Greenland cruising notes

GREENLAND CRUISING NOTES

INTRODUCTION

These notes were made by Annie Hill and Trevor Robertson on Iron Bark II, an 11-metre gaff cutter, in 2004 and 2005 with additions by Trevor Robertson in 2012 and 2013.  They are intended to supplement information in the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation guide Faroe, Iceland and Greenland edited by Willie Kerr.  The sketch charts are intended to aid navigation only.  It is very likely unobserved hazards exist close to the course followed while compiling the sketch charts and usual warnings apply about using with care.

OQAITSUT	NP 12 4.126
69º54.5'N 51º16.5'W (2004)	Chart D 1500 Sketch charts: Oqaitsut

 

General

A well-protected anchorage is north of Smalle Sund in the Vaigat. It is a useful anchorage when N bound up the Vaigat, being well protected and of easy access

Approach

Approach from SW along the centre of the channel S of Oqaitsut and turn N (to port) into the passage E of Oqaitsoq when opens. Follow the shore round leaving the rocky island in the middle of the bay to starboard. The channel leading N into Torssukatak was blocked by ice in July 2004.

Anchorage

In the S end of the bay in 10 to 20m. 

Atanikerdluk (ILUARÂ)	NP 12 4.132
70º04'N 52º22'W (2004)	Chart D 1500 Sketch charts: Atanikerdluk (Iluarâ)

 

General

The bay to the E of the Nunguaq spit provides shelter from the W or NW.  There is a conspicuous bluff adjacent to the anchorage.  This is a useful anchorage to wait on a fair wind or improvement in visibility when north bound in the Vaigat but the entrance is very open and there is almost always some ice inside.

Approach

The approach is straightforward.

Anchorage

Anchor either N or S side of the bay according to wind direction and be prepared to move if the wind shifts.  Nunguaq spit, which forms the NW side of the bay, covers at high water springs.  A S wind can bring an unpleasant swell into this anchorage causing rollers on the beach and making anchoring difficult except in very deep water.

There is good shelter from a N wind close under Nunguap spit. The spit is steep-to with only a narrow shelf with depths suitable for a yacht to anchor.  Iron Bark anchored here in 11m and swung between wind and tide with depths under the keel varying from 6m to 50m. Although the anchor came up covered in kelp the holding appeared to be good. The S end of the bay is sheltered from a S wind and is used by local fishing boats.

 Approaches to Kangersuatsiaq (Prøven) and Uluvoq Uluâ

ULUVOQ ULUÂ
72º22.8'N 54º50.2'W (2012)	Chart D 1600 Sketch charts: Uluvoq Uluâ

 General

Uluvoq Uluâ is a well-protected anchorage behind a rocky headland about 12 miles E of Kangersuatsiaq (Prøven). There is a pleasant walk up to the lake.

Approach

The approach from the south via Suvdlua is clean. The least mid-channel depth found in four transits of Suvdlua was 46m, opposite Ikerasak. Depth in the approach from Kangersuatsiaq (Prøven) are irregular and there are several islands in mid-channel but no hidden hazards other than those shown on charts 1710 and 1650 were encountered in six transits. The least mid-channel depth found was 32m

Anchorage

The best berth is near the N end of the bay just S of the innermost pool.  The entrance to this inner pool is foul. Anchor in about 10m N of a line of large drying boulder extending from the W shore.  Good holding.

 

Kangersuatsiaq (Prøven)	NP 12 5.59-5.64
72º23'N 55º33'W (2012)	Charts D 1710, D 1650

General

Kangersuatsiaq is an attractive village of 50 or 60 houses situated above a small, fairly well sheltered but crowded harbour.  Very little ice appears to find its way into the harbour.  The pilot warns that SW swells enter the harbour. The nearest all-weather yacht anchorage is Uluvoq Uluâ

Approach

The approach from the north via Nordløbet is straightforward.  From the south, Sydløbet has a least depth of 6m.  Favour the E (Prøven) side of the channel as underwater rocks extend out from the W (Sandøen) side.

Anchorage

The anchorage for large vessels in the channel between Prøven and Sandøen is 25m deep, rather exposed and unattractive for a yacht.  The cove below the village is better protected and has moderate depths but is encumbered by underwater rocks and small craft moorings.  There are rocks 70m SW of the town dock and more rocks off the S shore of the cove.  Leading marks consisting of a pair of painted rocks on Prøvens Ø lead clear of the rocks off the town dock.  A similar set of painted rocks on Sandøen leads into the cove.

There is no room to anchor in the NE part of the cove as it is filled with moorings.  The best berth is for a yacht in the SE part of the cove, among the fishing boats lying to a bow anchor in 8 m, mud and boulders, with a stern line to one of the bollards in the rock face to the E.  The holding is dubious and there is no room to swing to a single anchor.

It is possible to tie up to the town dock for a short stay or to take on fuel.  The dock is 4.5m long and has 3.0m alongside.  When approaching or leaving the dock beware of the underwater rocks that lie about 70m to the SW and on a direct course to and from the approach channel.

Facilities

There is a crowded floating dinghy dock.  The village has a well-stocked general store and post office.  Fuel is available by jerrican, pay in the n the store.   There is no ATM nor does the store accept credit cards.  Water for the town appears to be ferried in by jerrican.

Laksefjorden	NP 12 5.67
72º30'N 54º30'W (2004)	Chart D 1700 Sketch charts: Nordre Sunds S sheet,  Laksefjorden E Part

 

General

Laksefjorden extends from Angmarqua (72º32'N, 55º25'W) 21 miles E into J P Kochs Land.  The outer 14-mile long section between Angmarqua and the “First Narrows” (72º29.2'N 54º37.5'W) has the grand, forbidding aspect typical of a Greenland fjord.  The inner part of Laksefjorden, E of the “First Narrows” is surrounded by low comparatively fertile land intersected by a number of rivers.  In summer there are abundant bilberries, crowberries and several varieties of edible mushrooms.  In several of the river valleys, dwarf willow groves reach a height of 1.5 to 2.0m.  Laksefjorden has very little drift ice in the summer.

There are Arctic char in the rivers in the inner part of Laksefjorden (which means Salmon Fjord in Danish), most notably near Ekaluarsuit (72º29.9'N 54º27.5'W).  In July and August local fishermen camp nearby in order to net char.  A permit, obtainable in Upernavik, is required to fish and there is a closed season enforced by a fisheries patrol.  In August 2004, there was no sign of the reindeer mentioned in the NP12 5.67.

