In the television adaptation Stewart and Elín sail from Vík to Reykjavík in a small fishing boat, in reality the scenes were most likely filmed around Keflavík or Reykjavík.
The fishing boat featured in the filming was originally built in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1962 and owned by Gerðars Þórðarsson and Þórðar Sigurðssonar. The vessel was originally named Óli ÍS-68, registry number 0712. Óli (masculine name) was 14 Brt (British registered tonnage), 11.90m long with a breadth of 3.90m. The vessel operated as a fishing boat from Súðavík northwest Iceland until 1965 when it was sold to Gunnars Garðarsson of Keflavík and underwent the name change to Kristján KE-21.
Twice it was given a new engine, the latest one, and a Volvo Penta 120bhp in 1979 (the year after the filming of Running Blind).
In January 1983 the vessel ran aground nearby the harbour of Sandgerði, not far from Keflavík and was destroyed there, with no fatalities. [1,2,3]
Next: Cast and crew credits for the tv adaptation of Running Blind
Notes
Images © BBC Scotland, © Emil Páll.
1. Kristjánsdóttir, A. (2013) pers. comm 29th April, 2013
2. Jónsson, E.P. (2009). Skipamyndir og skipafróðleikur Emils Páls ‘Kristján KE-21’ [online]. URL [Accessed Dec. 24th 2014]
3. Valsson, M. (2009). Báta og Skipamyndir Krúsa ‘Óli ÍS-68’ [online]. URL [Accessed Dec. 24th 2014]
The Bagley Brief 