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Thursday, August 15th, 2019

S/Y Visions of Johanna
North Atlantic Ocean
Thursday, August 15th, 2019
0900 UTC
Off Cape Breton, Canada
SOG 6.8, COG 222


We are en route to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, motoring with light winds. We expect light winds to continue for several days with fair weather and a bit of roll in the seas from the low that passed Tuesday night. Our ETA Lunenburg is Friday evening. Green flash at sunset yesterday and colorful sunrise this morning. Haven't seem those for a while!

All well aboard, sending,

Best wishes from Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna


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Saturday, August 10 2019

We departed St Johns early yesterday morning and made a fast overnight sail to St. Pierre, a small island that part of an archipelago collective of France, technically called Collectivity of St. Pierre and Miquelon. While there is a bit of extra clearance and attendant formalities to stop here, the thoughts of croissants and baguettes were alluring. Hopefully communications here will not be problematic as I have locked my phone to a Canadian carrier.

It was thick a' fog on arrival this morning and there was also a flotilla of boats exiting, part of an annual Isles de Madeleine/St. Pierre regatta. Hence, navigation combined with collision avoidance was a bit of a challenge for us. The French are great racers and these sailors fell into line, likely the types that chop their toothbrushes in half to save weight while tossing unnecessary gear overboard such as fog horns and VHF radios.

We will likely be here for a night or two waiting for a weather window to cross over to Nova Scotia..

Best regards from Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna

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S/Y Visions of Johanna
North Atlantic Ocean
St. Johns, Newfoundland
Friday, August 9th, 2019

Hello all. We are leaving St. Johns today for an overnight run, headed east while we can. Southwest winds are on the horizon and we will make miles while we can. Our time with Steve, Novara and crew has been fantastic.

Best, Bill and crew of Visions of Johanna
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S/Y Visions of Johanna
North Atlantic Ocean
Wednesday, August 7th, 2019
0800 UTC
48 54.4N/51 36.9W
SOG 6.8, COG 222
Wind 5-8 knots, TWD 010 --> 347, seas 2-5' and sloppy
Bar 1015.5. Cloudy, fog, minimal precipitation

Wind backed steadily throughout the day yesterday and waned to the point it was light enough and behind us enough for it to be time enough for engine on at 3 PM. We have motored since then and expect to motor the final 90 nm. into St. Johns, ETA around 8 PM.

Motoring is comfortable enough but every few minutes a set of larger swells comes at us from the west and crosses our beam, resulting in a bit of clattering aboard. Radar has been quiet all night, no targets. AIS showed what we presumed to be a couple of fishing boats yesterday in the Grand Banks but also was quiet overnight. Engine on status allows us to easily passage with radar on, quite helpful in these waters that remain on the fringes of the ice zone. Water temp has risen from the mid 40's to mid 50s Fahrenheit.

Wildlife has been about as we've seen some whales, flocks of birds intermittently surrounding us and dolphins on the bow.

Lunch yesterday was egg and tuna salad sandwiches on fresh hot baguettes and a cous cous salad with red peppers and roasted brussels sprouts. Dinner was pork tenderloin medallions prepared in a masala simmer sauce with potatoes and cooked cabbage chutney, fresh tomato, corn and onion salad, peas and carrots. Crew remains rested and there was an after dinner gabfest in the cockpit around our desert favorites of sliced fresh pear and apple, cookies and chocolate, with a choice of teas. And Lucas and Brigid weren't even wearing shoes. It's noticeably warmer down here!

Lot's to look forward to today. Landfall this evening as well as an opportunity to see my great mate Steve Brown on Novara. Steve is bringing Novara home to the UK and we arranged to cross in St. Johns. Imagine, I have to sail all the way to Newfoundland to see this guy!!

Situation fine here this rolly morning, and

All well aboard, sending,

Best wishes from Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna




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Monday 5 Aug

S/Y Visions of Johanna
North Atlantic Ocean
Tuesday, August 6th, 2019
0815 UTC
51 37.2N/49 48.5W
SOG 8.3, COG 221
Wind 16-20 knots, TWD 110, seas 3-6'
Bar 1009. Cloudy, lite fog, very damp with slight precipitation

Wind eased somewhat throughout the morning and early afternoon yesterday and later veered to the ESE and increased as predicted. We were flying full mainsail and reacher early on, turned to the engine for 2 hours at 1030 to keep speed, but sailed the rest of the daytime hours. We went to jib and quickly added the staysail when engine went off at 12:30 and by 5 PM there were no thoughts of engine time, wind was 15 kn and had been slowly increasing all afternoon. We saw 16-20 knots most of the night but had one hour at 0100 of 22-24 kn, gusting to 27 kn. We rode that out watchfully, brought staysail in, and wind has remained in the 16-20 knot range since.