Ilulialik, a silt-laden river, flows from the icecap into the head of Laksefjorden. Extensive silt banks E of Ekaluarsuit make this section is only navigable by a yacht of average draught near high water.  The sediment-laden water in the inner part of Laksefjorden is nearly opaque, making pilotage difficult

Navigation

Angmarqua to “First Narrows” (Sketch chart: Nordre Sunds South Sheet)

The 14-mile long W section of Laksefjorden from Angmarqua to the “First Narrows” has mid-channel depths of greater than 150m except for a 10m shoal off the SW end of Amarortalik.  This shoal, centred at 72º29.91'N, 54º50.55'W (Qornoq 1927 datum) is nearly mid-channel and extends about 400m E-W and less than 200m N-S.  It is steep-to with depths of over 50m in all directions within 200m of its shallowest part.  No other mid-channel less depths shallower than 150m were encountered in six traverses of the W part of Laksefjorden.

“First Narrows” to Ekaluarsuit (Sketch chart: Laksefjorden East Part)

There is a tortuous channel with a least depth of 20m between “First Narrows” and Ekaluarsuit. There is at least one pinnacle rock with 5m over it very near to the obvious mid-channel route and rocks with less than 2m close S of the islets E of the “Second Narrows” (see sketch chart).  A vessel with a draught greater than 5m would be advised to send a boat ahead to buoy the channel.

An island in the “First Narrows” constricts the entrance to the inner part of Laksefjorden. Leave this island to port (to the north). Once in the pool beyond the “First Narrows” alter course to SE to avoid an underwater rock lying approximately 100m off the N shore.  This rock has a minimum depth of 5m and rises abruptly from 70m.  Its GPS-derived position is 72º29.126'N 54º35.011'W (Qornoq 1927 datum).  After passing the rock, steer ESE to pass south of a high, rocky island. The small skerry, almost awash, to the S of this island has deep water on either side.

Follow the fjord around to NNE towards an island and several rocks that constrict the channel at the “Second Narrows”.  Leave the island to starboard (to the south), as there is foul ground south of the island then pass about 200m S of a string of islets and skerries in mid-fjord.  Foul ground extends 150m S from these islets.

Once past the islets, Ekaluarsuit opens up to the S.  There will probably fishermen camped here in summer.  Ekaluarsuit appears free of dangers and a depth of 20m can be carried close to the head of the bay. 

If continuing further E along Laksefjorden pass 50m off the headland on the NE side of Ekaluarsuit to avoid a bank that extends from the delta of a river on the N side of the fjord.  This is the first of the silt banks that fill the head of Laksefjorden.  These banks restrict navigation by yachts of average draught to 2 or 3 hours either side of high water. 

Ekaluarsuit to Orpik (Sketch chart: Laksefjorden East Part)

There are extensive shallow silt banks between Ekaluarsuit and the head of Laksefjorden with a deeper channel and holes scoured by river current and tide.  At high water neaps, 2.4m can be carried to the head of Laksefjorden but the opaque, silty water complicates pilotage. 

The sketch chart shows the best channel but it is probably prudent to anchor and send a dinghy ahead to sound the shallower sections.  The bottom is soft mud except in the approaches to the “Third Narrows” so grounding is unlikely to be serious.  In the “Third Narrows” the ebb stream, reinforced by river outflow, may exceed 3 knots.  Elsewhere streams are weak.

Anchorages in Laxefjord

 

Akuliaruseq (72º32.9'N 55º04.9'W, see sketch chart)

This is a pleasant anchorage on the S shore of Akuliaruseq off Laksefjorden.  Anchor either in 13m with ample swinging room but open to the SW or further into the bay in 6m with all-round shelter and a line ashore due to restricted swing room.  The bottom is mud with scattered boulders and fine filamentous weed, good holding. 

Ekaluarsuit  (72º 29.4'N 54º 28.5'W, Sketch chart: Laksefjorden East Part)

This anchorage is in the inner part of Laksefjorden near the mouth of one of the char rivers.  Fishermen camp around the bay in summer and set nets extending 20 to 30m offshore.  The nets are usually marked by white floats and are obvious.  The best berth for a yacht is in 13m near the head of the bay, good holding.  The approach is clean.

Laksefjorden is very shallow beyond Ekaluarsuit,.  In settled weather it is possible to anchor wherever there is enough depth to float at low water.  The tidal range is about 1.6m on springs, 1.0m on neaps.  A useful anchorage if waiting on the tide is 1/2 M SE of the “Second Narrows” in 9m, mud.  This is more protected than it looks because the surroundings are shallow.  A vessel will normally be tide-rode here.

Orpik (72º 30.0'N 54º 29.7'W, Sketch chart: Laksefjorden East Part)

This is a lovely anchorage to the N of the island that nearly fills the head of the fjord.  The approach is via a shallow channel winding across silt banks.  The sketch chart will help but it may be prudent to anchor and sound ahead with the dinghy.  The channel has a least depth of about 1m at LW springs about 2.6m at HW springs.  The anchorage is in 4 to 7m, mud, excellent holding and well protected.  The surroundings are beautiful with two good watering streams nearby.  There are char in these streams but note that a permit is required for fishing.

Nordre Sunds north and south sheets Nordre Sunds NP 12 5.67 72º40'N 55º00'W (2013) Chart D 1700, D1710 Sketch charts: Nordre Sunds N & S Sheets,

General

Nordre Sunds are a series of cross-connected sounds and fjords between Laksefjorden and Upernaviks Isfjord. They form a network of about 100 miles of protected channels with magnificent scenery, many all-weather anchorages and little ice in summer.  All the sounds are navigable with care by a yacht and most should be navigable by larger vessels.  Chart D1700, the only chart available for most of the area, lacks any soundings except in the SW entrance to Angmarqua.  The outline of the coast on D1700 appears accurate within the limitations of its scale of 1:400,000 except in the vicinity of Upernaviks Isstrøm where the ice front has retreated 3 to 5 M from its charted position.  The sketch charts should help but as always need to be used with care.

Angmarqua	NP 12 5.67
72º35'N 55º20'W (2013)	Chart D 1700 Sketch charts: Nordre Sunds N & S Sheets

Angmarqua is a narrow sound extending NNE from Laksefjorden to Upernaviks Isfjord.  Nutârmiut forms its NW side and the islands of Akuliaruseq, Nako and Sáningassoq, together with Uilortussoq peninsula form its SE side.

