/necessity/index.rss Wed, 28 Aug 2013 11:45:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/28/288-necessity-is-home-in-middagsbukta-outside-oslo We picked up the mooring ball of our cruising club yesterday on August 27, 1830 local time. We left the same mooring ball in the morning of July 3 2005. It has been more than 8 years and 62000 nautical miles since we were here last. On the way we have been to 65 degrees north and 60 south. We have been through a typhoon in the Philippines. Even that went without any significant problems or breakdowns. Necessity has never had to wait for parts. It has been a very long journey, but a trouble-free one. We are extremely happy with the trip and very happy to be home. The grandchildren are waiting.
Jan Fr. 28.08.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Wed, 28 Aug 2013 11:45:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/28/288-necessity-is-home-in-middagsbukta-outside-oslo (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/8/23/287-necessity-is-in-egersund We are now definitely on our way home, but we are now stuck in Egersund due to weather. There is a fairly heavy blow from the east, and going around the southernmost outcrops of Norway would not be comfortable. It is also an area renowned for difficult sea states when it blows, so we sit here and wait. It is not a bad place to wait though. The harbour is outstanding, the marina facilities are good and we have shops and restaurants within walking distance. It is also a pretty little town.
Bergen is another pretty, though not so little town. Bergen was where Necessity's official homecoming was marked. As it were one of our friends had called Norwegian national broadcasting. Fortunately we arrived to the tune of a nice little breeze, so Necessity arrived in style. We appeared first on live local radio, and later on the main Norwegian TV news. That was far more than expected, but I think the radio and television people did a very good job. A special thanks to all our friends who made our homecoming special from Marstein to Krokeide and in Bergen. And the cakes! And the "buekorps" drummers. What a fantastic homecoming. We consider moving to Bergen.
Jan Fr. 23.08.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Fri, 23 Aug 2013 17:37:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/23/287-necessity-is-in-egersund (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/8/18/286-necessity-is-back-in-norway Necessity is back in Norway! It has been more than eight years abroad. The sail from Shetland was mostly good, but we knew that we were racing a gale across. It was due on the Norwegian coast midday Friday. We were due in the morning. The gale had an easterly component to it so hitting it meant hard on the wind to get in to the Marstein lighthouse. In the end we arrived together with the gale. Fortunately we had taken some precautions heading to a point on the coast considerably south of Marstein. In that way we would be able to beat straight into the inlet - and we did. We had 30 knots for a little while, but it was not a problem. We are now tucked in having a good time despite the weather. Tomorrow we head up towards Bergen. More later.
Jan Fr. 18.08.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Sun, 18 Aug 2013 07:09:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/18/286-necessity-is-back-in-norway (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/8/18/285-necessity-is-in-krokeide-in-norway Necessity is back in Norway! It has been more than eight years abroad. The sail from Shetland was mostly good, but we knew that we were racing a gale across. It was due on the Norwegian coast midday Friday. We were due in the morning. The gale had an easterly component to it so hitting it meant hard on the wind to get in to the Marstein lighthouse. In the end we arrived together with the gale. Fortunately we had taken some precautions heading to a point on the coast considerably south of Marstein. In that way we would be able to beat straight into the inlet - and we did. We had 30 knots for a little while, but it was not a problem. We are now tucked in having a good time despite the weather. Tomorrow we head up towards Bergen. More later.
Jan Fr. 18.08.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Sun, 18 Aug 2013 07:07:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/18/285-necessity-is-in-krokeide-in-norway (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/8/15/284-necessity-is-in-lerwick-in-shetland There is not too much to tell about the sail from Thorshavn to here. It was easy, fast at times, and a bit of motoring in order to get in for the tide. Like in the Faroes we had to go through a fairly long sound from west to east to get to Lerwick.
The Shetland islands look pretty much like the Faroes, and even here the names are all Scandinavian (or have Scandinavian roots). Both island groups, and also the Orkneys and Isla of Man, used to be Norwegian territory, but way back some Norwegian king could only pay dowry for a British princess by giving away the now "British" isles. The Faroes of course remained Norwegian, then Danish-Norwegian, now autonomous territory under Denmark. The resulting difference is considerable. Thorshavn looks very Danish, Lerwick looks very Scottish. Thorshavn has Danish pastries, Lerwich has pubs. I can live with both.
