Cape Farewell Greenland Voyage 2007

Woke up to the sweet surprise of perfectly placid seas. (And the good news that we’d escaped the Ring of Ice and were back on course.) Ended the day thrown into the harshest watch yet, a shift featuring winds strong enough to force Gert (our fearless (in a very true sense) captain; pronounced “Hurt”; more to follow someday) to clamber up the bowsprit to pull down the sails
(which, for obvious reasons, is a lot tougher to do in Force 8 winds). I’d offer more, but I want to give my Mom a break from the imagery. Thankfully mellow day turned frightfully tough.

By the way-anyone who has tried to email me for whatever reason (Jenn w/r/t SooF, Team Evolvist, etc), we don’t have any internet access, so the best way of getting in touch is to either leave a comment in this blog. (As comments are then forwarded along to us via Satellite phone from the Cape Farewell office, our only tiny keyhole into the world outside the
Noorderlicht.) Red Sox updates are keenly encouraged.

Representative quotes of the day:

“For all the hearts I’ve broken and [retracted] I’ve [retracted], I did nothing to deserve that.” –Matt, coming in from the 8-10pm watch, which featuring sustained Force 8 winds with periods of Force 9, horizontally blown icy sleety mixture, and salt-spraying waves that left faces numb and (on the plus side) nicely exfoliated.

“Your t-shirt says ‘A bad day on the boat is better than a good day in the office’.Today, I don’t know about that.” –Captain Gert, on a hellfire Monday evening.

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This is just a quick message for everyone who has taken the time to post comments to the crew – thank you! All your messages of good luck and calm waters have reached the Noorderlicht – On Sunday 30 September, the crew were almost to the east coast of Greenland, towards the mouth of Scoresby Sund (they could see the ice! A moment of elation)!. However, as it is currently covered with some floating ice they are heading a bit further north to try and get on to terra firma (Monday 1 October), this has meant another day at sea, but the oceans are calmer (so I’m told). Ko, the expedition guide has been sharing stories of the outstanding beauty of the Fjord so everyone is hoping to get into the Sund.

Please continue to post your messages and I will make sure the sailing crew get them.

Thank you

Hannah Bird
Cape Farewell
PS you’ll all be pleased to know that the Noorderlicht is not going round in circles (as our map showed). We were having a few technical issues showing east/west longtitude which have now been resolved!