The 9-mile long section of Angmarqua between Kangeq (72º28'N 55º40'W) and the SW corner of Sáningassoq (72º43'N 55º04'W) is deep and the mid-channel appears free from dangers, with no depths less than 185m encountered during three transits.  Off the SW end of Sáningassoq there is a short section with an irregular bottom and least depth of 37m recorded in two transits.  Beyond this is 2-1/2 miles of deep water extending to the NW end of Sáningassoq, minimum depth in two transits 100m.  Several small islands constrict Angmarqua the NW end of Sáningassoq.  Near these islands the bottom is irregular with a least depth of 14m on a rocky shoal close S of the most S island of this group.  When proceeding N leave the first large island to port and the remainder of the group to starboard.  Between these islands and the NE end of Nutârmiut, where Angmarqua joins Upernaviks Isfjord, the bottom is irregular but without any obvious hazards to surface navigation.  The least depth encountered in two transits was 27m.

The islands off the NW corner of Sáningassoq and between Sáningassoq and Uilortussoq keep most of the drift ice in Upernaviks Isfjord from penetrating S into Nordre Sunds.  Tidal streams are stronger N of these islands than to the S. 

A bay halfway along the NE side of Nutârmiut (72º50'N 55º01'W) that looks as if it might offer shelter is too deep for a yacht to anchor conveniently.  In August 2004 it had sufficient drift ice to make the use of lines ashore difficult.

“Akuliaruseq Sound”	Chart D 1700
72º33'N 55º00'W (2004)	Sketch charts: Nordre Sunds N & S Sheets

 

“Akuliaruseq Sound” is an informal name for the sound extending N from Laksefjorden for 5 M between Akuliaruseq and Amarortalik.  The S part of the sound is fjord-like with steep shores, mid-channel depths of over 100m and no obvious dangers.  NW of Amarortalik depths decrease and the bottom is irregular.  It is possible to cross this section without encountering anything shallower than 40m, but unless a route is sounded first a more likely minimum is 20m.  In four transits no depths of less than 16m were encountered.  A cross channel 4 miles long connects “Akuliaruseq Sound” with Angmarqua.  The cross channel is deep and appears to be free of mid-channel hazards. 

“Nako Sound”	Chart D 1700
72º38'N 54º58'W (2004, 2013)	Sketch charts: Nordre Sunds N Sheet, North Nako Anchorages

“Nako Sound” is the informal name given to the 5-mile long, northward extension of “Akuliaruseq Sound” and runs along the E side of Nako terminating in a 2-mile long inlet into the island of Nako.  There are several islands and above water rocks on the E side of “Nako Sound”.  Provided these visible hazards are given a reasonable clearance there appear to be no submerged hazards near the mid-channel course.  The least mid-channel depth encountered was 45m in the inlet forming the N part of the sound.  The S part of the sound is deeper.  There is an excellent all-weather yacht anchorage in “Winter Cove” on the W side of the inlet about 700 metres from the head of the sound (see North Nako Anchorages).

“Amarortalik Sound”	Chart D 1700
72º35'N 54º46'W (2013)	Sketch charts: Nordre Sunds S Sheet, North Nako Anchorages

 

“Amarortalik Sound” is the informal name for the sound extending north from Laksefjorden for 6 M between the mainland to the E and Amarortalik to the W.  Depths decrease from about 100m in the S to 10m in the narrows at the N end of the sound.  These narrows are about 100m wide but rocks extending from the W shore reduce the navigable channel to about 50m. Favour the E side of the narrows to avoid these rocks.  The least depth found in three transits was 10m.

Cross channels lead W and NW from the N end of “Amarortalik Sound” to “Nako Sound”.  Depths are in these cross channels are irregular and the navigable channels are tortuous.  However, with care, they present no undue difficulty to a yacht (see sketch charts Nordre Sunds South Sheet and North Nako Anchorages).  Tidal currents in these cross channels were strong enough to prevent them freezing over completely in the winters of 2005 and 2013.

“Sáningassoq Sound”	Chart D 1700
72º43'N 54º43'W (2004, 2013)	Sketch charts: Nordre Sunds N Sheet

“Sáningassoq Sound” is the informal name for the 4-mile long, N-trending sound, which runs between the E shore of Sáningassoq and the mainland.  No depth of less than 55m was encountered in one mid-channel passage through this sound, but the bottom is irregular and shallower water may exist close to the course followed.  E-W cross channels connect the N and S ends of “Sáningassoq Sound” to Angmarqua.  These channels are narrow and encumbered with above- and below-water rocks but, with care, are navigable by a yacht (see sketch chart Nordre Sunds North Sheet).  Tidal currents maintained pools of open water and thin ice in the S cross channel in the winters of 2005 and 2013. 

Uilortussoq to Upernaviks Isstrøm	NP12 4.89
72º45'N 54º30'W (2013)	Chart D 1700
	Sketch charts: Uilortussoq

General

Upernaviks Isstrøm has retreated between 3 and 5miles from the position shown on D1700, greatly increasing the area of the basin between Uilortussoq, Qagserssuaq and the ice front and revealing several islands.  The ice cliffs and the jumble of icebergs in the basin near the ice front are impressive.  

In June 2005, early in the navigation season, it was possible to reach open water in the ice-front basin through the channel SE of Uilortussoq when access to the ice face via the channels north of Uilortussoq was still blocked by a large accumulation of bergs.  Later in most seasons these jams of ice clear, allowing direct access to the basin from Upernaviks Isfjord but there is likely to be much brash at any time.

Approach

The approach through the channel SE of Uilortussoq is narrow but deep, free from dangers and in June 2005 contained only a few scattered bergy bits and brash when all other channels were blocked by tightly packed bergs.

Anchorage

The large amount of ice makes any anchorage between Uilortussoq and Upernaviks Isstrøm insecure.  In very quiet weather it might be possible to anchor SE of the small island in position 72º46.5'N 54º22.7'W (Qornoq 1927 datum) with reasonable protection from large ice

South Nûtarmiut Anchorages

Nordre Sunds Anchorages

In settled weather the only constraint on anchoring anywhere in Nordre Sunds S of Uilortussoq is water depth as the sounds are sheltered from swell and usually ice free in summer.  Only all-weather havens with moderate water depths are described.

Tasiussaq	NP 12 5.68
72º36'N 55º30'W (2004)	Chart D 1700, D1710
	Sketch chart: Nutârmiut South Anchorages

Tasiussaq, which means “like a lake”, is a large land-locked bay on the S end of Nutârmiut.  The bay is poor yacht anchorage despite the glowing testimonial in NP12 4.68.  The main bay is too deep for a yacht to anchor conveniently and large enough to make a leeward berth untenable in strong winds.  The narrow bay extending SE from the main bay where the hills are lower offers a good berth but the entrance is too shallow for a yacht of average draught to enter at less than half tide. 