The centre is still how I remember it from 10 ears ago, but the rest is totally changed. There are many new offshore installations to the west of Shetland, and in Lerwick there are offshore related activities all over. Also the fishing seems to have gotten a considerable boost (they have a lot of fish farming here too).
We are now ready to go home. One day and a night is all it takes to reach Bergen. We will probably be off tomorrow.
Jan Fr. 15.08.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Thu, 15 Aug 2013 07:47:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/15/284-necessity-is-in-lerwick-in-shetland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/8/12/283-necessity-is-in-torshavn-in-the-faroe-islands I am sick and tired of motoring, but it did get us here. If Iceland was not Europe enough, this is definitely it. There is now only to overnight sails before we are in Bergen. Tomorrow we set off for Shetland. We should be there on Wednesday. Lerwick in Shetland is a place I have sailed to many times with a yearly regatta going there from Bergen.
Torshavn is a very nice little place where ideally we should spend more time. This is not far from Norway though, so chances are we will come back. Coming in here was a little tricky as we did run into a counter current of five knots in one of the west to east sounds running in between the Faroe islands. That's a little too much so I did run between two islands to another parallel sound which fortunately had far less current. We got in here round about nine in the morning to a very good little marina dedicated to visitors.
Jan Fr. 12.08.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Mon, 12 Aug 2013 17:10:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/12/283-necessity-is-in-torshavn-in-the-faroe-islands (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/8/12/282-necessity-is-en-route-to-the-faroe-islands We got away on Friday as planned, but it was maybe a little early. All Thursday and well into the night it was blowing a strong easterly gale. We were waiting for the wind to abate and shift. According to the forecasts it would be possible to leave Friday morning. We were uncertain. In the harbour the wind was still roughly in the same quarter, though much weaker. We waited for a new forecast, but it was late in coming. At one in the afternoon we took Necessity out of the harbour and into the sound outside. The weather was dreary with rain and still a bit of wind. The sea was utterly confused, though not dangerous. Off we went into a bumpy experience. Worse, the wind had not yet shifted sufficiently so we would not make the headland in southern Island. Obviously we did in the end, but it took a bit of work - and a bit of cheating with the engine. The wind shifted fully only in the early evening. After that it has been fairly good, though early Sunday the wind is very weak and we are doing a bit of motoring again. We will make Thorshavn in the Faroes very early tomorrow morning.
I am glad we stopped at Heimaey. As volcanic landscapes go it is unique (I have seen a few). The small museum gives a good picture of the dramatic past.
So visiting was worth it despite the locals never being on time. First the fuel man was more than an hour late, then customs came along 1.5 hours later than agreed. Is it a bit "manjana" in Vestmanneyjar?
Jan Fr. 11.08.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Mon, 12 Aug 2013 17:07:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/12/282-necessity-is-en-route-to-the-faroe-islands (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/8/7/281-necessity-is-in-vestmanneyjar-iceland We (Hans-Jacob and I) came in at sunset last night. Vestmanneyjar is quite a sight. It is extremely volcanic, and the local volcano is still smoking a bit now and again. Some 40 years ago the locals didn't quite know if they would be able to live here at all, but they saved most of the town by spraying cold water at the lava and thus redirecting the flow. In between the volcanos there is a perfect harbour, mostly for the fishing industry, but also for cruise ships and us. We are here with two big cruise ships, so today the place drowned in "sheeple" (Sheep shot). They will be gone tomorrow giving us a chance to see the place.
We had a very good time in Keflavik. The town is located at what is called Reykjanes (smoking peninsula), and smoking it is in quite a few places. By car we visited the sights, some of them being somewhat hellish (hot, smoky and smelling of sulfur). It is also interesting to see all the geothermal power plants utilizing this unique source of energy. There was still power in the "Geyser" as well. We also visited the old "Alting" site at Thingvellir. The Alting is perhaps the oldest national parliament in the world established around 930. We also had time to visit various local museums getting the Icelandic take on the Viking migration and the discovery of Vineland. It was of course interesting since we follow roughly the same route. During all this activity Necessity was quite safe in a very small marina in Keflavik.