We are carrying this still with wind just abaft the beam, sailing to a 72 degree AWA which should bring us to my interim WP of 50 30N/50 30W. Aside from the symmetry, this WP is south and east of any known icebergs in the Labrador Sea and from there we will make directly for St. Johns. Reports from Ted Laurentius, the OCC Port Officer in St. Johns, is that local knowledge says there are no icebergs in the south Labrador Sea.

We have made great miles overnight and will stack them onto our 204 nm. day one, and 197 nm. day two. We will be sailing into a trough however as we approach 50N and will likely slow down and resort to engine time. Which has been minimal so far this trip.

Lunch yesterday was a Chicken Stew with a beet/radish/red pepper/onion/apple salad. Dinner was smoked haddock and cod soup, cole slaw and open faced toasties with salami, turkey and melted cheese. Our desert and teas capped off a nice evening.

Situation fine with a side of rockin' and rollin' this morning, and

All well aboard, sending,

Best wishes from Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna
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Monday, August 5th, 2019

S/Y Visions of Johanna
North Atlantic Ocean
Monday, August 5th, 2019
0800 UTC
54 26.0N/47 13.9W
SOG 7.8, COG 215
Wind 11-13 knots, TWD 095, seas 3-5' (edit: wind 14-17 kn past 1/2 hour)
Bar 1015.5. Cloudy, fog, minimal precipitation

Wind eased steadily throughout the day yesterday from the 18 kn range to 14-15 knots early evening to 11-13 knots overnite. We struck jib and staysail and put out the reacher before noon and have have been able to keep Visions of Johanna sailing well through the overnite hours. SOG dropped briefly below 7 kn on two occasions but we have generally been able to maintain speed in the 7.25-7.5 knot range by heading a bit south of the rhumbline to keep the ENE-E wind more toward the beam.

Reacher is still flying this morning and beam wind strategy will pay off if the south-easterlies arise as forecast as this will allow us to turn our bow directly to St. Johns while keeping the wind abeam; the SE winds should arise later this afternoon or early evening. Meanwhile in these early morning hours wind has veered from 093 region to 101 degrees which is likely the very beginning of the shift and wind-speed has gently increased again to the 12-14 kn range. We have been able to make SOG closer to 8 kn over the past two hours.

A large pod of pilot whales romped astern of us for a while yesterday afternoon, otherwise a quiet day aboard. Lunch yesterday was a home made bean soup and fresh made pizza. Dinner was Johanna's Sheppard's Pie and roasted courgettes. Crew felt rested and there was then some gab around a desert of slices of fresh pear and apple, cookies and chocolate, with a choice of teas.

Situation fine here this foggy morning, and

All well aboard, sending,

Best wishes from Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna




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Sunday, August 4th, 2019

S/Y Visions of Johanna
North Atlantic Ocean
Sunday, August 4th, 2019
0745 UTC
57 21.2N/46 10.3W
SOG 7.3, COG 211
Wind 21 knots, TWD 060, seas 4-6'
Bar 1015. Cloudy, intermittent drizzle overnight,light rain developing this morning

We departed Greenland with light winds but wind picked up quickly, building easterlies to 25-28 kn gusting 30-32 midafternoon and then again for a spell in the evening. Winds have calmed after midnight to the 20 knot range as it backs to the NE.

We sailed with double reefed main, staysail and 2/3 reefed jib, partially unfurling the jib yesterday evening (moments before the second bout of G30's) and just completely opened the jib now as we have averaged in the 20 kn range for four hours.

Early on a pilot whale passed us close to starboard and multitudes of Fulmars were about, but no one here at the moment. Crew has done well. Nice lunch yesterday of fresh roasted turkey breast sandwiches and crisps. Dinner started with engine belts a la toast and a sprinkling of dust (yes, the boat was sailing like a banshee yesterday eve but toasted belts were noted in an engine room check) followed by classic Visions of Johanna fare of Brunswick Stew. Then everyone turned in early, getting into the offshore mode.

Situation fine here this morning contemplating COG, anticipated winds and strategy. I will download a new GRIB file and await a daily weather report from Ken McKinley.

All well aboard and sending,

Best wishes from Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna

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Underway, bound for St. Johns, Newfoundland

S/Y Visions of Johanna
1100 UTC
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Off Nanortalik, West Greenland

We are just underway, bound for St. Johns, Newfoundland about 820 nm. The blog has been updated but there are still more postings and photos to come about our explorations...when connectivity and time allow.

