Slippery Granite And Erratics

Tonight we arrived at Qasigissat, our last Greenlandic anchorage, twenty miles from the open water of the North Atlantic. Tomorrow we will do our final preparations for the crossing before taking off at first light on Sunday morning. We were sad to leave Prins Christian Sund, overwhelmed with a sense of finality to our time in Greenland. The sound has been good to us, showing us everything from breathtaking landscape to a glimpse of the powerful gales that sweep through Greenland on a regular basis.

Krystina By Marker 001

Our rainy day at Aqigssiat on Thursday inspired us to check out a nearby island. The attempted leg stretch turned into a decent walk when the gently sloping, smooth granite rock proved to have adequate traction. We walked the length of the island, admiring the blue in the granite that was brought out by the rain. At the far end we paid a visit to navigational marker one, which like all navigational markers in Greenland is land-based due to ice. Looking out over the water, we could see a group of harp seals hunting with the grace of synchronized swimmers.

Krystina Hiking

The next day the fog was lower but at least the rain had stopped. We decided to head in the direction of the highest peak in the area and see if the visibility was reasonable enough to continue up to the 315 meter summit. On the way we were surprised to see ferns growing contently amongst the rock. Both the rock and moss were very slippery and we had to adjust our route several times when it became too challenging. Near the top, steep snow turned out to be the only viable way up. Krystina waited while Frances scrambled along the snow to a viewpoint. It was too wet to make it all the way up to the summit but the view during our hike was still spectacular.

Granite And Snow

That evening we motored 11 miles to Puiatoq, to help break up the trip back through the sound. Once we got under way we saw another sailboat coming towards us. They called us on the radio and introduced themselves. Turned out they were a French boat, Baloum-Gwen, on their way to Ammassalik on the east coast. It was only the sixth sailboat that we had seen during our month in Greenland. We wished each other a good trip and waves as we passed.

A few miles before the entrance to Puiatoq (60' 08N 43' 36W), Frances spotted a couple of bearded seals hauled out on floating pieces of ice. We sailed close to one and were able to clearly see its whiskers and front flippers with large claws, before it slid into the safety of the water. There was even one seal floating on a piece of ice in our anchorage, it remained while we anchored and did not seem alarmed by us.

 Bearded Seal

We went into the bay laughing at the little erratics that lined the anchorage, thinking that nature definitely has a sense of humor. We had planned to visit them in the morning but the return of the rain, made engine room tasks more appealing. The rain continued and by the afternoon we decided to brave the wet and move the 20 miles Qasigissat our planned departure anchorage. A couple of gusts provided enough wind for us to sail downwind under staysail for an hour before calming. The lack of motor made it easier to appreciate the sound of the waterfalls that were raging down the mountains, in varying forms. Some flowed straight down, others had a more complicated pattern that zigged along the face of the rock. After saying goodbye to the sound, we turned the corner and were once again impressed by the change in the color and shape of the mountains.

For more photos please click on East Prins Christian Sund Album.