If the weather forecast stays like it is we will leave for the Faroe Islands on Friday.
Jan Fr. 07.08.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Wed, 07 Aug 2013 18:03:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/7/281-necessity-is-in-vestmanneyjar-iceland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/8/3/280-necessity-is-in-keflavik-marina-iceland The first part of this trip was entirely dictated by ice conditions. We were probably quite lucky to get through Prince Christiansund like we did. Out at sea it was all about weather and weather forecasts. Pretty soon we could see a strong northerly develop between us and Iceland. This was driven by a high pressure ridge midway between Greenland and Iceland in the Denmark Strait. The logical solution was to keep west of the ridge, but not too close to Greenland. We have had enough of icebergs in fog. That gave us good weather, but very little wind. Fortunately the diesel was very cheap in Greenland. Unfortunately it is now mostly gone. On the other hand it would not have been fun beating into 30 knots of wind. When we reached the latitude of Reykjavik we were able to cut across the ridge and get the northerlies on the beam. We have had some good sailing, but a lot of dismal motoring. You do not, however, challenge the Denmark Strait.
We are now in a tiny marina mostly made for fishing boats, but there is plenty of space. A fisherman and sailing enthusiast, Ragnar, was here and helped us dock. If only customs were as easy to get hold of. I will now more soon,
Jan Fr. 03.08.13
ps Customs came while I was writing this. Not bad....

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Sat, 03 Aug 2013 11:21:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/8/3/280-necessity-is-in-keflavik-marina-iceland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/29/279-necessity-is-out-at-sea-headed-for-icelandd The Prins Christiansund was indeed fantastic, but it was not entirely without challenges. One third in we rounded a headland to find enormous icebergs and ice on the water. We thought we could navigate the bergs, but icecover? Fortunately it was an illusion, and fortunately we went close enough to find out. Because of glacier runoff the water did indeed change colour, but there were no ice. We zigzagged the bergs and got through. Basically it was quite easy.
The plan was to stop at the eastern exit where there is a weather station. There is also a small key where we planned to spend the night. The key was, however, already taken - by ice. The weather was perfect, there was very little ice that we could see offshore, and we expected to be clear of what there were before nightfall. The decision was quite easy. We went straight to sea after a little check of Necessity. That is why we are now 90 miles offshore in brilliant sunshine. The night was not quite as good, though, with fairly dense fog towards morning. Fortunately we were definitely out of any ice, and there were no other boats showing on our radar transducer. Fog is still not a desirable companion. It is much better now after some good sleep and a good brunch and lots of sunshine. It could have been better though. There is also no wind.
Jan Fr. 29.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Mon, 29 Jul 2013 18:46:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/29/279-necessity-is-out-at-sea-headed-for-icelandd (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/29/278-necessity-was-in-herjolfsnes-in-greenland …but that was yesterday. This is considered to be the Norse settlement that lasted the longest in Greenland, into 1500 something. Personally I would have died of depression in less that a year. In mid summer the main characteristics of the place is a huge number of equally big Icebergs, some of them threatening the harbour. There are a few green patches ashore, but not enough to sustain more than a cow or two, if they could be kept alive over winter. True, it is a place of stunning beauty, but it is hard to believe they stayed for the scenery. My gut feeling is that the place proves that not only the Inuit, but also the Norsemen lived off the sea.
After Herjolfsnes we have been through Prince Christian Sound, a 55 nautical mile long channel that cuts through south Greenland to the east coast. There is frequently a lot of ice in the sound, but we got a forecast after a flyover telling us it was virtually ice free, and also ice free on the east coast. It is unusual, but the route saves us a day or two to Iceland. We are now well through this route of compact scenery. It beats most of what I have seen in Alaska, Chile and the Norwegian coast.
Jan Fr. 28.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Mon, 29 Jul 2013 10:27:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/29/278-necessity-was-in-herjolfsnes-in-greenland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/27/277-necessity-is-in-nanortaliq-in-greenland Yesterday we had a cold and foggy sail down to Nanortaliq. Few places can look so desolate in bad weather. We did, however, find a nice wharf once we came in, and also another boat, SOL from Denmark. They are sailing the same way we are and plan to leave really early tomorrow morning. We may leave today, but we may also decide to go together with Sol.
