A boat for sale, for one button, — or a gold penny!!
I sat down the other day with my daughter and to-be my son in law. As often the future dreams of the young people were the main topics discussed. Both of them worked on a 300 metric ton long-line fishing boat last fall. She is now pregnant of their first baby but he is still working as a fisherman. He is very energetic and enthusiastic and would very much like to spend his life working as a fisherman. We talked about how he could start preparing to buy his own boat and what opportunities he had. This made me think of about the story my dad, who used to be a fisherman, told me about himself; how he started as such. The story describes how he started by winning in a lottery. In those days Einar Guðfinnsson was the lotteries representative in Bolungarvík. The young man went to Einar’s office to collect the money. When Einar handed him the money he said: “Well boy, you go out and buy yourself a boat for this”. So it happened that dad bought his first boat. I don’t know if the lottery money was enough to buy a boat, but at least it triggered him to buy one. Then there was nothing left except to make some sandwiches, step aboard and sail towards the adventures and find the fishing spots of “Þuridur Sundafyllir”. (History records that Bolungarvík, was first settled by a woman named Þuríður Sundafyllir. She earned her living by collecting toll from fishermen who set out to sea from her farmstead.) That’s how my dad’s fishing operations started, an operation that became successful for decades to come.
Unfortunately, this will not be so easy for my to-be son in law. He will need a lot more than one lottery winning to start fishing. I guess that this is in a nutshell the difference between two generations of Westfjord’s fishermen. Thanks to the quota system.
Bolungarvík is struggling to keep its image as a fisherman’s village. Fishermen are constantly strengthening their position after many difficult years. But the young people are missing. When I was young the most handsome guys had salt in their hair and the sunset on the ocean in their eyes, with happy faces after the catch of the day.
Now we celebrate the fishermen’s day. In my opinion, and many others, this day is the biggest celebration of the year in Bolungarvík. This year we will celebrate with grandeur as usual, but we can never forget our roots although we strive to find more ways to create jobs. It is difficult for one that is conservative in the way he dresses to change his style. In the same way it is difficult for a fishermen’s village, which has always defined itself as such, to start to think about a different image. It doesn’t change clothes so easily, but it can put on various ornaments.
May the Icelandic fishermen be blessed in their work and those who rest in wet graves are missed and remembered.
Soffía Vagnsdóttír
Seaman’s daughter in Bolungarvík