In the meantime, we will keep you updated through the Newfoundland passage.

Best regards,

Bill and crew


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West Greenland

S/Y Visions of Johanna
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

Wednesday, July 24 East Greenland

S/Y Visions of Johanna
Wednesday, July 24 1200 UTC
64 49.5N/039 33.5W
En Route from Kitak to Kiatak
Partly sunny, wind light, calm sea conditions.

Good day to all. Communications have been partially restricted as Inmarsat Satellites are low lying in the sky and we lose signal connection in harbor if (the inevitable) south lying fjord fringing mountains block our line of sight. Thus, on Inmarsat we have only been able to connect underway or at an island anchorage; situation will improve as we head south. Our Garmin inReach connects via the Irridium Satellite network and has been a good backup albeit more limited in scope.

We spent that one night at Storo Island and headed for the settlement of Tasiilaq via an inland passage described to us by Siggy back in Isafjordur. The scenery is grandioseand begins with the first half of the passage weaving in and out of offshore islands. Charts are offset and it was initially a bit challenging to find a starting point to navigate the islands for the bergs, but once positioning was checked and confirmed, we had a fantastic time heading SW towards the outer settlement of Sermiligaq. Sermiligaq is a small settlement that is literally perched on a rocky outcrop, apparently the only semi-flat piece of terra firma in the area. It looks like it is about to topple into the sea. We continued with a hairpin turn around Sermiligaq, finding that the second half of the route is a regular "taxi" run between Tasiilaq and neighboring northern settlements, and is also a scenic route for the local Tasiilaq touring companies.

Past Sermiligaq we hooked up and then down long, almost river-like passages. The remains of a USA WWII Air Force refueling base is seen along the way,evidenced by a sea of rusty oil drums along the coast. A few speed boat taxis went to and fro as we followed the route down toward the Ammassalik Fjord, Ammasasalik Island and the settlement of Tasiilaq. With it's population of 2100, Tasiilaq is called the "capital" of East Greenland. Surrounded by tall mountains and bisected by a green river valley, it has a raw and frontier feel. Due to distances and climate, towns in Greenland are not connected by roads and Tasiilaq town and communal settlements are connected by water but only seasonally. The inhabitants are hardy folk. There are several shops, a museum, hotels and B&B's and an electronics store. You can go for a pizza, to a bar/nightclub or dine in a cafe. One can buy Inuit handicrafts, Tupilaqs and traditional carvings direct from the artisan makers, or or you can go to the grocery store and buy a shotgun. Or some Special K. It's all there. In all we spent 3 nights in Tasiilaq, hiking around the river valley day one, and then up a 2000 foot peak day two. Nearly everywhere you looked there were sleds and sled dogs. You would often hear the dogs and town benches are shaped like sleds. Tasiilaq is a very beautiful, unique and special place.

Arctic Dreams is a Tasiilaq based tour company and owner/operator Lars gave us some advice and recommendations for our passage south. We left Tasiilaq Sunday, July 21st bound for Nagtivit Fjord. Nagtivit was about 25 nm. from Tasiilaq, then 5 miles up into the Fjord. En route to Nagtivit we passed across the mouth of the Sermilac Fjord area, a group of at least 5 sub-fjords and their attendant glaciers. This results in an iceberg generator as bergs calve off the glaciers and drift out the fjords to the sea. Weather conditions were ideal as we crossed this zone and we were treated to an astounding display of bergs, bergy bits and growlers. Literally hundreds, as far as the eye could see. The bergs were named by us, inevitably due to some shape or characteristic. We passed Emerald City, Half Dome, Alligator mouth, Flat Face and Gotham. It seems silly but is also very useful as once we settled on a name of a berg off in the distance, we would use it as a point of reference for routing. Smooth seas and light winds allowed gentle motoring across the iceberg zone and I was pleased to see that I could reliably visualize beachball sized growlers on radar that were 12" or more in height. This made for good but intimidating navigation as when one added all the small growlers to the mix of bergs and bergy bits, radar targets densely filled my screen. But good weather and visibility and a great crew anxious to be eyes up on the fore-deck allowed this to be a calm and purposeful project and process.

We initiated our turn toward Nagtivit and began the process of checking and confirming course and direction as we approached the fjord. The charts of course are offset here by about 1/3 of a mile and typically one will use radar to visualize the off lying islands, orient one's self and set a proper course using radar geography to mentally transpose the image of the boat icon on the chart: mentally "correct" the chart offset. This is made difficult with icebergs all about as it is not always possible to see the islands that could be obscured by a large iceberg. The shear number of radar targets also makes it difficult to pick out the islands from the bergs on the radar screen. We also had some georeferenced google earth charts but they were fairly small scale and it was often difficult to discern land from the ever-present ice on the images anyway. All this results in entering slowly and with care. Slow is your friend! We entered, shall we say, at a laconic pace, soon to be amply rewarded by our Nagtivit anchorage.