There are a considerable number of big icebergs around here. Rumour - and also the Danish Ice Central think that there are very little ice in Prince Christiansund at the moment. The sound runs from the west to the east coast, and is a formidable shortcut - when it is open. There are also very little ice on the east coast, which is definitely unusual.
Generally we are well stocked, well fuelled and are ready to go. The weather forecast is promising. Greeting from Hans-Jacob.
Jan Fr. 27.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Sat, 27 Jul 2013 17:00:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/27/277-necessity-is-in-nanortaliq-in-greenland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/25/276-necessity-is-in-qaqortoq-in-greenland By the time you know the name of a place it is time to leave. The Danish name for this place is Julianehaab which is a much easier for us. This is the biggest town in southern Greenland with something like 4000 inhabitants. It is a scenic place with multi coloured houses along steep hillsides. There is a fairly decent harbour where we have seen a small cruise ship, but as yet no other cruising sailboats. Helicopters come and go as there is no airport. Qaqortoq should be a good jumping off point for Iceland, though as yet we do not know if we are going through the 60 nautical mile lone Prince Christian Sound to the east coast or have to go around Cape Farewell. The big issue is ice which frequently covers the sound. The Danish Ice Central didn't really know when we called them two days ago.
We did visit Brattalid a few days ago, and the ruins of a Viking settlement was there of course together with a replica long house and a small church. An archeologist was also there making measurements and told us that other settlements had definitely been much larger, even though Brattalid is the most famous one back home. It is quite interesting having personally made the connection between the settlement in l'Anse au Meadows and here, and it is impossible not to be impressed. We sail with full protection of a warm cabin. They sailed basically in open, though quite big, boats. Navigation was crude, but they still found their way quite routinely.
Coming out from the deep fjord where Brattalid is located was a bit tricky. There was a lot of ice to be navigated. Not enough to make it risky, but it did look that way from a distance. There has been a period with "føn" winds (warm winds coming down from the mountains). That is possibly the reason there has been a lot of calving from the glaciers emptying huge amounts of ice in the fjords. Fortunately the offshore ice appears to be quite limited. We will know more once we get a new ice chart. Today is dedicated to preparing the boat for the 5-6 days long trip to Iceland.
Jan Fr. 25.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Thu, 25 Jul 2013 11:37:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/25/276-necessity-is-in-qaqortoq-in-greenland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/21/275-necessity-is-in-narsarsuaq-in-greenland You think the name is a bit complicated? Take comfort from the fact that we are not in Ittoqqortoortmiit. Yes, it is a real place, Scoresbysund in Danish.
Necessity has now been in Greenland for 12 days, most of them in Paamiut. Hans-Jacob had to go home for a wedding, so I was alone for about a week. That made me quite fond of Paamiut with the excellent Danish bakery and the good stores - and of course the very nice people. After a while the American boat, Paragon, with Monique, Drake and Aena onboard came in. Sorry if the last name is not correctly spelled. Aena is a very nice Irish boy, but I am unfortunately not into Gaelic names. I had a lot of fun with the crew of Paragon learning about filming from a quadrocopter. They did get some spectacular footage.
Two days ago we got a forecast with a deep low and gale force winds from the south. To go or not to go? After some deliberations we decided to go south, fast, ahead of the gale. It worked fine, and that is why we are now hiding deep in a Greenland fjord behind a good quay. This is also the location of the major airport is in south Greenland. Across the fjord is Brattalid. In Brattalid there was a Norse settlement from 800 something until 1500, in other words it was established by the Vikings. There are still some ruins, and there is a small museum. Right now it blows too much to go across, but tomorrow we will probably go in one of the small ferries that run across. It is interesting coming here from l'Anse au Meadows. Going from Brattalid to l'Anse au Meadows must have been something the Vikings did quite regularly.
