The cruel sea

Rusted iron bits at the beach at Djúpalónssandur under the cloud-covered volcanic cone of Snæfellsjökull in W-Iceland. Such iron chunks are scattered all over the beach, and it is forbidden to move them from their place. So why is scrap iron protected in a national park? Because they tell a story of loss and heroism. On 13th March 1948, the British trawler Epine GY-7 was wrecked just off the coast in a storm and heavy surf, with 14 out of its crew of 19 lost. One man washed ashore alive, and local rescue squads managed to get a line into the ship under difficult circumstances, saving the four still alive aboard the ship. The history is kept alive by a sign at the beach and the protection of the remains of the ship.