Trip itinerary

Greenland Fjord Serenity

Enjoy the magnificent nature and culture of East Greenland on board our comfortable sailing yacht, Aurora


Day 1 - Thursday August 30^th 2012

Arriving onboard AURORA at 12.00 noon in Kulusuk, guests arriving on the morning flight from Reykjavik will land at 9:30 am. Leave anchorage around 14:00, sail out the Torssut sound and into Angmagssalik fjord. Sail past Ammassalik island and into Sermilik fjord passing the abandoned village of Ikateq and the Erit Skerries (made famous when Bill Tilman lost his boat Sea Breeze there in 1972).  Anchor close to the "golden sand beach" in the Tsavarnganeq bay on the west side of the island.

Day 2 - Friday August 31st

Sail across the great Sermilik fjord and into Johan Petersen fjord and anchor there. Fantastic landscape of gigantic icebergs floating in the fjords. Option for a paddle or hike in the afternoon.

Day 3 - Saturday September 1st

A day spent hiking and/or kayaking in Johan Petersen fjord. Fantastic landscape of numerous calving glaciers directly off the inland ice. Good view over the inland icecap from nearby mountains.

Day 4 - Sunday September 2nd

Sail across Sermilik fjord and over to the village of Tiniteqilaq. This tiny village with only about 120 inhabitants is situated on a small promonotory with a spectacular view of Sermilik fjord. Hunting, fishing and tourism are the main sources of income for the population of Tiniteqilaq. Seals are hunted throughout the year together with a few polar bears and narwals. We´ll visit the village and hike in the neighbouring hills.

Day 5 - Monday September 3rd

We´ll follow Ikasagtivaq sound over to Angmagsalik fjord and head inland towards the village of Kummiut. Anchor across the fjord in Marie´s Harbour, behind Griseöen (Pig Island). Option for hiking and/or kayaking in the afternoon in the hills or into Ikasaulaq fjord.

Day 6 - Tuesday September 4th

Sail over to Kummiut village and tie up at the local wharf. Kummiut means "the people of the river" and it´s the largest of the small settlements in the area with a population of around 350. Here we have an option to kayak the Torssukatak fjord to Tunu bay where the local hunters have opened up a pass through a narrow isthmus. AURORA will sail into Ikasak sound and meet the kayakers in Tuno bay. We´ll continue to Ikateq sound and visit the abandoned US airstrip - Bluie East 2, where remains from their operations during WWII are still to be seen. Finish the day at anchor in Sermiligaq fjord, close to the Karale glacier.

Day 7 - Wednesday September 5th

Spend the day exploring the great calving glaciers of Karale and Knud Rasmussen. We´ll sail close to them and have an option of great hiking in the area. Then sail on down the Sermiligaq fjord and anchor in Sangmilik fjord. Option for a short hike or paddle in the afternoon.

Day 8 - Thursday September 6th

Sail through Nordre Ikerasaq and Jernö sounds and explore a bit new areas. Anchor for the night withoportunities for great kayaking and/or hiking ashore. Good option to find driftwood on the beach for a small campfire under the northern lights. Here we are getting closer to the open ocean again and we will be monitoring the conditions on the Denmark Strait closely to find a good weather window for our crossing.

Day 9 - Friday Septembe 7^th

Sails set for a 2-2.5 days sail across the Denmark Strait to Isafjordur, Iceland. We'll keep a sharp lookout for whales, dolphins and of course the numerous huge icebergs.

Day 10 - Saturday September 8^th

At sea on the Denmark Strait. We'll be seing icebergs almost all the way to the Icelandic coast. If the weather is clear we may see the Greenland mountains from almost 100 nautical miles away or from the Dorhn Bank fishing banks.

Day 11 - SundaySeptember 9^th

In clear weather we may start seeing the Icelandic mountains in the morning. Arriving in Isafjordur in the evening.

----


Trip #2012260 - Sold out!

