April. Fjardaal (Icelandic for aluminium valley) is a project at Reydharfjordhur, of which a map is included in the picture gallery. Isles FM relay my info in their early evening news bulletin. Here in Stornoway, it's bitterly cold in the strong wind. It's pouring with rain and blowing a gale by the end of the afternoon. Heard that a freak wave nearly capsized the Isle of Lewis ferry last Saturday. Three people were hurt, and a motorcycle on the vehicle deck damaged. An ambulance awaited the vessel's arrival at Stornoway to tend to the injured, none seriously.