Greenland 2013 - Sailing Expedition - Over Green Islands

The cruise starts in a place where Erik the Red founded his first settlement after the expulsion of Iceland in AD 982, so a little bit of history to start with.
Erik the Red after a 3-year stay on the banishment returns back to Iceland and tells the story of finding “Green Land”. 25 boat trip is organized by the Vikings. After heavy storms only 11 dakkars reach Greenland. The Vikings establish a settlement near the sea, Brattahlid. The colony around settlement is developing, growing to 5000 inhabitants spread over a large area along the fjord Eriksfjord and neighboring fjords. Viking Group fleeing the overcrowded Iceland in a few years built and developed this large resort on the west coast of Greenland. However, a group of newcomers who arrived on the island in 1002 brought with it an epidemic that ravaged the colony, causing the deaths of many of its leading citizens, including Erik the Red. The colony got rebuilt and survived until the 15th century (shortly before Christopher Columbus' first trip to America in 1492). Pirate plunder, conflicts with Innu people - local residents of Greenland - led to the collapse of the colony.
From Narsarsuaq we will set sail to follow the trail of the greatest explorer and sailor of Viking era. The cruise will start in a place where you can spend a few extra days. Numerous tourist attractions (fishing for trout and salmon, walking in the valley of flowers, kayaking trips and tours around the surrounding peaks) have attracted many Arctic explorers here. On the way to Qaqortoq in the same fjord Eriksfjord we will visit the above mentioned Brattahlid, then Igaliku - a charming place with the ruins of the Viking settlements. This village still lives mostly from agriculture. Besides, it's really cute green and full of flowering meadows corner of Greenland.
After a few hours we will sail to Narsaq. There is a small museum in this little town where you can see a reconstructed Viking costumes and kayaks.
The last large port before we reach Nuuk is Qaqortoq. This settlement was also founded by Erik the Red. It survived for more than 10 centuries and today is a major, as for Greenland, fishing and commercial port. Also here we can find the ruins of the ancient Viking settlements. Currently, the city has more than 3,000 residents and is the largest settlement in the southern part of Greenland. In the city we can find preserved colonial buildings from 1775. We can stop at the quay to replenish water, fuel and food supplies. I recommend coffee shop in a hotel at the bay - lovely place and good coffee.
Sailing on we can visit Paamiut at the mouth of the fjord Kuannersooqwith its 1700 inhabitants it is famous for fishing.
Further north we reach Nuuk (in about 2 day sailing), which is considered the capital of Greenland - in one of the blocks of flats about 1% of the population of Greenland lives! Be sure to visit the National Museum of Inuit settlements and traces of the Vikings. There you can see the famous Eskimo preserved mummies...  the rest you will see yourselves. The capital has its nightlife, quite specific, but we recommend to visit one of the bars, “Cheers” in Greenlandic  - "qassuta”!
After leaving Nuuk we will visit: Maniitsoq (Sukkertoppen), a charming place, but difficult to navigate. The tiny port is located in a very narrow cove at the entrance is shallowing, but you can stand there even a large yacht.
Then we will go to Kangamiut. We recommend this little village as a place to start a trip to Evighedsfjord fjord. The entrance to the small harbor is difficult and requires a lot of attention and concentration, it is possible to enter it only in good weather conditions.
The next goal (1 day shipping) is Sissimiut located just outside the arctic circle. It is the most northerly located port with the ice-free entrance in winter. Sissimut is the second largest city of Greenland, after Nuuk, with a population of 5,600 inhabitants, with full service and supply. In Sissimiut to see the reconstructed Viking turf houses.
Sailing further north, after one day shipping (80 Nm) we will reach Kangaatsiaq (which means "quite small cape").  The city is the youngest Greenland settlement, it gained the status of the city only in 1986, but the village itself is of course much older. Kangaatsiaq is a small undamaged town where there are no big hotels or travel agencies - in fact, there are only private houses, and one Internet café.
From there we sail to Assiat through one of the most beautiful archipelagos north, called "archipelago of thousands of islands" which is a unique system of fjords and navigationaly difficult route to Disko Bay. Aasiaat - or Egedesminde - was built in 1759 by Niels Egede, the son of the famous Christian missionary, Hans Egede. In 1763 the settlement was moved 125 km north to its present location. Today, the old Aasiaat is a regional museum, with an excellent exhibition of the Inuit history and culture, where there are also paintings of the world famous Danish artist - Per Kirkeby. It is worth to see the museum and an interesting sculpture in the center of the town.
After leaving the Assait we will see one of the most beautiful bays in the Arctic, Disko Bay and the port and the city of Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) in the northeastern part of it.
With its population of 4,546 as of 2010, it is the third-largest settlement in Greenland, after Nuuk and Sisimiut. The town was established as a trading post by Jacob Severin's company in 1741 and named in his honor. The name was sometimes anglicized as Jacobshaven.  The Zion Church (Zions Kirke) constructed in the late 18th century was the largest man-made work on Greenland in its time.
Ilulissat means iceberg in Greenlandic and the town is beautifully situated at the mouth of the almost 60 km long ice fjord, filled with enormous icebergs from the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere, Sermeq Kujalleq. The largest icebergs run aground at the mouth of the fjord at depths of 225-250 m and they only break free during high tide or when they are so eroded that the iceberg's point of balance changes. In 2004, Ilulissat Ice Fjord was included on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.
Sermeq Kujalleq glacier is one of the fastest (19 m per day) and most active glaciers in the world. It annually calves over 35 km3 of ice, i.e. 10% of the production of all Greenland calf ice and more than any other glacier outside Antarctica.
We will finish sailing here, having a tour to the glacier. Although it will take us just one day, memories will remain forever.