It is still today an interesting area. The local glaciers calve into the fjords, and occasionally there are significant amounts of ice. It is not a problem in this fjord, but coming into Narssaq the other day, we actually had to turn around. Not a problem, there are many options. Today has been brilliant. The sun is shining from a cloudless sky over a greenish fjord with brilliant white icebergs and snowcapped mountains. Right now we are getting ready to go up to the airport hotel. We expect a good meal and some WiFi so that this blog can be posted.
Jan Fr. 21.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Sun, 21 Jul 2013 21:58:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/21/275-necessity-is-in-narsarsuaq-in-greenland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/16/274-necessity-is-in-paamuit-in-greenland The wind was slow at coming yesterday. When it did turn up, so did the fog. At that time we were closing in on the coast - and the icebergs. It is not a good feeling. The big icebergs are supposed to turn up on the radar, but that depends a lot on their shape. Some of them are very stealthy. That was proved to us when we approached one that we only spotted by sight 1-200 meters away. It was scary stuff. By turning the radar to almost max gain we could see an indication, but at such a gain we get mostly clutter. Fortunately we are now going to go along the coast and partly inshore. Necessity is going to move with great care.
Coming into Paamuit the settlement appeared very bleak. It was raining and it was between nine and ten at night. Not that it gets very dark, but the low light did not make the place look cosy. It was, however, a very good harbour.
This morning it looked different. It is a multicoloured small town, looking a bit like the settlements in Spitsbergen. People are very friendly. They are mostly Greenlanders, but also some Danish, and a healthy mix of the two. The language is Danish or Inuit and often Danish with a heavy Inuit accent. The latter can be hard to understand.
We have now checked in with the police. A friendly Dane took care of that. There are currently no other sailboats here, but there seems to be a few trickling through. Hans-Jacob is now going home for a week, so I will stay here and enjoy the sights. I will definitely take advantage of the walks around here that are rumored to be pretty good. I have been told that there are very few Polar Bears around, but I will take the bear spray with me in any case.
Jan Fr. 10.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Tue, 16 Jul 2013 13:23:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/16/274-necessity-is-in-paamuit-in-greenland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/10/273-necessity-is-in-paamuit-in-greenland The wind was slow at coming yesterday. When it did turn up, so did the fog. At that time we were closing in on the coast - and the icebergs. It is not a good feeling. The big icebergs are supposed to turn up on the radar, but that depends a lot on their shape. Some of them are very stealthy. That was proved to us when we approached one that we only spotted by sight 1-200 meters away. It was scary stuff. By turning the radar to almost max gain we could see an indication, but at such a gain we get mostly clutter. Fortunately we are now going to go along the coast and partly inshore. Necessity is going to move with great care.
Coming into Paamuit the settlement appeared very bleak. It was raining and it was between nine and ten at night. Not that it gets very dark, but the low light did not make the place look cosy. It was, however, a very good harbour.
This morning it looked different. It is a multicoloured small town, looking a bit like the settlements in Spitsbergen. People are very friendly. They are mostly Greenlanders, but also some Danish, and a healthy mix of the two. The language is Danish or Inuit and often Danish with a heavy Inuit accent. The latter can be hard to understand.
We have now checked in with the police. A friendly Dane took care of that. There are currently no other sailboats here, but there seems to be a few trickling through. Hans-Jacob is now going home for a week, so I will stay here and enjoy the sights. I will definitely take advantage of the walks around here that are rumored to be pretty good. I have been told that there are very few Polar Bears around, but I will take the bear spray with me in any case.
Jan Fr. 10.07.13]]> Wed, 10 Jul 2013 22:25:48 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/10/273-necessity-is-in-paamuit-in-greenland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/8/272-necessity-is-getting-close-to-greenland Right now we are motoring, but there has been some good days of sailing. Yesterday brought some good experiences and some not so good. First of all it was cold, and it was raining quite a bit. Or was that the day before? The days blend into each other after some days at sea. Yesterday was definitely the day of a little trouble. First the heater became troublesome. It switched off seemingly without reason. That is one piece of important equipment up here. Fortunately it now seems back to normal. Then the engine developed a leak in the freshwater system. A new one this time. It seems the hoses are getting a bit rotten. I managed for fix it with vulcanizing tape and some electrical strips. It will work until Greenland, but the hose must be changed. Then there were the good news. We had visitors. It must have been more than a hundred pilot whales. I am beginning to understand how they got their name. They behaved like playful dolphins, surfing the waves all around Necessity. Some were quite big and some must have been only calves, but they were all having fun. It was bitterly cold, so it was not fun being out taking the pictures. Not to worry though, we got them. Right now the sun is shining from an all blue sky. The rain and mist is gone, but so is the wind. We do expect the wind back in a few hours. Hopefully it will be a good sail up to Paamiut. ETA tomorrow night.
