The sea of Labrador had been kind to us with fair winds and waves in our favor, but the never ending fog was making the passage a slightly claustrophobic experience. Our visibility was limited to fifty to a hundred meters around the boat and without sun, moon stars or horizon our reality was becoming smaller and smaller. With no signs of other boats or wildlife we felt completely alone on the sea.
On the 9th day of our crossing everything changed – the fog lifted and revealed a number of icebergs on the horizon and as we got closer to the coast of Greenland we could see the familiar skyline with snow covered mountains and jagged peaks. A family of bottlenose whales paid us a brief visit, but a few hours later they returned with their extended family. For almost an hour more than fifteen of these magnificent six meter whales swam under and around us. In order to make contact with them we tried to make noises and sing to them through a pipe that we submerged into the water. It seemed to work as they curiously came all the way up the pipe to find out what made the noises.
In the evening the wind began to freshen and we had some great sailing as we passed some of the most beautiful icebergs we have seen to date. At two o’clock in the morning the moon came out and as the sun set behind a pointy iceberg the whole panorama was almost too much for us after spending the whole passage in dull gray fog. It had been a wonderful day and we were truly happy about being back in Greenland.
So glad to hear your crossing was pleasant and rewarding.
Sounds like three other boats are staged at Nuuk to attempt a E-W NW Passage.
The Baffin ice between Greenland and Nunavut is melting but your plans to stretch your route to the far north are good – open seaway so go for it!
Good Speed!
Doug