Friday, August 2nd
Qasigissat Island Anchorage off Nanortalik
The passage to Kiatak anchorage was a long motor. Whales were distant to seaward and looking to land, ice capped glacial peaks were fronted by rows of icebergs. The iceberg concentration lessened for a while as we progressed south but my log then describes an "amazing amount of ice off the Kattertooq Fjord", a fjord that generated icebergs from the calving glaciers within. We slowly picked our way through the challenging course with Diomedea following. At times it did not seem likely that we would get through but as one closed on the bergs, bergy bits and growlers, using our eyes and radar, a path always appeared.
Using our radar with Google earth maps we finally made the turn toward Kiatak which revealed itself as a a deep and protected anchorage. Desirous of my primary anchor and it's 400' of chain, and following the advice of our GSS (Gram Shore Support, AKA NASA) I took a few minutes after arrival to work on our windlass wiring so as to remind our starboard primary windlass to wind in both directions - that is up as well as down. And it did, and we were soon anchored adjacent to Diomedea in a lovely cove on Kiatak Island.
After a damp and cold Thursday morning, we hiked the afternoon; walking about, enjoying extraordinary views and harvesting an unyielding array of colorful glacial stones.
We returned to Visions of Johanna at the end of the day anticipating a long sail the following day to our next anchorage. We also had a weather eye out and when we left Kiatak the following morning, Friday, July 26th as our plans included a secure Sunday anchorage in the series of short and long day hops envisioned as we made our way south to the Prinz Christian Sound (PCS). But, after checking morning weather, an ominous shift in weather systems was becoming apparent and it seemed that a series of low pressure systems would be bringing a protracted bout of strong northeasterly winds to Greenland's east coast. Days of 25-30-40 knot winds is not this captains cup of tea, and we changed our plans, making a course directly for the PCS. A while back I learned to not to presuppose my arrival by inscripting my intended destination in the "Going To" column, and learned to write "bound for" in my logbook, acknowledging that when we shove off, we might have a destination planned but weather dictates and assumptions cannot be made. This was a good example as the crew shifted into overnight sail mode "on the fly".
It was a long night and following day but we made it to the PCS before dark. Icebergs became less common as we made our miles south and whales and birds were about. And yes, it is now getting dark at night, roughly from 10 PM to 2 AM or so. And we were just getting used to all the daylight...
On the way through we made contact with Kiwi Yacht Windora as we steamed the next 36 nm. to the tiny fishing village of Aappolltoq. Diomedea joined us there, and later we were joined by Windora several nights as well. But those tales are for our next installment.
As for current news, connectivity remains challenging. We have spent a week about the east coast and are currently lying within a small island group outside the township of Nanortalik. Weather looks good and plan is to passage August 3rd bound for St. Johns, Newfoundland. Ken McKinley has promised good conditions and we will be off with ETA late on August 7th.
Best regards,
Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna
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