Death Wish I

Reynisfjara Black Beach, Vik

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas & New Year. Hope 2025 will be a happy year for everyone although I do worry what state the world will be in post January 20th !!

 

Sorry I haven’t been around for a while to post or comment. Initially it was Christmas preparation stuff then the house came down with Novovirus starting on Christmas Day! Most of us are over it now but Mrs P. had it evolve in to a heavy cold/flu and is still suffering. I’ll try to catch up with at least some replies and your postings from the last 2 weeks before I head off to Glencoe next weekend.

 

For anyone going to the south coast of Iceland Reynisfjara Black Beach near Vik is a very popular location due to the sea stacks and basalt columns similar to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.

 

The other thing the beach is well known for is sneaker waves.

 

Sneaker waves (also known as sleeper, king, or rogue waves) are massive coastal waves that appear unexpectedly among smaller ones. These waves are significantly larger than the others, surging much farther inland. The interval between sneaker waves is unpredictable—one may follow right after another, or there could be dozens of smaller waves in between. Sneaker waves also rise rapidly before hitting the shore, a phenomenon caused by the steep drop-off of the ocean floor near the coast. Combined with strong ocean currents, these waves create extremely hazardous conditions.

 

When an ocean wave grabs you, it can knock you off your feet and tumble you violently in the freezing water and rocky shoreline. Regaining balance is extremely difficult due to the wave’s powerful suction, which drags you out to sea while washing away the sand and gravel beneath your feet.

 

 

Once you’re in the water, strong ocean currents quickly pull you farther from the shore, making it nearly impossible to return. The water’s icy temperature naturally causes hypothermia within just a few minutes. Unfortunately, under these conditions, rescue becomes almost impossible.

 

 

In response to this a ‘Traffic Light’ system has been installed. When the yellow light is on, visitors must not enter the yellow zone. When the red light is on, visitors must not enter the red zone.

 

 

The workshop I was with arrived for a very windy ‘sunrise’ shoot and were almost the first people there that morning. After exiting the vehicles we could see some great wave action and that the red light was flashing which, given the conditions, was no surprise.

 

 

Our Workshop guide had told us about a case he knew of when someone on a workshop (not one of his) had been killed after being swept out to sea! Needless to say with the waves as they were we played it safe and set up along the back of the beach to shoot. I do like shooting powerful waves so the shutter button was triggering like bursts on a machine gun. After a while I started to see people on the beach and it seemed as the wave got more powerful they walked closer to them!

 

 

I think the 2 photos I’ve uploaded give a bit of a sense of the conditions and the risks those people were taking. Thankfully I am not aware anyone did get washed off their feet but I certainly saw some panicked running from crashing waves and think they were extremely fortunate to get away with their actions.

 

The reason for the title of these photos should be pretty self-evident. It never ceases to amaze me how some people when on holiday (presumably they were visitors) leave their brains behind somewhere!

 

 

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© All rights reserved to Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

 

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