The Nagtivit Fjord and anchorage area are not well charted and anchorages are not described in guidebooks that I have seen. We entered the fjord and approached the NW arm of the "Y" shaped fjord, an arm where the ice meets the sea. Lars had told us that the retreating glacier left behind a large inland lake and we entered slowly, rounding icebergs and confirming the position of hidden islands as we entered the NW arm. The lake was rimmed by mountains with icebergs everywhere and the glacier in the distance. We could have tip-toed towards the head of the fjord but bergs and growlers were abundant and Chris suggested we take a look at a small bay that was on our left as we entered. We explored and found an absolutely incredible and safe keyhole anchorage at the head of the bay, anchoring in 25 feet depth onto a mud-silt bottom. Comma curved with a narrow entry made the anchorage bullet-proof and bergy proof, simply perfect. We hiked around the mountains that first afternoon and all eyes feasted on the scenery; mountains, glacier and bergs. We took the dinghy to the glacier the next day - it was about 4-5 miles - and hiked all about. Lucas commented "well, now I can check off lunch on a glacier from my to-do list". Some technical gear would have allowed some incredible climbing, but we scrambled about all the same and were happy enough. Lucas then capped his day off with a dip at the base of the glacier, swimming with the icebergs. Go figure!! The day was a great adventure and an experience that will not be forgotten.

The following day we made a short passage to Kitak Island outside the Isortoq settlement, the southern most settlement in the Tasiilaq commune. A boat that we had met in Isafjordur, Diomedea, hailed us on the radio and joined us there. Today we have in mind a long days passage to the Kiatak anchorage at 64 19N/40 32W. Conditions are again favorable with light winds and seas. Although brisk sailing would be nice, present conditions are preferable in this area. It also appears that we will be past these iceberg dense waters by the afternoon.

Pictures pending wifi access. All well on board, and sending

Best wishes, from Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna



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Greenland Arrival

S/Y Visions of Johanna
Thursday, July 18
Lying at Anchor, Tasiilaq, Greenland
2300 UTC

Fantastic motor through the inland passage. Kind of like the ditch on steroids. Only deeper. And colder. And deserted!
We are all well and looking forward to exploring the area tomorow.

Best regards to all from Bill and crew
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Greenland Arrival

S/Y Visions of Johanna
Thursday, July 18
Lying at Anchor, Storo Island, Greenland
0900 UTC

This anchorage is beautiful and we are safely cocooned in a land-locked bowl with only some growlers for company. The crew had worked hard to keep a diligent deck watch for the last 120 nm. of the passage and all of us were elated after anchor went down yesterday evening; celebratory beverages were passed around as our eyes feasted on the scenery. Events had really started at 4:30 AM; Chris had been on watch when he awakened me at to look at the radar and multiple targets. It was thick a' fog and we spent the next 6 hours on avoidance tactics, rotating personnel and working in pairs with one person (moi!) on radar watch and one on deck, visibility was perhaps 1/4 mile or less. We went through 3 bands of radar targets until we were finally provided a respite and we continued to fly toward the Greenland coast; we had made 195 nm. in the first 24 hours and Visions of Johanna did not tire as she kept her pace through the morning hours and the fog.

But Neptune was beneficent and much to our good fortune the fog cleared around 1 pm, some 50 nm. off the coast. I had gone down for a catch-up nap just before noon yesterday and was thrilled when the crew awakened me for the nice big surprise. The afternoon was sunny and the wind eased in the last 2 hours so that we made our final approach under engine in light winds and mild seas. All in all, couldn't have been better - the Leo principle once again!

The Storo anchorage approach was exciting, much anticipated and a proper finale. The anchorage approach, a convoluted dogleg with guardian growlers, was not visible until we were nearly upon it. Our entrance was described as breathtaking as we nosed toward the bay entry, weaving and dodging and hoping that the narrow channel which was partially obscured as we approached, was not occluded by big white and friends. Indeed there was plenty room for us to gently motor ahead around the local residents and through the choke point which was guarded by those grounded port and starboard sentries. Once into the bowl, it was still and calm and we anchored in 48' on the southern third of the head which was shallower than the northern half.