Day 1 - Saturday July 28^th  2012 

Departure from Isafjordur at 19:00. Weather permitting we will start the crossing of Denmark Strait which should take approximately 32 hours. If the weather is rough on the strait we will stay in the beautiful sheltered fjords of the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve and do some kayaking there.

Day 2 - Sunday  29th     

Arrival in Greenland in the early morning. Landfall at Søkongen island.  There it will be possible to kayak around the island from JAD Jensen fjord over to Nansen fjord. The great Christian IV glacier calves into Nansen fjord and it is quite often full of ice bergs. The Watkins mountains and the highest peak in the arctic, Gunnbjornsfjeld (3693 m) line the horizon. Depending on the ice conditions we will try to find an anchorage there for the night.

Day 3&4 - Monday July 30th to Thuesday July 31st

Move to Mikis fjord and anchor there. Here is an option to hike into the flower-filled Sødalen valley and perhaps visit a working camp of researchers looking for gold and platinum in the Skærgård intrusion. In Mikis fjord are also long-abandoned Inuit ruins that allude to a time when the Dorset culture populated the NE coast.

Day 5 - Wednesday August 1st

Move to the great Kangerdlugssuaq fjord ("Big fjord"). It is an option to kayak over or sail with the boat. The AURORA will anchor in Suhaili bugt. This is a very sheltered anchorage where sir Robin Knox-Johnston and sir Chris  Bonington anchored the Suhaili when they attempted to climb the Cathedral peak in 1991. This will be our basecamp for the next few days.

Day 6 - Thursday August 2nd

The kayakers will head into Kangerdlugssuaq fjord for a three night exploratory trip with camping ashore. First day we will paddle over to the abandoned Skærgård Inuit settlement and from there continue along the Uttendal sound over to Watkins fjord and camp under Keglebjerg mountain at Spækpynten.

Day 7 - Friday August 3rd

Continue paddling further into Kangerdlugssuaq fjord to the Courtauld side fjord and camp at a point on it´s western entrance.

Day 8 - Saturday August 4^th

Paddling  and exploring further into the fjords. Possibly all the way to the Kangerdlugssuaq fjord itself and then camp again under Kærven mountain at Kartografvig cove.

Day 9 - Sunday August 5^th

Today we will paddle out to Suhaili bugt again and board AURORA for some well earned dinner and shower. Spend the night there.

Day 10 - Monday August 6^th

Leave in the early morning and sail (or motor) out of Kangerdlugssuaq fjord. We will head south along the coast. We may do a short stop on the Aputiteq island and visit the old weather station but will otherwise spend all this day and the next night on the boat.

Day 11 - Tuesday August 7^th

Arrive at Kangertigtivatsiaq fjord in the morning and anchor in the side fjord of Nordfjord (Séraq).  Kayakers can paddle into the Kangertigtivatsiaq fjord which has been thus described by Chapman of the British Arctic Air Route expedition of 1930-1931: „The scenery here was magnificent. A short branch fjord to the N terminated in a huge glacier, while the longer main fjord was flanked by great needle-peaked mountains, between 1800 - 2000 m high. There are hanging glaciers precariously balanced on the steep hillsides and other glaciers coming right down to the sea. At the head of the fjord, away in the distance, was a superb pinnacled mountain, reminiscent of St. Paul´s Cathedral; this was Ingolfs fjeld."

Day 12. Wednesday August 8^th

Another day spent paddling in this area. This time over to the Storø island where there are are many Inuit ruins and more recent hunting cabins. Kayakers will meet the AURORA again where she will be anchored in the lagoon on the south tip of the island.

Day 13. Thursday August 9^th

A full day (12 hours) of sailing down to Sermiligaq fjord where we will anchor at the head, close to the two great calving glaciers of Kerale and Knud Rassmusen. Option for a short paddle in the evening.

Day 14. Friday August 10^th

We'll spend out last whole day exploring this great area with lot's of narrow sounds and passes and find a good anchorage to spend our last night.

Day 15. Saturday August 11^th

Sail through the Ikateq and Ikasak sounds over to Angmagssalik fjord and to Kulusuk where the trip ends in the afternoon.

 ------------