One name can never be enough to describe a place like Greenland, but it if were, the word ‘Greenland’ would not be my first choice! It is not very green! After visiting Jan Mayen with it’s extreme volcanic landscape and miles of black beaches, East Greenland, only 290 miles west, could hardly be more different. 100 miles off the coast of Greenland the sea temperature dropped to 3°C signalling our arrival into the East Greenland current. Fog quickly thickened and radar became our only means of keeping watch. Thankfully the wind and seas were gentle but the atmosphere was electric.
50 cold miles passed before we were to find our first Radar contact; we were in iceberg territory. As Polar Bear closed in on the coast we saw an intense white light coming from the fog. The fog lifted and infront of us in clear sunshine were mountains and glaciers as far as the eye could see. An iceberg around the size of an aircraft hanger tempted us off course for a quick look, but turned out to be 3 miles away. The size and scale of this place was simply mind-blowing.
Hours later we made our final approach towards the entrance of Scoresby Sund (largest fjord system in the world). Having had no wind to talk of for the last 10 days, a force 7 came from no-where to make life a little more exciting.
Once into the Sund, the extent of open water here became apparent, like a hidden sea surrounded by soaring peaks and littered with bergs. Finally we rounded Cap Tobin (north shore) and the welcome sight of ITQ lay ahead. No harbours here though, we would be anchoring for the next month. We dropped the hook in a violent catabatic wind which was trying to push us back to sea. 30 minutes later the wind had dropped to nothing and the sun returned. The anchor was finally holding and we were in East Greenland. A cold beer marked a brilliant end to an emotional day.
July 16th 2010:
The crew of Polar Bear were treated to an encounter with some very sociable whales on passage between Jan Mayen and Iceland. It all began with two humpbacks, mother and calf, playing beside us just 20 metres away. They seemed to be enjoying our company until they quickly left the scene - as if spooked by something. We carried on and very shortly afterwards more black fins were spotted on the horizon coming towards us. These fins were unmistakably Orca (killer whales) and the pod was about 12 strong, including mothers claves and a big male to protect them.
The Polar Front are delighted to report the successful acqusition of
2010 is going to be our most exciting and ambitious summer in the High Arctic. Building upon all of the incredible destinations we have visited in Northern Norway, in June 2010 we will set sail from the Lofoten Islands, bound for Jan Mayen, Iceland, East Greenland and Svalbard...