We awakened to a bright sunny day today. But we were not alone...growlers in the bay had congregated overnight to join us less than 10 meters from our transom. A short while later one did a back flip for us - really amazing but glad it was not any larger than it was. We gently prodded one away with our Tuk but as if to say that this was their bay, not ours, the encroachment continued until they were nearly upon us so we shortened chain as we prepared for departure.

Today we are heading to Tasiilaq via an inside route. There was some apprehension as the fog closed on us just as we exited the anchorage, but once again Neptune chuckled and then let us free. The fog lifted and we are underway. Breathtaking.

Best regards to all from Bill and crew
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Wednesday, 17 July en route

S/Y Visions of Johanna
Wednesday, July 17
66 12.5N/032 37.37W
1100 UTC

We have had some good sailing. Yesterday started with wind abaft the beam building to 24 knots with a brief period of 30 knot gusts. Winds eased a bit through the evening, then rose a touch at night. We sailed the day with a single reef main, staysail and 1/2 reefed jib but added a second mainsail reef late evening as a general precaution but also due the apparent wind coming forward of the beam as wind direction backed from ENE to NNE through the night time hours.

We had our first radar targets 85 nm. west of Iceland but these were a lone pair. Many targets were encountered 120 nm. from Greenland requiring 2 person watches by 4:30 AM this morning. Visualized the first growler at 0930 today and were pleased to note that we had it as a radar target. We are running one person in pilot house on radar and one or two persons on watch in cockpit, depending on target density and proximity. It's thick a' fog, though, and has been since last night. Targets do correlate with water temperature and fog.

Everyone has had good rest and sleep time and food has been tasty and plentiful. Boy, do faces light up when cookies are handed out into the cockpit! Tuna&egg salad sandwiches a` la Lucas with tomato soup with pasta and vegetable for lunch. Dinner menu was chicken drum sticks in herbed BBQ sauce, green peas and baked potato with pesto and chopped shallot yogurt topping. Mandarin oranges and Toblerone chocolate for desert.

Pending surprises, we hope to arrive at Storo Island close to 8 PM tonight which will mean only one night out for the crew. Everyone is looking forward to that!! Once we get to Storo we will decide whether to spend a day there or head the next day through an inland passage to Tasiilaq.
Bill and crew

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Departing Iceland for Green land

Hello All. Visions of Johanna has departed Isafjordur, Iceland bound for Storo Island, Greenland. Storo is about 60 nm. NNE of the settlement of Tasiilaq on the east coast of Greenland: 66 10N/35 30W.

Conditions good for crossing, very good in fact. All well on board, lunch and dinner are planned. Should have some good winds for the first 3/4 of the trip with winds easing towards landfall in Greenland which is perfect in my book. Hoping for a smooth passage, we'll stay in touch.

Berst,

Bill and crew of Visions of Johanna


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What a difference a couple of days make

What a difference a couple of days make. we have moved on and time to catch up. 

A small weather window opened up Friday morning and we decided to sail from Seydisfjordur to Vopnafjordur. The forecast was for the 30-40 knot north-easterlies to ease to 22 to 15-18 on Friday for a 24 hour stretch. Saturday was to be windier with bigger seas. So after checking weather Friday morning, the decision was made to make the 65 nm. passage to Vopnafjordur. All started as planned, a decent day and moderate winds except the winds steadily increased from 15- 20 Knots to 26-28 knots. And seas were not small. At least the morning drizzle ended. After a while. But the head wind was daunting and the cross swell kept our motor sailing tacking angles to 110 degrees. So the 10 hour sail turned into a 13 hour ordeal. A bit painful overall as we took our lumps and arrived at 10:30 PM.. But arrival felt sweet none the less, and Doug was there to meet us.

Doug had hired a car for land travel in Seydisfjordur and he drove to meet us there, doing some reconnaissance on the way up. And speaking of renting cars, at least you need a drivers licence and credit card in Iceland. In the Faroes all you needed was cash. No card. No driver's license. Just cash. Although it should probably be recommended that you have a license.

We had a nice and very late fish taco dinner that night for Doug’s Friday farewell as he left for home Saturday morning. Thus, we all went to bed very late Friday night, 1 AM, but it didn’t really matter as it was still light outside anyway. You go from a late sunset, say 11:30 PM to an early sunrise around 1:30 AM. It never really gets past an early dusk before it turns to a light dawn, so you would never really need to turn your headlights on.