Nutârmiut SE Bay or South Nako Anchorage, both within 15M, are equally well protected and have much easier access than the Tasiussaq inner pool.

Approach

The entrance to Tasiussaq main bay is narrow but straightforward.  Foul ground extends about 100m NW from a large, low, rounded rock off the S entrance point to approximately mid-channel.  Enter from the NW keeping between 60 and 80m off the N shore of the entrance (keep to the port side of the channel), least depth 10 to 13m. 

 

Anchorage

Most of the inlet is too deep for a yacht to anchor easily.  Three likely berths in the main part of the bay are shown on the sketch chart.  Iron Bark investigated them but only used them briefly.  The best berth for a yacht in the main part of the bay is the cove on the E side of the NW arm in 8 to 12m.  A shore line is necessary due to restricted swinging room.  The other two berths are on steeply shelving exposed shores and are only suitable in settled weather.

The bay off the S side of Tasiussaq provides a sheltered berth for a yacht but entry is difficult. The entrance is a narrow, shallow, rocky gut about 10m wide and 70m long with a least depth of about 1.6m at low water and 2.5m at half tide.  This is not a place to go aground as the bottom and shores of the gut are boulders and the tide sluices through it at about 3 knots.  Sounding from a dinghy is recommended before attempting the passage.  Favour the port (NE) side on entry.  Once through the narrow section the depth increases to 50m.  There are well-sheltered berths for a yacht in either the E or SE arm of the cove in 10 to 13m.  The berth in the SE arm is the better of the two.  Holding is good but a stern line ashore is necessary because of lack of swinging room.  Tidal currents are weak.  The head of the SE arm is shoal.

There is a much better anchorage on the SE coast of Nûtarmiut on the opposite side of the peninsula from Tasiussaq, approached from Angmarqua. This is about 12NM by sea from Tasiussaq but only 1NM overland.

“Nutârmiut SE Bay”	Chart D 1700
72º36'N 55º24'W (2013)	Sketch chart: Nutârmiut South Anchorages

This un-named bay is separated from Tasiussaq by a 1 mile wide isthmus but is 12M by sea.  The entrance easy and the anchorage is well-protected with good holding in convenient depths.

Approach

The entrance to the bay is nearly 1/2 M wide but islets and rocks reduce the navigable channel to approximately 50m.  Enter on the W side of the mouth of the bay leaving all the rocky islets and skerries to starboard passing mid-channel between the W headland and the most E islet.  Underwater rocks extend a few metres from the W entrance point leaving a clear channel 50m wide with a minimum depth of 25m.  Once inside the depth increases rapidly to over 150m and there appear to be no dangers apart from a line of rocks and skerries N of the island in the NE arm of the bay.

Anchorage

The anchorage is behind the high rocky island in the NE arm of the bay.  Approach from the W side of the island.  The E approach is foul.  Although the bottom is irregular on this route it appears to be free from dangers with a least mid-channel depth of 7m.  Anchor behind the island W of the line of rocks and skerries that extends from the island to the N shore of the cove.  There is adequate swinging room in 12 to 14m, mud and filamentous weed with scattered boulders, good holding.  Shore lines could be used.

South Nako Anchorage	Chart D 1700
72º37'N 55º04'W (2004)	Sketch chart: South Nako Anchor

 

General

There is a very good small-craft anchorage in the inlet off the large, un-named bay that indents the SW coast of Nako.  The entrance is narrow but not difficult and once inside there is total protection in pleasant surroundings.  The inlet consists of three pools connected by narrow but easily navigable channels.  The best yacht anchorage is in the innermost pool.

Approach

The approach from Angmarqua across the un-named outer bay is deep and free from dangers. There is a rocky island in the entrance to the first pool. Leave this to port on entry. The channel south of the island has a least width of approximately 80m and least depth of 10m.  Foul ground extends about 150m E from the island in the entrance, with more rocks extending 40m NE from the cliffs on the S shore.  The first pool is well protected and has a good watering stream but depths are too great for a yacht conveniently to anchor.

A channel with a least width of approximately 60m and a least mid-channel depth of 15m, leads S into the second pool.  The E part of the second pool is encumbered with underwater rocks and although there is room to anchor between them is not a good berth. 

A rocky island forms the S side of the second pool. Leave this to port and continue on to the third pool. The channel E of the island is foul.  The channel on the W side has a least width of 30m and least mid-channel depth of 8m.  There are no underwater dangers in the third (southernmost) pool other than for two rocks within 20m of the SW shore of the island well clear of the obvious berth. 

Anchorage

Anchor in 8 to 12m, mud and weed, good holding with protection from all directions.  Lines ashore if required.  A low gravel bank separates the anchorage from the sound between Nako and Akuliaruseq.  There are two huts on this isthmus, one of which is weatherproof and could be used as an emergency refuge.

North Nako Anchorages

North Nako Anchorages	Chart D 1700
72º40'N 54º58'W (2005)	Sketch chart: North Nako Anchorages

Two bays indent the NE coast of Nako.  The eastern bay is here informally named “East Nako Anchorage” and the western bay “Winter Cove”.  Iron Bark, an 11m cutter, wintered in the western bay in 2004-2005 and in 2012-2103.  The bays are separated by a half-mile wide isthmus and are 2 miles apart by sea.  Each bay has a well-protected anchorage but “Winter Cove” is more attractive, has a better watering stream and probably better holding. 

Nako is less mountainous than the adjacent islands and mainland and there are some pleasant walks inland to the scattered lakes and ponds.  In summer, these ponds have loons, Canada geese and ducks on them with ravens, snow buntings, redpoll and longspurs on the hills.  Bilberries and crowberries abound and there is a small dwarf willow thicket in Winter Cove. 

Approach

There are rocks and foul ground in the approaches to both bays but they are obvious and easily avoided (see sketch chart North Nako Anchorages). 

Anchorages

“Winter Cove” is tucked behind a low rocky spit on the W side of the bay about 700m from its N end.  Depths within the cove decrease from 15m in the E to 5m in the W.  A number of large boulders encumber the inner part of the bay but except very close in to the shore all have at least 5m over them.  The boulders are large, widely scattered and unlikely to foul an anchor.  The anchorage is in 7 to 15m, sandy mud, good holding.  Lines ashore if required

“East Nako Anchorage” is in the inner part of the E bay behind a small rocky island.  Leave this island to port when approaching the anchorage as there is a drying rock to W of it.  The anchorage is in 12 to 15m, mud, weed and rock. 

