Færingehavn Exploring
26 August 2017 | Færingehavn, West Greenland
Janice : clear day, sunshine
After several days of early starts (5am) and late stops (8pm) to maximize daylight hours, we felt like a rest day and a good nights sleep before heading into Nuuk. We went into a collection of islands 32nm South of Nuuk and anchored at Færingehavn. Saturday was a good, clear day and we enjoyed ourselves exploring the various parts of this abandoned, large settlement which was part of the largest fish processing facility in the North Atlantic in the 1960s. It was a consortium of Norway, Denmark and the Færoes – hence called Nordafar. We started with a large steel ship half hidden behind the islands nearest Destiny’s anchorage. We had to clamber up the side of the hull and then carefully wandered along the deck to see its build and history. We then went to the nearest settlement and explored the abandoned buildings. The remains of a lovely wooden fishing boat were also examined. We followed this by a trip out in the dingy around the islands to find the fish processing plant. It was a very large facility. We explored the huge cold rooms with their associated refrigeration compressors (at least 20 of them), power generation, engineering workshops,blacksmiths, stores, laundry for a large contingent of staff next to the river and associated accommodation buildings, including one with the refrectory and a theatre hall and stage. We met Sam, previously from the Færoes, who advised us that there are plans to remove the abandoned buildings. Having visited it, there is a lot of work to be done!