OK STOP PRESS : Just moved Destiny again for strong wind from the NW tonight and it is snowing 100m up from the shore with rain and sleet on the deck!!

We are currently checking out local anchorages near the town of Maniitsoq. The one we are in now is very picturesque. There are several smaller bays, but 2 of them are not suitable for Destiny being too shallow and with big rocks. The first is good in settled weather. 2 nights ago we had 20kt winds from the NW. This was fine, but with the Spring Tides (4m range) we had to bring the keel up at 3.30am as it was getting a little too shallow, lightly bumping a rock as we swung around. Last night we had a gale of 35+kts from the South, we had to re-anchor once dragging in a strong gust, never fun in the dark in uncharted water, but we had a track made from our approach on the chart plotter and re-anchored, this time letting out far more chain, on a bottom that seems more rock than sand but meaning that we will have to move again when the wind shifts which it is forecast to do tonight - It is not the ideal place to be!

On arrival we watched a White-Tailed Eagle tussling upside down with another bird of prey (yet to be properly identified) but they have Gyrfalcon & Peregrine here. Yesterday we hiked across the island (4km each way but very rough going) to the town of Maniitsoq. This was a test to see how practical it will be in the winter for getting supplies if we anchor out in this area for a week or so. It was fine and with snow cover it should actually be better. Obviously, if we need heavier supplies, we can move much closer to town in a bay by the Church Valley where the Maniitsoq Museum is located (more on that in a later post). Our only reservation on this bay is that in still weather it is likely to ice up. And once we are frozen in more than a couple of inches of ice, moving becomes impossible until wind breaks it up again.

To conclude our busy day yesterday we zipped round the corner in the dingy to investigate a skeleton Janice spotted on our arrival. The tide was at half Springs height then and we thought it might be a seal skeleton but instinct said it was too big. Yesterday at Springs low water it was all revealed and it was a whale skeleton. From the baleen clearly visible in its jaw we think it was either a young Minke or Humpback whale but we�'re not experts. It was fascinating for the ex-biology student Janice and we got an informative view of the way its spine interlocked to allow curving up and down movement but little lateral movement. As well as the action of the discs between each vertebrae. While we investigated it, Andy was growled at from above. Looking up we saw 2 Arctic Fox (one brown and one white) up a ledge chewing on some of the whale bones. For them a great food bonus before the winter sets in.

In the last week all the ground foliage has started to change to the beautiful deep warm reds, browns and yellows of Autumn. If you look carefully when walking, you can still find small supplies of Arctic blueberries (they may be small but they pack a glorious flavour punch), as well as Crowberry (not as tasty but still edible and fine in a crumble). We�'ve also tried Labrador tea, taking the deliciously aromatic narrow leaves and making tea by adding boiling water. The Slippery Jack mushrooms we had been collecting are now finished but were good while they lasted.

Since leaving Iceland I have taken up knitting to make some Icelandic jumpers. The hat in the photo was my practice item. Andy also got a new headband.