“Slag Heap Bay”	Chart D 1700
72º41.4'N 54º32.9'W (2005)	Sketch chart: Slag Heap Bay

General

“Slag Heap Bay” is the informal name given to a well-protected pool lying behind an island at the head of the un-named fjord running E from Sáningassoq.  The island is a flat-topped deposit of glacial till and looks like a mine slag heap.  The surrounding country is comparatively low with rolling hills and open views to the icecap seven miles away. 

Approach

There is a mid-channel rock at the N end of the fjord, which is shown on chart D1700.  This rock dries about 1.5m and is visible at most states of the tide.  The channel N of the rock is 600m wide and has a least mid-channel depth of 75m (three transits).  The channel S of the rock is narrower and has an irregular bottom with a least depth of 21m (one transit only made).  Beyond the rock the fjord is deep and apparently free from dangers until about 1/2 mile W of the island where a bar with depths of 7 to 13m crosses the fjord.

The channel leading to the anchorage is on the N side of “Slag Heap Island”.  Favour the island side of mid channel, least depth 4m at LWS.  The passage to the S of the island has a least depth of about 1.5m.

Anchorage

Anchor in 8 to 9m in mud, good holding, with ample room and excellent protection from all winds.

“Capelin Cove”	Chart D 1700
72º37.3'N 54º35.9'W (2005)	Sketch chart: Capelin Cove

General

“Capelin Cove” is the informal name given to a cove at the head of a short fjord, which extends into the mainland from the N end of Amarortalik.  The surroundings are attractive and there is an interesting walk up the large stream to a lake about half a mile inland.  In June 2005 there were many small, capelin-like fish jumping in the cove.

Approach

Straightforward with no apparent off-lying dangers

Anchorage

Anchor off the small stream on the SE side of the bay in 10 to 13m, good holding, partially open to the SW.  Alternatively, anchor further in with stern lines to shore, protected from all winds.

Inshore route from Upernavik to Kraulshaven

Chart D 1700, D1710

There is a useful inshore route from the Upernavik area north towards Kraulshaven mostly in protected water.

Iron Bark’s route from Upernavik was north between Karrat and Upernaviarssuk (a low islet), then between Nunuarssuaq and Avalia favouring the Avalia side, and E of Kingigtorssuaq and across Upernaviks Isfjord leaving Qaneq to starboard. There was much ice in Upernaviks Isfjord but not enough to stop a yacht. There are two coves at the head of the bay indenting the SW side of Qaneq that could be used by a yacht with an anchor in 9m and lines ashore. Both coves are open to the NW and possible drift ice.

From Qaneq, Iron Bark continued NW, leaving the bleak little settlement on Tusâq to port and Itivdlilik to starboard then between Sâtup akia and Qaersorssuatsiaq. There are several beacons on islands on the port side of the channel. The bay on the E side of Qaerorssuatsiaq has a well-protected inner bay entered through a 20m wide channel. The channel is encumbered with large boulders and although a yacht of average draft can get in near high tide, this requires manoeuvring around individual rocks for about 50m. Iron Bark, with a draft of 1.5m, got in without touching but coming out into the sun hit several. Inside are depths of 12 to 20m. There is an anchorage on the NW side of the bay, of easy access but open to the S and SE.

Iron Bark continued north, passing between Kangârssuk and Igdlunguit and between Tasiussaq and Pâgússat. NP12  5.98 describes a boat harbour and an anchorage giving shelter from SW gales near Tasiussaq settlement but Iron Bark did not investigate them. After passing between Augpilagtoq and Uigordle, Iron Bark passed E of Qavdlunat and across Gieseckes Isfjord rather than threading her way through the foul ground between Nutârmiut and Qavdlunat. There was a large accumulation of ice in the inner part of Gieseckes Isfjord but the passage from the NE corner of Qavdlunat to between Mernoq and Tugtorqortôq and then between Qutdilorssuit and Agpârssuit was straightforward. I turned back off Qutdliksorssuit, because of lack of sleep (I was single-handed) and worsening weather, but there appeared to be no problems continuing north to Kraulshaven.

NW approaches to Upernaviks Isfjord

Chart D 1700

The approach to Upernaviks Isfjord has no soundings on chart 1700 but appears to be clean as is the fjord itself (two transits from or to a position midway between Kingigtortagdlit and Kitsigsut, 73°04’N, 056°53’W, as well as several crossings of inner Upernaviks Isfjord). 

Iron Bark in Antarctica, winter

Iron Bark and I sailed from New Zealand in November 1998 and arrived in Antarctica in January 1999 with the intention of spending the winter somewhere on the Antarctic Peninsula. I spent the summer exploring the west coast of peninsula and decided on Alice Creek in Port Lockroy for my winter site. Alice Creek is a well-protected nook within an already safe harbour on Wiencke Island in latitude 64°50’S 063°32’W. I moored Iron Bark there in early March 1999.

Moored for the winter in Alice Creek

Iron Bark was moored with ropes and chain slings from her bows to a small skerry and from her stern to the rocks of Jougla Point to the west. Jougla Point is a rocky promontory in an otherwise ice-covered area has a large gentoo penguin rookery. In the early part of the twentieth century there was a semi-pelagic whaling operation based in Port Lockroy, which left heaps of whalebones on Jougla Point. The penguin now nest among them.

Piles of whale bones left by whalers early in the twentieth century

Port Lockroy. Alice Creek with Iron Bark in it is on the left edge of the photo

There is an abandoned British base, now a museum, on Goudier Island in Port Lockroy. This base, established in 1944 and abandoned in 1962, was the first permanent British presence in Antarctica. The museum, which is manned each summer from mid November to mid March, was shuttered up for the winter. Most of Port Lockroy is surrounded by ice cliffs that calved constantly through March, April and the first half of May, filling Port Lockroy with brash ice. The pieces of ice were not big enough to be a danger to Iron Bark but the brash was often thick enough to make using a dinghy difficult.

Gentoos moulting

By mid March 1999 there were plenty of signs of the approach of winter. The penguins were moulting and the last vessels had headed north to South America leaving me alone until navigation resumed in eight months. I had come to Antarctica to see it and its wild life through the full cycle of the year, not to see how much hardship I could endure. However it is a harsh environment and the amount of supplies and equipment I could carry to Antarctica was limited so there was going to be some elements of endurance required. Iron Bark is only 35 ft long and I needed to keep her light to rise to the great breaking seas of the Southern Ocean on her approach voyage of 5000 miles from New Zealand so could not carry enough fuel for heating in addition to everything else I needed to survive for more than a year in Antarctica. Winter promised to be a cold, dark time in an unheated boat.

