Fri Aug 5 6:03:10 EDT 2011, Aasiaat, Greenland
Kayak rolling practice in Aasiaat harbor. Issuma in background at dock.
Note how narrow the kayaks are.
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Comments [2]
ts
Thu Aug 4 0:00:00 EDT 2011, Aasiaat, Greenland
The red building is the Seamans House, where one can arrange for showers and wifi.
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Tue Aug 2 21:30:00 EDT 2011, Aasiaat, Greenland
In the approaches to Aasiaat (formerly Egedesminde), this whale seems to be welcoming us to Greenland.
It is great to finally be in Greenland! This is my fourth attempt (in three years), to sail to Greenland. I haven't mentioned all of the attempts before on the blog because I like to focus on what has happened, not on what might have been.
In 2009, I left Argentina singlehanding. In the north of Brazil, I got dengue fever (it comes from certain mosquitoes--there is no vaccine, no cure and no immunity--you either survive it or not) which made me too weak to sail for several weeks. After recovering, it was too late to get to Greenland for the summer, so I sailed back south instead.
In 2010, I singlehanded (except for a few hundred miles) from Argentina to New York, picked up crew, and we left Labrador for Greenland. About 50 miles out, two shrouds (wires holding the mast) broke and the mainmast came out of its step and was damaged (see blog entries of last summer). We sailed back to Cartwright Labrador for repairs, and then I didn't trust the rig enough to cross the Labrador Sea with it, so we sailed up Labrador and to Baffin Island, before sailing south again.
This year, almost a month ago we left Labrador for Greenland and got farther, but again had rigging problems (followed by engine problems) which caused us to go to Cartwright, Labrador for repairs.
We arrived late last night, and promptly celebrated :).
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congratulations.
friendly
Have couple of guests here who chatted to you in Cartwright before last departure, they will be pleased to here you made it too.
Richard
I have dreamed of sailing to Greenland for 30 years - since I read Rockwell Kent's N by E.
- George
I've always liked Rockwell Kent's N by E. I'm hoping to have an easier time of this trip than he did :)
Mon Aug 1 15:00:00 EDT 2011, Davis Strait
Today we crossed the Arctic Circle (red arrow in picture). While the Arctic Circle is quite an arbitrary line of latitude, above it, there is 24 hour daylight for at least some of the summer (the farther north, the more days of 24 hour daylight each summer). We're late in the year, so we are seeing sunrise about 0300, sunset about 2230 and light or twilight in between.
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Mon Aug 1 11:02:00 EDT 2011, Davis Strait
The view aloft, from the foredeck. The four-sided sail on the left is the fisherman. The sail with the orange triangle patch is the storm jib. Once I've set the storm jib, I usually leave it set as long as I'm sailing--there being no necessity to take it down once the winds get lighter.
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Sat Jul 30 19:02:00 EDT 2011, Davis Strait
The view in the pilothouse. To the left, Lin is studying the Greenland cruising guide, on the right, farther forward and much less visible, Jordan is playing his guitar.
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Sat Jul 30 11:02:00 EDT 2011, Davis Strait
A beautiful day sailing in the Davis Strait. We sailed in and out of fog banks, which can be seen ahead of the boat in the picture.
Davis Strait was named for John Davis, the English mariner of the 1500s. Davis Strait is north of the Labrador Sea, lying between Baffin Island and Greenland. Northwest of Davis Strait is Baffin Bay.
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Fri Jul 29 11:02:00 EDT 2011, Labrador Sea
We have been doing a lot of motoring in calm, foggy conditions. This is what we can typically see (pretty much nothing beyond 100m). The lights visible thru the window are, left to right, the VHF/AIS, radar and GPS.
Thanks for the comments. At sea, I generally do receive the comments, but can't reply in line.
As to the location of the engine oil cooler, it sits between the engine block and the engine oil filter.
As to what factors to consider when deciding where to land in Greenland, well, I'm still deciding :). I had indefinite plans of going first to Nuuk, and our course has been basically straight for Nuuk. Being the biggest city in Greenland, Nuuk is the obvious best choice for repairs and provisioning. At the moment, it looks like we will have moderate southerly winds for the next two days (we have no wind now), so, given what will be a good tailwind, and the expected boost we will have from the West Greenland Current, we may bypass Nuuk and make the first port someplace farther up the coast.
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if you meet Rick and Karen, tell them hello for me, they will probably recognise the boat.
Tue Jul 26 18:02:00 EDT 2011, Labrador Sea
It's not always like this in the Labrador Sea! Clear skies, light following winds, warm (if wearing thermal underwear) temperatures--very pleasant, and good conditions for taking pictures.
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If you come across Wanderbird tell Capt Rick and Karen that Brian and Fran say hi
Mon Jul 25 10:02:00 EDT 2011, Labrador Sea
The day after getting the engine fixed, we picked up groceries, filled the water tanks and sailed off. The wind was perfect for sailing off the dock (instead of motoring off), so we cast off the lines and set the sails and sailed off.
We sailed away from the docks then beat our way out the entrance channel, tacking (turning the boat thru the wind so the sails go to the other side) every 3-5 minutes. The current was in our favor, which was good, as the tacks were not easy to do. Tacking the yankee jib was more difficult than before because instead of dragging the sail and sheets (ropes) across the smooth surface of the aluminium extrusion of the roller furler of the staysail/trinquette, it now dragged across a wire stay, so tended to get stuck. I can't think of any port in the Labrador Sea where I'd like to try getting furler parts, so we will live with it as it is--it is an inconvenience, not a major problem.
We had a crew change in Cartwright. Ryan got off the boat and Lin, a merchant marine officer, came aboard.
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