Guðlaugur Friðþórsson is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic fisherman who in 1984 survived six hours in cold water after his vessel capsized. After swimming to land he then trekked for another three hours across

lava field A lava field, sometimes called a lava bed, is a large, mostly flat area of lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or hundreds of kilometers across the underlying terrain. Morp ...

s to reach a town for help.

Sequence of events

On 11 March 1984, Guðlaugur and four other fishermen were fishing off the coast of

Heimaey Heimaey (), is an Icelandic island. At , it is the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, and the largest and most populated island off the Icelandic coast. Heimaey is off the south coast of Iceland. It is the only populated isla ...

near the

Westman Islands Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyj ...

when their boat, which was engaging in fishing and carrying trenchers to another village, capsized at about 10 p.m. It was suspected that the weight of the trenchers was miscalculated, causing the boat to be more susceptible to turbulent ocean conditions. As the boat sank, Guðlaugur and two out of four other crewmen climbed on to the keel. After about 45 minutes, they swam towards the shore; two disappearing within 10 minutes. The only survivor of the crew of five, Guðlaugur swam for five to six hours in water the to the island, wearing a shirt, sweater and jeans, guided by a lighthouse. He claimed to have remained clear-headed throughout. Reaching the shore of Heimaey, Guðlaugur found himself at the most dangerous section of the island's coastline, due mainly to the waves hitting the coastal lava rock formations. After searching for and finding a suitable, flatter part of the shoreline, he finally got to land but had to walk with bare feet over about of volcanic

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

. When he knocked on a door at 7 a.m., nine hours after the boat had sunk, he was taken to the hospital. Guðlaugur's body temperature was below yet he showed almost no symptoms of

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

vasodilatation Vasodilation, also known as vasorelaxation, is the widening of blood vessels. It results from relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, in particular in the large veins, large arteries, and smaller arterioles. Blood vessel ...

, only of

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water that disrupts metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds intake, often resulting from excessive sweating, health conditions, or inadequate consumption of water. Mild deh ...

Reasons for survival

Guðlaugur weighed about 125kg with a subcutaneous layer of fat thick around his abdomen which helped insulate him against the cold and provide energy for the swim. In autumn 1985,

Jóhann Axelsson Jóhann is a masculine given name. It is the Icelandic and Faroese form of the name Johann, a form of the Germanic and Latin given name "Johannes". The English-language form is John. The Icelandic surname Jóhannsson is a patronymic surname meani ...

, head of Department of Physiology at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern co ...

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, who had included Guðlaugur in an ongoing study about hypothermia, took Guðlaugur to London to see William Keatinge of the Physiology Department of the

London Hospital Medical College The London Hospital Medical College was a medical school, medical and later dental school based at the London Hospital (later Royal London Hospital) in Whitechapel, London. Founded in 1785, it was the first purpose-built medical college in Englan ...

and an expert in hypothermia. Together, they demonstrated that the 23-year old, Icelander had phenomenal resistance to cold.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fridthorsson, Gudlaugur 1961 births Living people Gudlaugur Fridthorsson Shipwreck survivors

Sequence of events

Reasons for survival

See also

Footnotes

References