Sunday was a slow catch-up day for us, resting up. Still cloudy but no rain and less wind finally. We again had tied to a double level tired tiered wharf and I was shy to leave the boat for too long in case we become encumbered in the grips of holy rubber. No worries, I had plenty of chores on my to-do list to fill my time. Sunday morning the mayor of Vopnafjordur drove out to greet us. Thor took us into town and to the grocery and we learned that the town was one of the largest foreign commercial fish processing plants in Iceland. Vopnafjordur spews out a significant percentage of Iceland's foreign export. Thor was entirely gracious and helped arrange for a car rental for Chuck and Deb – although it ended up being much more costly than the short term rental initially discussed. And he arranged for us to come alongside an inner floating pontoon across from the Rescue Boat but I eventually did not move as the shoehorn it required to nuzzle in was not worth a short over night stay. And fortunately the wind turned to blow us OFF the wharf for the rest of the day and night.

Cruiser’s Nugget: The  harbormaster’s name in Vopnafjordur is Kristinn and his phone numbers are (00354) 473 1299 or 898 5298.

We sailed on Sunday for Raufarhofn. A small commercial town with a well protected harbour, it is strategically located to break up the sail from Vopnafjordur to Husavik. Winds were light but we had a decent  motor sail with reacher out, very pleasant. Still cloudy though. The inner harbor is small with floating pontoons in the shallows and  a wooden wharf to tie to just past the Rescue Boat which was full with three fishing boats. Towns people were out to greet and gaze at us and someone shouted out to us the phone number of the harbormaster. A good thing as no one had answered calls on Ch 16 or 12. He was very nice and at my behest, allowed us to tie to any one of the fishing boats. We chose the outside boat which was a good choice as the other two boats went out that evening.

Cruiser’s Nugget: Raufarhofn Harbormaster phone number is (00354) 861 2880.

We awakened to a bright and sunny Monday morning in Raufarhofn. Stupendous day. And so was the sail to Husavik. Sunny with a modest breeze, the livin' was as easy as the swells. There was sunning on the fore deck and exercise on the mid deck. A fine day...

Beam and then broad reaching in easing seas and 14-18 knots followed by a long stretch of sailing wing & wing. Snow capped peaks and whales spouting in the distance. This is more like it!

We rounded Tjoernes peninsula and it's light house and were visited by many resident birds. Husavik was just a short way down the fjord.

Arrival in Husavik Monday afternoon was smooth. Husavik is an active port and a major whale watching center in Iceland and the harbormasters there were professional and helpful .We tied to a wooden wharf with perfectly aligned vertical planking and vertical rubber bumpers that were just a bit more slender than our fenders so our fenders kept the boat off the bumpers. Good tie up with no tires to encumber us. 

Cruiser's nugget: Contact number for the harbormaster's office is (00354) 464 6175. Duty officer phone number is 893 9175. Julius and Johannes are courteous and friendly.

Plan is for a road trip on Tuesday to see local inland sights such as Dettifoss Waterfall. It should be warm and sunny. We will stay in Husavik 2 or three days, likely to leave Thursday with fair winds.

Best wishes from Bill and crew.

You can't fight the wind

We remain in Seyvisfjordur waiting for a change in the weather. Which may not happen till Friday or even Saturday. There is a low parked just to the east of Iceland which will retreat south but then is likely to drift back north Thursday night. This low and the moderate high to the SW of Iceland are creating a zone of high winds directly over the east coast of Iceland...and Visions of Johanna.Here is the GRIB file from this morning. Hint: we are the green boat symbol at 3 o'clock around the circumference of Iceland.

 We are tied along side an old wooden wharf that has seen better days.

Seydisfjordur is known as a historically interesting and picturesque town, made up of multi-colored houses and "surrounded by snow capped mountains and cascading waterfalls". The harbourmaster said that 75-80 cruise ships will stop here this summer; there were two  cruise ships and a ferry here yesterday.

The wind at the head of the fjord here has not often been the 35-40 knots predicted outside - although we have had our moments. Curious, I went to one of the cruise ships and asked to speak to the captain. After introducing myself I was immediately invited up to his quarters and learned that the weather outside indeed was as forecast. In here I'd say that 2-4  times a day, when wind direction lines up with topography, we really get hit with a brief period of high (35-40 kn.) gusts but as a rule our local wind has been 5-20 knots. Still, it is challenging to balance our dock lines against the 1.5 meter tide and shifty winds on a fixed wharf that is in modest disrepair.

The cruise ship I went aboard (located low center, blue hull in picture above) was a smaller ship, 200 passengers, that goes around Iceland in June and July and on to Greenland in August. The captain Herve' promised to look us up when/if  we found ourselves in the same port again.

We did some nice hiking yesterday, mostly through the valleys, as the wind was relatively docile during the day but it is more or less howling cold today.

Now, I need to go and check on that weather again...

