We Made It to Greenland

Four days and eight hours after casting off the dock in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, after averaging 6.5 knots an hour, we dropped anchor in the snug cove of an island near the fourth largest city in Greenland, Qaqortoq, with a population of 3000. On the charts, it appears there is a place called Killitoq near here, but Google Maps shows the area in blocky shapes for land and sea with nothing labeled. 

The scenery is stunning. There was fog early this morning, but we were lucky that it cleared mid-morning, and the bright sunshine and blue skies allowed us to see the dozens of icebergs we passed on our way to this anchorage and jagged ridge tops on the mountains looming behind the rolling but craggy hills near the water. The entire area is composed of islands, long peninsulas and deep fjords, and we are looking forward to exploring on land, but right now we are on the boat. I have been cleaning (The boat is filthy by my standards.), Peter has been making notes and filing our arrival report and is now sleeping, and Enis is working remotely--very remotely.

Enis working remotely in the pilot house

The icebergs here are much larger than the ones we saw off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and in the Davis Strait. Like our earlier sightings, they have myriad shapes and each one appears totally different as it is passed. One seemed rounded and fairly regular in shape, but when we passed it, its enormously long jagged tail like a dragon's gleamed with cleanly cut grooves, revealing that it is much larger than what we first perceived.

The first iceberg I spotted, obscured by fog

Peter steering Mantra past icebergs

Iceberg with another one near shore

Icebergs near shore

Enis named this the Whale Iceberg

Icebergs at the mouth of the cove where we are anchored

The dragon's tail, part of the iceberg on the right above

Hills viewed from our boat

Meanwhile, we must figure out what to do about the lower rudder bearing, which is not coping with the cold water temperature (currently 3.1 degrees Celsius). The initial solution of hand warmers in insulated bags near the bearing worked only so well. Two days ago, Peter installed a space heater, but it is still not enough. Another solution must be found. The autopilot has trouble turning the wheel, and when we hand-steer, the stiffness of the rudder movement is worrying. We can survive a lot of things going wrong, but if the rudder fails, we will not be able to control our direction or navigate to a specific place. 

Tomorrow, after a full night's sleep for everyone, we will sail over to Qaqortoq to check in with customs and immigration and pick up Shalako around 4 p.m., when he arrives by ferry from Nuuk.