Rest Day in Qornoq

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Mon 14 Jul 2008 15:50
Position: 64 32.1 N 051 06.0 W
At anchor Qornoq
Wind: Calm
Weather: Beautiful sunshine.

Sunday 13 July:

The morning dawned (if I can use such an expression seeing as it is
impossible to tell when dusk ends and dawn begins) clear, bright, sunny and
calm, a great day for motoring the fjord. Straight after breakfast I went
ashore to the stream where I did a small amount of essential laundry and
collected a couple of buckets of water. After preparing a bit of a
navigation plan we weighed anchor and got underway just after midday, our
destination an anchorage recommended by Jens between a small island, Qornoq,
and a large island, Bjerneoeen, in the middle of Godthabfjord about half way
back to Nuuk. As we got closer to our destination the amount of ice
increased, as we were also getting closer to its source, namely the fjord
that I had walked to yesterday. I grew a little concerned that the
anchorage might actually be untenable due to icebergs but when we arrived it
proved to be all clear; while numerous icebergs encircled the entrance
clearly the bay was too shallow for any but the smaller bergy bits to find
their way in.
So after just over five hours of motoring we came to anchor under the view
of a tidy little village on the small island. Once Sylph had her cable I
wasted no time in jumping in the dinghy and rowing ashore to explore. I
walked the perimeter of most of the Qornoq and explored a few ruins, what
looked like perhaps a couple of old fish sorting sheds. In one was a very
nice length of nylon rope which I was very tempted to salvage but thought
better of it. It is impossible to tell what is private or public property
and what is detritus in such a rambling community.
Small cottages dot the island, all of a similar design, painted in bold
primary colours, each contrasting the other. There are no fences so I am
not sure how property lines are determined or whether they actually have any
meaning here. Every so often along the shoreline is a small platform
overhanging a cliff edge looking out to the sea below. From what I could
gather this is the local equivalent of the garbage disposal unit, I saw one
in operation, with a hungry 100 seagull-power macerator at the bottom in
lieu of the usual two horsepower electric version. One such site seemed
also to be a garbage dump, domestic refuse including an old oven was piling
up in a crevice in the cliff faster then any process of natural
decomposition could deal with.
The water supply seems to come from a mountain stream on the larger island
some several miles away and makes it way here via a two inch diameter black
plastic pipe that spans the shallow gap between the islands in a rickety
looking wood post and wire suspension arrangement, though as soon as the
pipeline gets to the village there is a break in the pipe and all the water
spills from a height of about 30 feet into a large overflowing plastic drum
beneath. From the amount of water issuing forth the supply must originate
quite a ways up the mountain, presumably from the stream one can hear as a
constant background noise throughout the village.
So summarizes my observations today. Now, once more, it is getting lateand
I am feeling a little weary. I had planned on making my way back to Nuuk
tomorrow then heading further north on Tuesday. But maybe I will have a
rest day here tomorrow.

Bob Cat:

Did I hear a rest day mentioned? Good idea skipper Bob! I could do with
one of those myself, goodness knows I have been putting in some long hours
of late.

Monday 14 July:

It is a beautiful day outside, so I am going to take up last night's
suggestion and stay here for the day.

Bob Cat:

Hooray!