As winter neared I prepared Iron Bark by double glazing the portholes and the hatches using perspex and plastic sheeting and bulkheaded the living area in the saloon and galley off from the fore cabin and aft lazarette using sheets of foam brought for the purpose. Most of the hull was insulated with 32mm of polyurethane foam in sheets pressed between the hull frames, but some lockers were not insulated and soon froze. I emptied the water tanks before they froze as I did not want a 100kg iceblock crashing about in them when they thawed out the following summer.

Cooking and my body heat kept the cabin significantly warmer than the outside air temperature but it could never be called warm inside. When my thermometer stopped working in early April the cabin temperature was around 0°C and it got a lot colder in the following months. Since early in the planning stages of the venture I knew I could not carry enough kerosene to heat the boat but there were times when the temptation to light the heater for a few hours was strong but I needed to keep all my limited fuel for the cooker. The cooker, a Primus pressure kerosene stove, was crucial to my survival. I had plenty of spare parts for it and tended it with loving care because without it I could not melt drinking water and cook or even thaw my food. Lighting the cooker required pre-heating the kerosene with alcohol and the alcohol often needed preheating over the candle before it would light.  

Seasmoke over open water in Neumeyer Channel

The days got rapidly shorter and the weather colder through March and April and I settled down to my winter routine. In the morning I dressed very quickly, lit a candle and then the stove and melted ice for a breakfast of hot muesli with lots of powdered milk and coffee. After cleaning up, I went ashore for a walk and to do my daily species check list.  Then back for lunch, usually pancakes or damper made with milk and powdered egg which had lots of calories and required little fuel to cook. In the afternoon I did the routine chores and maintenance and if the weather permitted I went ashore again in the afternoon. The evening meal was a one-pot stew of rice, corned beef, beans and dried onion. Unfortunately the repeated freeze-thaw cycles in March had turned my potatoes and onions to inedible mush. Once a week I lit the heater for about eight hours, melted six or seven litres of water and washed myself and my clothes and dried them around the heater.

By early May the skuas, terns, giant petrels and most of the sheathbills had gone north for the winter and there were groups of up to 30 fur seals on the rocks. The young gentoos, which had long since fledged and were independent and their parents had finished moulting. The gentoos stayed in the area all winter but when the sea ice was extensive they tried to avoid walking far across it. Gentoos do not like thin or broken sea ice and groups were trapped ashore for up to a week until hunger forced them to brave the broken ice. I saw the first snow petrels, the most ethereal of birds, in early May. Many of the sheathbills and Dominican gulls left for South America but a few stayed all winter. The Weddell seal became very vocal underwater in May, probably while mating. They make a series of three descending whistles followed by three or four barks, which boomed loudly through the boat’s hull.

Every evening I made an entry in the log so that I did not lose track of the date then read for a couple of hours by candlelight. Condensation had soaked all my books while the hatches were battened down in the Southern Ocean and as the cabin got colder the pages froze together. Reading meant taking off my right hand glove and pressing the bare hand on the right page to thaw it while reading the left page very slowly, then lifting my hand off the right page and speed reading it so I could turn the page before it froze down again. Not many books in the 50 cents section of the second hand bookshops are good enough to read this way.

Thin ice like was blown out by the next gale

 

Though April, May and much of June the surface of the bay froze whenever it was calm but the next gale blew the ice out. Gales were frequent, averaging two or three per week, and I looked forward to being firmly frozen in when I could stop worrying about drifting ice. The moving ice was noisy and took off a lot of paint as it blew in and out. The ice was sometimes thick enough to make getting ashore in the dinghy difficult but it was usually possible break a path by pulling the dinghy along one of the mooring lines.

The sun lighting up the summit of Mt Luigi at noon in June

The sun disappeared behind the mountains to the north in early May but as we were 100 miles north of the Antarctic circle the sun was rose above the nominal horizon for a few minutes at noon and even in midwinter lit up the mountain tops in clear weather. In mid-winter there was about four hours of twilight around noon when it was possible to work outside without using a head torch. The colder weather made the now empty penguin rookery much tidier as the morass of mud and penguin shit was frozen solid and discretely mantled with snow.

Frost in the lazarette. This photo was taken in Greenland but it looked much the same in Antarctica

Ice crept into the boat, the bilges froze as did the fore cabin and lazarette.  The cabin lockers froze solid which meant thinking ahead if I was going to need anything from them. The ceiling and deckhead inside the boat were covered with a rime of frost and the cabin sole was slippery with ice. The cabin resembled a cold, dank ice cave and I found it difficult to get to sleep if my feet and hand were particularly cold.

Finally on 19 June the ice in the bay froze solid and looked as if it would stay that way. The ice between Iron Bark and the shore was about 90mm thick, marginal for walking on but too thick to break a dinghy path so I used bunk boards as a sledge to spread my weight as I pulled to shore down one of the mooring lines. Two days later I walked ashore on the thickening ice and from the ridge saw a ship coming down Neumeyer Strait. It launched a boat off Port Lockroy and a party came ashore. The vessel was the Lawrence M Gould, the supply ship for the American Palmer base on Anvers Island. They were doing a resupply and crew change for Palmer Station and had a couple of days to wait while the handover took place so, as the ice in Neumeyer Strait was unusually light, they took the opportunity to visit Port Lockroy. They were not expecting so see anyone there and I was not expecting visitors. We had a slightly garbled conversation on the rocky beach. Ice threatened to cut them off from the ship so they only stayed about 20 minutes, promising to return on 13 July, ice permitting. They in fact visited me twice more, once for and hour or so on 19 July and again in 13 September, when they launched a boat but did not get ashore due to thick ice. They made at least two other attempts to get to Port Lockroy but were stopped by heavy ice. It was kind of them to take an interest in my welfare but their visits were far enough apart that they were unlikely to be able to help me if I had a problem.

Now that Iron Bark was safely frozen in my life was much more pleasant. The lines ashore no longer held her in place and all I had to do was keep them from being frozen in. The lines were necessary to hold Barky if the ice broke up in a storm and blew out of the bay. If the lines were frozen in they would drag her out with the ice so every day I walked down the lines lifting them about the snow and used an ice axe to carefully chip them free from the ice. We did not have an anchor down as the chain would be frozen in and would drag Iron Bark if the ice broke up.