Best regards, Bill and crew

Iceland arrival

We arrived Seydisfjordur Sunday afternoon after a fast sail from Vagur. Wind was just forward of the beam to start and generally backed towards the north, so we were close reaching to nearly close hauled at the end. But we sailed nearly the entire 275 nm. and made just over 200 nm. in a 24 hour stretch - without too much drama.

The approach to Seydisfjordur was exciting with high snow capped mountains in the distance that were obscured by two snow squalls as we made our approach. The entry is a fantastic site...

We had emailed our notice of arrival before departure and checked with the Iceland Coast Guard 60 miles out. We were expected and Runar, the harbourmaster, was at the ready to take our lines upon arrival. We are the first boat to visit this season and  Runar has been exceptionally helpful, taking time to be sure we were set with electric, water, etc. We had a great dinner (steak fajitas) and a good sleep.

Today remains wet and cold. A philosophic gentleman I know well once said "the coldest winter I ever had was the summer I spent in Iceland."  Weather will be wet and cold for 2 more days but hopefully we'll get some hiking in. And a few more days here will let the northerlies pass and then we are off. More soon.

Best, Bill and crew

Due to weather, we have decided to depart Faroes today for Seyvisdordur, Iceland. Anticipate arrival there 1700 hours local time Friday. See blogsite for details and more photos. Go to:

vofj.blogspot.com

Best, Bill
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Departing for Iceland

Sorvagur, Faroe Islands

Current Conditions: 90% overcast, with intermittent showers. Not hot. Wind 12-15 kn. easterly

We sailed to Sorvagur yesterday with thoughts of basing here for a few days to hile and spend a day in Mykines. But...



Weather is expected to deteriorate over the next 48 hours as a low will be strengthening and moving east just south of the Faroe Islands. Thus, we have made the difficult choice to leave Faroe today ahead of the change. We will be seeing (we think!) 15-20 kn. east, backing to NE. At least less time here will equate to more time in Iceland.

So we are bound for Seydisfjordur, Iceland imminently. Good bye, Faroes!

Cruisers nugget: There does not appear to be a reasonable place to tie up here. The wharf in front of the old fish plant is occupied by local baots or ferry leaving only the outer wall with tire issues as noted in the guides and one must beware of getting caught below the tires. We had a tire watch with timely adjustments. Not recommended in 2019.

Pictures of Sorvagur...

You will next here from us in Iceland.

Best, Bill and crew of Visions of Johanna

Faroe Islands

The sail from Skye to Faroe was generally as predicted. Light winds from the SE at the outset found us motoring north, wind building gently forward then backing aft towards the beam 1/2 way through up to 15 kn. Check, check, and check resulted in some decent sailing during that middle portion.Finally, the wind was to swing forward by the end of our sail. Which it did, but at 20-25 knots, not 15...so let's say that the last 1/3 of the trip was a bit lumpy except when we closed on the south tip of the island of Suduroy (pronounced SUU-roy as the "d" is silent when spelled with a slash through it) where upon seas became quite animated. We arrived in Tvorori around 6:30 PM and were happy to be in harbor.

The harbourmaster's name is Christian and Christian was a wonderful help with paperwork, locating customs and immigration, etc. He might often be too busy to reply to an entry call on CH. 16 but after several unsuccessful attempts, Torshaven radio came back to us and instructed us that they would contact the HM to inform him of our impending arrival; he did later respond to our call. As for berthing, a major mid-town wharf previously used for tie up has been occupied by a new fish processing plant (2013) and best option now seems to be to lie at a down-harbor wooden wharf but the wharf had the primo inner spot occupied by a local boat and the hammerhead occupied by one of the two cruising boats we came upon. We initially attempted to tie to the side-to face of the wharf but ultimately elected to anchor out for the night. The next morning the wharf was free and we went alongside.



Still, it was a very protected anchorage, all was good and we settled in. Monday and Tuesday were filled with some sightseeing about town and cruising necessities such as gathering access tools for navigation and Internet phone access. We found wifi at the Information Sight office but mobile data was difficult to impossible to realize as the Vodafone system would connect to some of our phones but would never connect to the Internet. I spent hours on the phone with Voda, and visited a local phone ISP. No solutions, still a problem. I plan to give in and buy a Faroese plan for these islands on Foraya Tele.



Doug and Chuck did quite a bit of exploring about Tvorori. We were one of the early boats to arrive and were interviewed by local officials for the island website and the mayor came to greet us. We enjoyed an awesome hike on Tuesday to a lake on the east coast of the island, scenery fantastic and superb photo ops.




