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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Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Thursday, July 18, 2019
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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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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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, July 17, 2019
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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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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Tuesday, July 16, 2019
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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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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