A less pleasant job that needed doing every four days was breaking the ice away from the bow and stern. Contrary to popular belief a vessel in a protected bay is dragged down by the ice, not pushed up by pressure. Most new ice is formed on top of the older ice by freezing of seawater-soaked snow. As snow falls it weighs down the ice until seawater soaks the snow, which freezes to form new ice. The cycle repeats and the oldest ice is on the bottom. Any projections on the vessel’s hull are held fast by the first-formed ice, which drags her down. Iron Bark’s rudder and bobstay (the chain from the bow at the waterline up to the end of the bowsprit) could catch in the ice so I kept them clear. I used a pick and crowbar to break up the ice around the bow and stern then scoped the chunks of ice out of the newly opened pool. I usually got splashed in the process which left my clothes frozen as solid as suite of armour. Towards the end of winter I got a bit lax and let the bobstay fitting freeze in and was unable to free it and the bow was pulled down about 0.3m, which was inconvenient but not serious.

Moving around in the mid-winter twilight was difficult because there were no shadows and the snow-covered landscape had little contrast. I fell down invisible gullies several times. It was much easier to travel by moonlight when the sky was clear as obstacles threw a shadow. I looked forward to the return of the sun in a way that can probably only be understood by someone who has spent a winter in polar darkness. As July progress the sunlight lit up more and more of the sides of the nearby mountains. On 21 July, a glorious, clear, calm day the sun showed briefly over the glacier to the north.

The return of the sun, 21 July

By mid August the sun was up for several hours a day, the weather was not getting any colder and I reckoned I was going to survive, barring accidents. I had hoped to do a bit of over-ice or over-land travel in the spring as the days grew longer, but Antarctica is a windy place and the sea-ice in the Neumeyer Strait outside my bay was generally broken up and impassable.  Travel on land means travel on glaciers and the smooth snowfield on Home Glacier behind Port Lockroy was particularly tempting. However after twice breaking through snow-bridged crevasses I decided there were enough ways of killing myself without looking for more and made no further expeditions in that direction.

Near miss in a crevasse

In late August and early September the sea ice in the outer part of Port Lockroy was thick enough for me to cross it and cut steps up a low section of the ice cliff and walk over a short section of glacier to Dorian Cove. It was marvellous to expand my horizons beyond Port Lockroy and I walked over to Dorian Cove most days between 31 August and 10 September when ice conditions again became dangerous. I found Dorian Cove partly covered with thin ice, which looked as if it would break up in the next storm. Amyr Klink, who is one of the first two people to have spent a winter alone in Antarctica, wintered in Dorian Cove in 1990-1991. In the same year Hugh Delignieres wintered alone on Pleneau Island. I do not know why Amyr Klink chose Dorian Cove instead of Alice Creek, which was has much better protection.

The first Weddell pup with attendant sheathbill

The birth of the first Weddell seal pup on 9 September marked the arrival of spring. The pup plopped out on the ice near Iron Bark and its mother watched without helping as it wriggled across the snow looking for her teat. The pup did a complete circuit of her before finding it. A sheathbill attended the birth and cleaned up the placenta. Six Weddell seal pups were born on the ice around Iron Bark, most of them in the last week of September. I could identify individual Weddell seals by their blotchy coats so could track the progress of each mother and pup until they were weaned at the age of five or six weeks. The pups were given their first swimming lesson shortly before they were weaned and were reluctant to leave the security of the ice and slide into the water through a breathing hole. One mother gave up on enticement and pushed her pup unceremoniously into the water. I think five pups survived to weaning. A leopard seal probably got the sixth one while it was learning to swim.

Gentoos trapped ashore by sea ice and unable to go fishing

Early in September there were more gentoos around but thick pack ice across much of Neumeyer Channel made it difficult for the gentoos to get ashore at Lecuyer Point so they congregated around Dorian Cove. On 13 September the gentoos returned to Jougla Point, crossing 1.1 km of sea ice marching in four columns, each having between 500 and 1000 birds. A leopard seal rushed in behind the last column but could not catch up with it and threw itself on the ice and thrashed about in a comical display of frustration and anger. Gentoos distrust grey or broken ice and there were many lengthy delays while they decided which way to go around them. The next day they travelled the same distance to get back to sea to feed but during the day the ice broke up and drifted out and by evening they could swim all the way to the shore. The penguins staked out their claims to nest sites although the nests, which are mounds of pebbles, were invisible under the snow cover. Over the next few weeks they melted their way down to the nests.

Melting down to last year's nest

Kelp gulls were hanging around their nesting cliff, the first terns appeared and snow petrels were leaving for places further south. Blue-eyed shags returned and tried to rebuild last year’s nests but as the nests were snow covered and frozen their efforts were largely wasted. Warmer weather and spring tides broke up the ice in Peltier and Neumeyer Channels and there was open water all around which the penguins appreciated.

On 22 September we had the first drips of melt water from Iron Bark’s rub strake. They immediately froze into icicles, but it was undoubtedly getting warmer. The brighter days showed how grubby Bark was inside. The deckhead was covered with what looked like freezer frost mixed with soot from candles and the counter surfaces and floor were sheathed with a mixture of ice and spilt food. The higher temperatures let me scrub and clean without the washcloth immediately freezing to every surface but we still had cold spells when everything froze solid again. The lockers were still frozen solid and extracting a can from the food locker was still slow.

On 4 October it was briefly warm enough to for the familiar smell of penguin shit to waft across from the rookery but the sea ice in Port Lockroy was still solid and the penguins on Goudier Island had quite a long walk to get to the sea. Snow often drifted over Iron Bark but it was too powdery to give her a permanent snow cover. My later experience Greenland showed that I should have built an igloo over Iron Bark to insulate her from the cold air. There was little snow of suitable consistency nearby so I would have had to cut ice to make an igloo and I did not have a proper ice saw. It may not have been possible but I should have tried.

Looking across Neumeyer Strait to Mt William. There is no open water for the gentoos to go fishing

October was a windy month with a lot of snow blowing around. The stormy weather kept the ice outside Port Lockroy in turmoil and the gentoos would not travel on broken ice and were often trapped ashore for several days at a time unable to get to sea to feed. At other times they waddled two or three kilometres across firmer ice to get to open water. It was still cold enough to freeze my facemask to my beard when working outside.

Genoos with eggs

Gentoo chicks growing, feeding and fledging

By the early November the shags were nest building in earnest and the gentoo nests on the higher ground were snow free and being refurbished. The shags laid the first eggs about 4 November and on 7 November the first skuas appeared. The first gentoo egg of the season was laid on 9 November, but there were no more for several weeks. The peak of the gentoo-laying season was not until early December. Gentoos lay two eggs, the second one being significantly smaller than the first. In an average to bad year only the first-hatched chick from the larger egg survives, in a good year both do. The previous summer was a poor one for gentoos in Port Lockroy so no second chicks survived and only about half the first chick made it to fledging age. This year was a good one and nearly every first chick survived and about half the second chicks.