Cruiser's nugget: EU roaming and cellular data by Vodafone may or may not be available. It was not available for us. The commercial chandlery down by the fish plant is owned by Jens Sigurd Simonsen. Jens was happy to assist us and was a great help providing information about needed gear/items





Itineraries finally discussed, we looked at moving north to Torshaven (TOR-shven). Although only 35 nm., weather and currents make passage planning an interesting proposition. I deduced that best compromise was to depart Tvorori at 1 1/2 hours after high water Dover and although windy on Wednesday, the wind was NWly. Thursday was only a modest amount lighter but NNW winds were forecast so we left Wednesday morning in 20-25 knots NW. I had triple reefed main and staysail out as we departed and we were moving along respectably but once we hit ocean swells and wind waves we needed a bit more punch and the yankee jib was partially unfurled. This 3 sail grouping was fantastic and we had an exhilarating sail, initially beam then close reaching making 8-9 knots with ability to roll in the jib and de-power when squalls came through. Said squalls were frequent and blowing 28-34 knots, but they were brief and the sky was blue between - we have been quite fortunate to avoid days on end of thick low clouds, we have had blue sky visible somewhere most of the time, sharing the sky with banded fast moving squalls.

Cruiser's nugget: We decided that the decision to depart Tvorori for Torshaven 1 1/2 hours after high water Dover was a good one. We conservatively stayed 4 nm. off islands and passes, but slid west to 2 miles off as we gained confidence in reasonable sea conditions. Wind was 20-30 kn. NW, current arrows were mildly adverse swing to abeam and aft but no major rips encountered.

We closed in on Torshaven close hauled with snow capped tops visible on the mountains. Our one tack, made to gain ground to the west brought us into another squall, this time accompanied by a face stinging hail storm. I described the passage as fantastic sail, beautiful sights, quite windy with a side of hail. All good!

Please visit this blog site where PHOTOS will be posted.


Best wishes from Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna.

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Bound for Faroes

DATE: Saturday, 25 May 2019 0800 GMT+1
SY Visions of Johanna Hebrides to Faroes Crossing Day 1, post #1
Sea: The Little Minch
Position: 57 29.8N/6 46.48W (23 nm south of Stornoway)
SOG 7.2 knots; COG 017 mag
TWS 10.2 kn ; TWD: 253 mag

Current situation: Motoring, light winds, 100% low clouds, intermittent showers. Not hot.

Good day all, and ahoy from S/Y Visons of Johanna and her crew of Doug, Chuck and yours truly. Doug and Chuck arrived Thursday night which was a day later than planned and much anticipated. Jack left us Friday morning and soon thereafter we pushed off from the port of Mallaig, headed for the west coast of the Isle of Skye. Here are a few of the sights along the way from Northern Ireland.

Above is the famous lighthouse at Point Ardnamurchan, the point of land that separates the more routine sailing in the southern Hebrides from the more adventuresome north. Fable has it that you tie a bouquet of heather to your bow as demonstration of passage.

We departed from the fishing port of Mallaig, harbour entry seen below. As fishing has declined, Mallaig has stepped up to become a bit of a tourist destination, aided by ferry service to the islands and rail links inland via some of the most picturesque train rides imaginable.

Our initial plan was to sail from Skye to Stornoway on the the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and leave for the Faroes from Stornoway in a day or two, but...after perusing the weather it became apparent that the next 36 hours provided the best weather window and the desirability of the weather for crossing diminished by the day. The plan was also to make for Loch Dunvegan on Skye's west coast but a late start from Mallaig prompted us to stop late afternoon into Loch Bracadale on the SW corner. Decision was to get more weather info and get going early Saturday morning while we confirmed and updated weather data. So, after a fantastic dinner of sauteed crayfish with pesto sauce, green salad, and steak and baked potatoes, we turned in early for a well earned a sleep. Then, up we were at 0430 this morning to weigh anchor at 0500 and underway.

Below is the Isle of Skye from the south...on a sunny day on approach to Mallaig.

Current weather files continue to suggest that we forgo our planned stop at Stornaway so off we are, bound for Tvoroyri on the Island of Suduroy - the southern most Island of the 18 island Faroe group. With it's Norse heritage, Faroes are mostly autonomous but perhaps can be termed a "protectorate" of Denmark. Fantastic scenery and wildlife with some of the most dense bird nesting colonies in the world await us.

We are warm and comfortable aboard. Great spirits and not one threat of mutiny is detected. So far.

Update at 0915. Just pulled down UK Met high seas extended outlook that now confirms high winds forecast in the Tues/Wed time frame in the Faroes and Hebrides respectively, so we are pleased and content with our decision to push on.

We will keep you posted.

Warmly,

Bill and the crew of Visions of Johanna


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