Newfoundland to Nuuk - Greenland

July 23rd, Wednesday

depart Port au Choix. Stocked up with full fuel tanks, a gift of minced Carabu meat and smoked herrings from the ever so generous locals of Newfoundland. Readied vessel for sea.
20KN wind on the bow, sea state moderate
16.00 hrs, arrive St Barbe (Newfoundland), anchored in a small bay to await a favorable tidal current and wind to transit the channel departing the Gulf of St Lawrence at Belle Isle.
22.30 depart St Barbe, 10KN wind veering to stern, sea state moderate, 2KN current helping along.
Set sea watches four on/eight off, plus day work.

July 24th, Thursday

06.00 Exit Gulf of St Lawrence north of Belle Isle, tracking parallel to Labrador Coast, 30NM offshore.
15KN wind astern, sea state rising with 1.5m opposing oceanic swell.
Engaged the second engine at 1600RPM to maintain the speed of 7.5KN
14.00 encountered the first large berg inshore, static, probably grounded. Some small growlers downwind
18.00 further berg sightings, easy to detect on radar, increased gain, and reduced range to 0.25NM to detect downwind growlers. Sea temperature is dropping as we enter the southbound Labrador Current.
Continue through the night on two engines, 1600 RPM.

July 25th, Friday

04.00 fog, to continue all day. Visibility 1-2NM variable. Wind low, Sea State calm, reduced to one engine, 1800RPM, 70% load, 6.7 KN, feathered Stbd engine prop.
Spotted Fulmar, North Atlantic Dolphin, and additional large bergs. Sea temp five deg.C holding.
Carabu meatballs for dinner are delicious.

July 26th, Saturday

01.00 large berg 400m to Stbd spotted on radar, at the same time, Cruise Ship passed 500m to Port. Turned on aft deck spotlights to signal our presence to the well-illuminated Holland America Line cruise ship astern. They moved to the starboard out of our immediate wake. (eventually!)
04.00 dawn with overcast skies. Sea state calm, slight swell.
One engine, 7.4KN 1800 RPM steady.
Problems with the Starboard engine occur when changing over, particularly at high load factors above 1600 RPM. The problem is not present when charging disconnected from the drive lines. The suspect damaged a rope cutter in Rockport, ME, when going astern, catching the Dynema line with a shackle—scheduled diver for Nuuk on Tuesday.
Stbd engine left idle, continue with the port engine. The port engine's Hybrid drive oil pump makes a distinct whining noise; Naval Yachts ran it dry during sea trials. Ordered a new one for delivery to Nuuk. Will rebuild the existing one as a spare and swap it over with the Starboard one if needed.
Ate more Carabu, still delicious.
Boat cleaning day, all cabins and saloon are now much more shipshape. Retained junk for disposal ashore in Nuuk.
200NM from nearest Greenland coastline, contacted Arctic Command JOINT RESCUE COORDINATION CENTRE (GREENPOS). They need SAILPLAN, POS reports every 6 Hours, and a FINAL report upon arrival in Nuuk.
Out of ice fields, sea temp rising a few degrees, spotted a few Fulmars and also Pilot whale pods on the Port Side.

27th Sunday

Calm seas, but the wind is building on the bow and may become problematic later in the day—one engine 7.1KN.
Days are getting longer now, with dusk at 10:45 and dawn at 2:45, and the time is counting.
Noisy hybrid drive oil pump holding together (thank you, Lord!) ETA for replacement unit, Monday 28th. Guess we have a job for that day.
Estella, one of our two Ice Pilots, baked bread, which noticeably lifted everyone's spirits.
Predictions correct, wind-driven swell on the bow has reduced speed to top 5.5KN o Force 6. We have time, so remain on one engine, occasionally charging batteries with the Stbd engine to share the load.

28th Monday

Wind dropped and veered to the beam. Stabilisers stowed in decreasing swell; speed increased to 7.2 knots. Watching for ice again.
Dusk at 12.30, dawn at 03.30, overcast but clear skies due north ahead.
40NM from the Greenland coast, 120NM from Nuuk.
Ran out of milk, black tea from here on in!
Arrived in Nuuk, 30NM passage through the Fjord, and Wow, those mountains are HUGE! This place is something else: massive rocks, no trees, big ice, and plenty of winter snow remaining.
Moored up in the commercial dock, fishing boats and whalers all over the shop. Ashore in the morning at the local fisheries supply, everyone needs some cold-weather clothes. A couple of days here fixing stuff and having an explore, then off north again to Sisimiut.