Explorer in an ice dock with passengers walking across the ice to Goudier Island

On 14 November 1999 the first ship of the season arrived. It was the James Clark Ross which stopped to drop off Dave Burkett and Norm Cobley to open up the museum on Goudier Island. Dave I knew from last summer. He had worked in for the British Antarctic Survery and was one of the last people in Antarctica to drive dogs as a serious method of travel. Norm was a bird ecologist and a mine of interesting information. The next day the first cruise ship arrived, drove into the ice edge to make a dock, lowered its gangplank and the passengers walked ashore to Goudier Island and a few walked across to Iron Bark. The ship was the Molcharnov, a small Russian vessel charted by a company run by Greg Mortimer, one of Australia’s best-known mountaineers. I had met Greg the previous season and he invited me aboard for dinner and a shower and to sing for my supper by giving the passengers a short talk. This set the pattern for the next seven weeks. Iron Bark was still firmly frozen in and a steady procession of cruise called in to Port Lockroy. Dave and Norm were always invited to the ships for a meal and to give a talk and I was generally included. The transition from complete solitude to a very social existence was instant. I had no trouble adapting mentally but my immune system objected to being expose to all these germs after an eight-month holiday and I caught a bad dose of flu. 

The snow ashore was melting rapidly and I retrieved the sails from where I had stashed them ashore and hoisted them to check they were undamaged. There was 100mm or more of frost on the inside of much of the hull and it started to melt. As the bilge pump was still frozen I bailed it out with a tin can. On 2 December the first yacht of the season, Jerome Poncet’s motor sailor Golden Fleece docked against the ice in Port Lockroy. By this time there was a cruise ship most days and sometimes two. Norm Cobley was due to leave on 9 December but ice prevented Orlova, which was carrying his relief, reaching Port Lockroy and the changeover was postponed until the Orlova’s next voyage. On 16 December Norm left and was replace by Rod Downey, a British Antarctic Survey environmental officer and another very interesting man. It was a short walk across the sea ice from Iron Bark to Goudier Island and the museum and I had a lot to do with Dave, Norm and later Rod. The Antarctic Heritage Trust funds much of its activity by running a post office from Port Lockroy and I spent many evenings over at the museum yarning and helping frank the pile of mail from the latest cruise ship.

Iron Bark  just before breaking out with the topsail schooner Oosterschelder anchored behind

The ice in Port Lockroy was melting quickly and after Christmas I had to use a dinghy to get the final few metres across to Goudier Island. Iron Bark was now floating with a few centimetres of water all around her. The bilge pump worked, the sink drained and the water tanks were unfrozen. On 4 January 2000 a floe astern drifted out and we could wriggle out of Alice Creek and anchor in Port Lockroy proper, free from the ice for the first time in six months.

The gentoos were beginning to hatch an on 6 January Rod Downey, three volunteers from the charter yacht Tooluka and I took Iron Bark to Dorian Cove to count penguins. My mooring lines in Alice Creek were still frozen into thick ice ashore and I did not want to leave until I had retrieved them and made certain there was no sign I had ever been there. In addition my Aries self steering gear was ashore buried somewhere under a large snow drift and I had not yet found it despite extensive trenching so I stayed in Port Lockroy. I made a couple of short day trips including one around Dormier Island with Dave and Rod during which we got ashore on Shag Island. This was probably the first landing there since the British Antarctic Survey left Port Lockroy in 1962. There were only two or three nests on the island and one chick.

A leopard seal playing with Iron Bark's mooring lines while waiting for an unsuspecting penguin

On 2 February I dug out the last of my shore lines and the self-steering gear. There was a really nasty gale on 3 February during which the British yacht The Alderman arrived in Port Lockroy. I spent a day or two socializing with them then set off for the Argentine Islands on 6 February and was entertained by a large pod of killer whales near Lemaire Channel. There were two yachts in Stella Creek, which had only been free of ice for four days. I met the new Ukrainian crew at Vernadsky and two days later made an attempt to get further south down Grandidier Channel. There was a lot of ice, visibility was poor and I soon gave up and turned north to Hovgaard Island and moored in my old spot in the creek between Florence and Hovgaard Islands. The area was as lovely as I remembered it but I had promised to help Rod Downey do his second penguin counts for the season so motored back to Port Lockroy on 10 February. Two days later Rod and I with the help on three passengers from the topsail schooner Oosterschelder counted the penguins on Jougla Point and on 15 and 16 February helped by the crew of The Alderman counted the Dorian Cove colony.

Orca near Lemaire Strait

New ice was beginning to form and although it did not persist, I thought it was a time to go. On 18 February I left Port Lockroy but met heavy ice in Neumeyer Channel. An Argentine ice breaker coming the other way and reported the ice was so thick that they were reduced to three knots using all six engines so I turned around and moored in Dorian Cove for the night. It was now dark for several hours around midnight. The next day the ice was much more open and I only had to barge my way through a short section of bergy bits on the way to Andersen Harbour in the Melchior Islands. On 20 February, after spending several hours extracting my mooring lines from under bergy bits that had grounded at high tide, I got underway and headed north for the Falkland Islands.

For five glorious days we reached before a light to moderate breeze across Drake Passage and up to the latitude of Cape Horn. A short-lived southeast gale was unpleasant but never dangerous, then a strong south wind gave us a grand shove around Staten Island and north to Port Stanley in the Falklands where I tied up to the public jetty at 1830 on 29 February 2000.

I needed fuel and provision but need to arrange a telegraphic transfer to the local bank to buy them. That took three weeks during which time I did some sightseeing, fitted a new self-steering gear, which I had previously arranged to be shipped out to the Falkland Islands, gave away 20 now empty jerry cans and generally tidied up Iron Bark. There were several other yachts in Stanley, all interesting. I had met two of them in Antarctica, The Alderman and Express Crusader. Another, Mirabelle, was a lovely varnished hull sloop of about 35 ft with a British crew whose average age was well over 70. There was a steel Canadian sloop from Newfoundland that later spent the winter in the Falkland Islands and the next winter in South Georgia and another Canadian vessel, this one aluminium, called Toanui. Despite its kiwi name, the owner was originally from Tasmania. The only production fibreglass yacht was a Tayana that had sailed down the Pacific Ocean from Japan and around Cape Horn and looked pretty ragged.

I left the Falkland Islands on 24 March and sailed up the Atlantic to Trinidad, when I hoped there was a job waiting for me. The passage took 55 days including a two-day stop in Fernando da Naronha, an island off the bulge of Brazil.