Port Angeles adventurer and author Chris Duff has reached a major milestone in his attempt to row from Scotland to Iceland — the Faroe Islands.
He is coincidentally the second North Olympic Peninsula adventurer to accomplish a world-class dangerous feat in less than a week: Port Townsend’s Leif Whittaker reached the summit of Mount Everest on Friday.
Duff, who began his 205-mile journey to the Faroes last Wednesday at the Port of Ness on the Scottish island of Lewis, traveled 40 to 50 miles per day in his 19-foot orange sea kayak before making landfall Monday on Suöuroy Island — the southernmost island in the archipelago.
In a message sent by e-mail, Duff, 54, said he is resting in the village of Vágur.
The Faroe Islands, a self-governing dependency of Denmark since 1948, are approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland.
He plans to spend at least a week exploring the scenic islands — and resting his muscles — before the eight-day, 250-mile west-by-northwest crossing to Iceland.
The early part of Duff’s trip was relatively easy, with smooth seas and little wind, he emailed to his wife, Lisa Markli, and friends Karen Hanan and Al Zob.
However, the lack of wind meant that he could not use the small kite-style sail he deploys for a little assistance.
“I had really been planning on using the winds to help me — of course — but no wind is a lot better than a wind from the wrong direction,” Duff said.
In 2011, Duff made his first attempt at making the North Atlantic crossing, but was cut short because of a weather system that moved in.
In preparation for the current effort, Duff spent several weeks on Lewis in northwest Scotland waiting for northerly winds to subside, making new friends and training for the crossing.
This time the row was less eventful.
“I have my watch with the broken wrist strap duct-taped to the mast in front of me,” Duff wrote, noting that he was tempted to look at the time too often.
“Four hours of rowing and I take a rest of 10 minutes — food, more water, a little stretch — and back to it,” he emailed.
“Another two hours, more food and right back to it. On and on it goes.
“And the weird thing is that I’m enjoying it,” he said.
Duff said his final day was the toughest.
About 16 hours into his day, at around 8 p.m., he caught sight of the Faroes — and learned that the wind was changing.
He had to finish his trip that night or be blown off course.
At about 10:30 p.m. Sunday — sunset — Duff approached Sumba Head, the southernmost tip of Suöuroy Island, known for strong tidal overfalls and what he described as one of the scariest experiences he ever had at sea.
“By midnight, there was little light left in the sky and I could hear the hiss and rumble of breakers over my shoulder,” he related.
“I had hoped that the last of the tide would have run its course but clearly that hadn’t happened.
“I was going to have to cross the overfalls with very little light and after 21 hours of rowing,” he said.
Duff said he had no wish to revisit those two hours.
At the end of the ordeal, he was anchored safely at the mouth of the bay leading into Vágur, and he slept before making his way into the village.
The full story of Duff’s adventure is posted on his blog, www.olypen.com/cduff.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.