Jan Fr. 08.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Mon, 08 Jul 2013 15:50:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/8/272-necessity-is-getting-close-to-greenland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/6/271-necessity-is-en-route-to-greenland We had a very good sail yesterday, but cold. We started off with all of 3 degrees celcius, but the weather was clear with a weak sun. This morning the temperature is all of two degrees and there seems like there may be some rain on the horizon. Or would that be snow?
Initially there were also some icebergs, but we haven't seen one for more than 12 hours. According to the ice charts issued yesterday we should be out of iceberg ally, so maybe there aren't any out here. We were a little apprehensive during the night, but in reality it didn't get entirely dark. We kept a good lookout, used the binoculars which gives a little extra light and the radar of course. The big bergs show up quite well. The small one - well, we are not going to see them during the night. Fortunately there are not many of the small ones out here. We are now holding a course that will keep us out of what is called "sea ice", a more permanent cover that is found of the coast of Labrador.
Other than that, we are good. The most popular equipment onboard is definitely the heater.
Hans-Jacob sais hello. He is now asleep and probably warm after a rather cold watch.
Jan Fr. 06.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Sat, 06 Jul 2013 08:49:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/6/271-necessity-is-en-route-to-greenland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/4/270-necessity-is-in-straitsview-in-newfoundland We had to leave l'Anse aux Meadows. The dock was not safe when the wind shifted to the northeast. We are now at a dock in Straitsview. People here tell us that this is where the Ingstads (they discovered the Viking site) stayed during the seven years they were here.
We have learned a lot about the visits here by Erik Raude and his men. One of them being that there is fairly solid proof that this was a base for travels much further afield in America. Butternuts and hardwoods that only grows much further to the south was found among the remains at the Viking site.
It is very likely that we leave tomorrow for Greenland. The only trouble tomorrow seems to be a lack of wind. It is also likely that we leave very early. We would like to get out of the band of Icebergs (iceberg ally) before nightfall. Possibly this is not too much of a problem. It never gets entirely dark. The boat is now ready with the dinghy stowed in the "offshore position" just forward of the cockpit and the storm jib ready to be deployed.
Jan Fr. 04.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Thu, 04 Jul 2013 19:00:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/4/270-necessity-is-in-straitsview-in-newfoundland (@author) /necessity/posts/2013/7/3/269-necessity-is-in-l-anse-aux-meadows-in-newfoundland We didn't get away from St. Barbe that early. We waited for the ferry to leave ahead of us. It was a beautiful day along the strait of Belle Isle. We are glad it was, for this can be a challenging stretch of water where the strait meets the Atlantic. Despite being just 52 degrees north it has an arctic feel. First we saw a couple of icebergs, but they were far away. Then we met a large pod of dolphins coming towards us, with a dozen or so always in the air. I have seen that before, but only in the tropics. It is probably a kind of hunting behavior. It's an impressive sight, but they just passed us and were gone. Then a humpback whale got quite close, again an impressive sight although it did not go tail up. It just blew and rolled into the deep. After that we got quite close to the first decent size iceberg. They are a beautiful sight. We rounded Cape Norman and now we are in l'Anse aux Meadows. It is all about Vikings. Apart from the Ingstad excavations they have built typical Viking houses at a nearby site. They also have a fairly large "knarr", ie a Viking ship. We are now moored at a little local floating dock which is very convenient.
This is probably going to be our jump-off place for Greenland, so we are studying weather and ice chart.
Jan Fr. 02.07.13

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com]]> Wed, 03 Jul 2013 00:24:00 UTC /necessity/posts/2013/7/3/269-necessity-is-in-l-anse-aux-meadows-in-newfoundland (@author)