TeddytoArctic2023.blogspot.com

                                                   Near Cape Desolation. Bob photo We went up the fjords inland of Nuuk for a few days. Heavy ice limited us to the nearest fjord 30 miles inland - the ice came from 3 glaciers 50-80 miles beyond. A lot of cod - our fishing is done in 30 seconds. We walked up a large stream which was positively hopping with trout - watched them jumping the falls. My pic    The commercial part of Nuuk Harbour. The ship on the left is a cruise ship from Nassau, the Bahamas. A lot of them here - a new one every day. The one on the right is a commercial crate carrier out of Bremen. The one in the middle, a small icebreaker with two cranes, serves communities isolated by ice in the far north, such as Qanaq, Upernavik, Ittoqqortoomiit. My pic                                    Reading. Preferably by the stove. Peat briquettes burning. My pic    Nuuk has a fantastic museum , the National Museum, on the peoples that lived in Greenland. It shows five waves of peop

    So, here is what Bob did. He took photos of us asleep:                                                                                                 Andre/Ondrej                                                                          Connor                                                                          Myself. They said I win first prize.    Note that we are far north. There is no night in the summer.     July 20 is the time of crew change, and the second half of the trip begins.    Bob left yesterday, to return to his native Shetland. Next: the Tall Ship Festival at Shetland. Then a sail to the Faeroes.     Ondrej left yesterday, to return to Reykjavik and to the warm arms of his beloved.     Both are currently reunited at the Nuuk airport. Air Iceland flights are cancelled, reasons unknown. No food there, not even a ham sandwich. Perhaps we will bring them one.    Yesterday Connor decided to leave. He stays on board with us until we go, while he works out what to do

  Video by Ondrej Mesiereur. This shows the storis, the ice that flows down from the polar basin down the east coast of Greenland.   The vid is of particular interest for one who likes to travel through sea ice. The key is the rock nearly awash in the lower left corner. It blocks ice and there is a buildup of ice upcurrent of the rock. Every moment I have choices to make, and I must assess routes & problems instantly in an unending flood of new information. It is easy to miss moving vs stationary ice. Note that as I turn Teddy there is an approaching floe which rapidly closes the gap between the moving floe ahead and the blocked floes abeam and alee. By the time I see this, I am already committed and cannot turn Teddy away. The two floes slowly collide on her, and Teddy is in reverse, dragging her out backwards. Seconds after the video ends, the mainsail is down, and Teddy is rotated in the small space to move out and continue in another direction. Another insight into in the mesme

Three drone shots  by Connor                                                            Same berg, different angle                                                                                                                                       Qaqortoq                                                                        Harbour at Nuuk                                                       Would the word 'Kaboom' suffice?  Our harbour at Nuuk. The middle boat is being restored by Soren, a superb shipwright. Note the harpoon gun, long unused & wrapped in canvas, on the bow of the ship at right. 

    Connor & Andre have gone crazy with their drones. Here are a few shots from their efforts.                      Sailors in the Arctic like to get a shot of their boat through the arch of a berg.                                                              Shot by Connor.  Shot by Andre. This berg was rocking a lot, we closed in in expectancy, and were rewarded with watching a section of the left wall break off & crumble into the sea, its detritus on the left side.                                                                        Shot by Connor.     Some foraging & sundry.                                                            4 lake trout, 13-14" long. Pic by Bob..                                                          Casting for lake trout. Pic by Bob.                                        Mussel pasta for dinner. Dinner (very good!) & pic by Bob.                                                             Muskox skulls. Pic by Bob.               

Iced in                                                          Cimo the proprietor of a grocery store                                                        Bob contemplating the alcohol situation                                                                                                                                         We often motor                                                                            A haven                                                                             Passing out of an ice field                  At Nanortalik we ran into Skip Novak. He is possibly the most experienced saiIor living, with 35 years of high latitude experience, mostly in in the Southern hemisphere. He regularly writes excellent articles on sailing. He is on his way to Thule & Qanaq in the far north, then returns via Baffin Island to Maine, thence to South Africa for refitting, and on to his home base in the Falklands.                                             Aban