One of the top Samherji skippers, Birkir Hreinsson brought pelagic vessel Vilhelm Thorsteinsson EA-11 in to land 1700 tonnes of mackerel in Neskaupstaður last week – and had the added pleasure of seeing his son Hreinn making his first landing as skipper, as groundfish trawler Harðbakur EA-3 delivered its catch on the same day and in the same port.
This was Hreinn Birkisson’s first trip as skipper, after having worked on several of the Samherji groundfish trawlers over the last ten years, most recently as chief mate of Björg EA-7
‘The opportunity came up and I grabbed it,’ he said, adding that Harðbakur’s capacity trip was 73 tonnes of mainly haddock caught over 48 hours off the south-east of Iceland.
Harðbakur’s catch is trucked to the Samherji factory in Dalvík for processing
‘There’s quite a difference between sailing as skipper and being mate. As mate, you can rely on the skipper. I’ve sailed with highly competent skippers over the years, who have been willing to provide guidance and advice. Fishing has always been captivating, and my parents have always supported me – and agreed it would be for the best to get my training done, considering this was what I planned to do.’
As soon as the catch was landed, Harðbakur headed back to sea with Hreinn in the wheelhouse.
‘Samherji’s directors have always trusted young people to take on challenges, so we knew we would get to this point,’ said skipper Birkir Hreinsson.
‘So it was a very pleasant feeling to see Harðbakur steam in with a full fishroom and my son in the wheelhouse. He’s made a great start.’
