Thanks for your help, Brian, both with Laxdaela Saga and Star Wars.
On the bit about the sea below I thought that the sea was coming up into the
boat from the hole that had been drilled in it.
Grace
> Þeir gera svo og er þeir eru skammt komnir þá finna þeir
> að sjár kolblár fellur að þeim, snúa nú aftur til skips.
> They do so and when they are a short way come, then they
> find that coal-black sea flows at them, (they) turn now
> back to (the) ship.
> They do so and when they are almost come then they find
> that (the) blue-black sea rises on them; now (they) turn
> back to (the) ship.
> They do so and when they are (have) come a short-distance
> then they find that a coal-black sea (tide, tidal-wave?,
> cf síðan féll sjór at, falla, Z4) flows towards (rose
> against?) them, (they) turn now back towards (the) ship.
CV offers 'dark blue' for <kolblár>; I shouldn't be
surprised if <kol-> simply emphasizes that this is towards
the dark end of the <blár> spectrum. I think that 'they
find that the blue-black sea flows strongly against them'.
Fred & Grace Hatton
Hawley, Pa.