Greenland 2013 - Sailing Expedition - Over Green Islands

Leg: N 05

Cruise rout: Ilulissat - Qaanaaq (New Thule)



Dates:
from 2013.07.08 to 2013.07.24
Duration:
16 days
Skipper:
Joanna Krawiec
Vacancies:
2

Around Greenland - cruising North


Ilulissat. Here we land on Saturday 6th July. Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) located in Disko Bay, exactly in the Isfjord area enrolled into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We have a yacht available since Monday, therefore we are planning to spend Saturday and Sunday on a sightseeing tour in the neighborhood and to visit the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier - one of the fastest (19 m per day) and most frequently calving glaciers  in the world. on Monday after provisioning the yacht we are planning to set sail and enjoy the glacier from the sea, and perhaps landing somewhere in Isfjord to look at the Disco Bay from some height. If ice conditions allow we will try to approach Eqip Atta in Sermia Sund, where you can get closer to the glacier mouth. In Isfjord you can find not only large icebergs but also Humpback whales.

Disko Bay. Depending on the weather, especially wind and ice conditions, choose places in Disko Bay, where we would like to visit. And there is plenty to choose from: Saqqaq - a village situated in the north west of Ilulissat at the entrance to Sullorsuaq Strait, which is famous for the remains of settlements over 4,000 years ago ancestors of the Inuit people used to live, Qeqertarsuaq (Disko Island), Qeqertaq and many others.

Uummannaq. We will sail around Nuussuaq peninsula where a few interesting places are located, eg. Qilakitsoq, where Inuit mummies from the fifteenth century were found. For people living in Uummannaq hunting seals and fishing is still the main source of income. Uummannaq area is a maze of fjords and straits dotted with icebergs. We can also visit places like Kangersuatsiaq, where Wegener finished the passage of Greenland or Perdlerfiup Sermia glacier.

Upernavik. The entrance to Upernavik leads through Inukavsait fjord with 2000m slopes and glaciers. On the way we will pop in the bays and islands in search for birds and musk oxens. Upernavik population of 1500 people still live from hunting seals.

Thule. On the way from Upernavik to Thule we will possibly visit Lille Renland where we can meet reindeer or polar bears hunting seals. There are also the largest glaciers (outside of Antarctica) running downhill to the sea. We will sail around Cape York - the place where Inuit and white people met for the first time in 1818. Cape Seddon (remnants of the former settlement), Melville Bugt, Meteor Bugt, Savissivik, Morusaq are also places worth visiting. Being in Thule area it is also worthwhile to organize a trip to the mainland to see the Arctic tundra and lakes, where snow geese, ducks and musk oxen gather.


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