Labrador: William’s Harbour And Our Need For A Man

Before we left Paul’s house in Norman Bay, we asked him if he had any suggestions of where we should stop next and he surprised us by saying William’s Harbour. We had read about William’s Harbour in our cruising guide an although it said the harbour offered good shelter it discouraged people from stopping there since a fire destroyed the docks in 2007 and insisted the bay was too deep to anchor. We knew Paul wouldn’t lead us astray and on closer examination of the charting we realized the average depth in the bay was 30 meters, a perfectly anchorable depth if there wasn’t a suitable dock.

In the morning, we pulled anchor in the pouring rain and motored to William’s Harbour. Between the rain, low cloud and fog there wasn’t much to see along the way. As we approached the entrance to the harbour, we could see the new wharf was full of fish boats and decided to check out the anchoring depths instead. There was plenty of room to anchor in 30-35 meters if needed but after a bit of poking around we anchored in 25 meters near one of the islands protecting the harbour.     

A friendly couple in a local boat came out to greet us and invited us to tie up at the wharf. We were happy with our anchor spot but it was nice to know that the community was willing to make room for visiting yachts. Before they left to go out fishing they asked if we wanted cod to which Krystina answered, “Yes, please,” knowing that though she doesn't often eat fish, Frances would enjoy it.

We took our dinghy over to one of the smaller docks where another local was preparing to go out fishing. He was surprised to see just 2 women and wondered what we had done with the men. After we told him we left Alaska in 2007, he shook his head and said, “I guess you must know how to sail by now”. For some reason many of the people we met in Labrador could not get their head around the idea of 2 woman being able to handle a boat.

While we were walking in the rain we noticed the couple come back in and turned around in hope of catching up with them to thank them for the fish we knew they were about to deliver. They had kindly delivered 2 fresh cleaned cod to our dinghy and returned home before we got a chance to thank them. Instead of tracking them down in the rain we though we would have a chance in the morning to express our appreciation and headed back to Snow Dragon to deal with the cod.

The fish had already had their head’s removed and Frances set about filleting them. Next thing Krystina knew, Frances was standing by the pilothouse door, shaking and pointing her large knife at the sink saying “there is something alive in the bag, can you check?” Sure enough the headless cod was jumping around in the sink still constrained by the plastic bag it was in. After Krystina got used to the idea of a headless fish trying to jump out of the sink, she picked up the bag and put it out in the cockpit to let it finish its gymnastic routine out of sight. Frances composed herself and resumed work on fish number one. Once the cod in the cockpit settled down, Krystina brought it back inside and said, “maybe we do need a man to deal with headless jumping fish”.

In the morning the northeast wind picked up to 20 knots, pushing Snow Dragon a little too close to shore for comfort. Instead of re-anchoring further from shore in the wind and rain, we decided to take advantage of the good sailing wind and make our way to St. Mary’s Harbour. Next year we will have to return to William’s Harbour to thank the couple for the cod and tell them how much entertainment and culinary enjoyment their gift caused on Snow Dragon.

Labrador: Norman Bay Population 60

                                                                                        

From Cartwright we pushed on to Porcupine Harbour where we spent a peaceful night before making our way through the famed passage known as Squasho Run in the rain and fog. Our guide indicated an intimidating narrow passage between granite walls but we found Squasho to be much wider than some of the minute passages we had already been though in Labrador. On the adrenaline scale Squasho was disappointing but still a glorious passage from an aesthetic point of view with lush forest, colorful rock and bright lichen. It seemed the perfect habitat for bears, caribou or moose but we didn’t see any wildlife in Squasho Run other than a few birds tailing a fishing vessel.

After leaving Squasho Run we wove our way between islands and entered Lady Arm just behind the ferry that was delivering supplies to the community of Norman Bay. With the ferry taking up the dock space we decided to drop anchor, getting Snow Dragon settled just as the ferry departed leaving the dock clear. The waterfront had been swarming with activity as the residents collected the boxes of supplies that were being rapidly offloaded. By the time we dinghyed ashore a few minutes later there was no one to be seen. Old and possibly new washing machines, freezers and other household appliances cluttered the dock and Krystina used one of the rusting freezers as a hand hold when she stepped out of the dinghy. 

We walked along the gravel road that ran through the community, unintentionally ending up in the town dump, not the smartest place to be in an area where black bears are common. On the way back we met Paul, who had just come back from working on his summer cabin up the coast and was on his way to feed his chickens. He invited us to his house for a cup of tea.

Paul has spent 30 years living in Norman Bay and had fished for his livelihood until the cod disappeared. Now he works for the government maintaining ‘the Hydro’ for the community, which is actually 2 diesel generators, but all electricity in Canada seems to be referred to as ‘Hydro’. His wife works on the costal ferry and his 16 year old granddaughter lives with him and attends school in the community. It was fantastic to hear that the school was functioning and that there are a fair number of young people living in the community.

Before we left, Paul gave us a salted cod and asked us if we needed potatoes tea or anything else, insisting that he had plenty of food to spare. Here we were in a small community that is boat access only with no stores offering provisions. It was a special gesture and we thanked Paul for his hospitality, assuring him we didn’t need anything and promised we would stop in and see him next time we’re in Labrador.  

The one thing we forgot to ask Paul was why there were so many election campaign signs posted in Norman Bay, a question that will have to wait until next time.

For more photos please click on Norman Bay Album

Nanortalik Photos

Please click on Nanortalik Album 

Labrador: Cartwright Population 500+

Our otherwise uneventful sail to Cartwright turned interesting when our chartplotter suddenly lost our position. Krystina restarted the plotter but it still couldn’t find our position even though the GPS status showed it was receiving data from the satellites. In the meantime we got out our computer with our backup charts and GPS dongle, which operated flawlessly while we switched the chartplotter off and gave it a rest. When we turned it back on 30 minutes later it automatically picked up our GPS position, all we can figure is that it is a software issue and will be sending the plotter back to Furuno yet again. At least it didn’t happen during a critical point in navigation.

It was dark by the time we arrived in Cartwright so we decided to anchor instead of negotiating the dock. By morning the temperature had dropped to 2.5C and we waited in the warmth of Snow Dragon until the late afternoon for the rain and 30 knots of wind to subside before moving over to the dock. As we were attempting to find a way to tie on to the high quay, we met a local named Blair who suggested we would have more protection if we rafted up to one of the fish boats around the corner. The wind was blowing us off as we attempted to raft to Elizabeth Ann and it took several attempts before we were able to get close enough to grab onto something. The fishing vessel was short of cleats and we tied to whatever looked reasonably attached to Elizabeth Ann.

Snow Dragon Rafted To Elizabeth Ann 

Blair assured us that Elizabeth Ann  would not be leaving port in the morning and the skipper had learned his lesson and now made sure his vessel was well secured to the dock. It turned out that a sailboat had been rafted to Elizabeth Ann during a storm with hurricane force winds. Unfortunately Elizabeth Ann had only be secured to one point on the dock which was not strong enough to hold her during the storm and both vessels found themselves aground across the harbour, the sailboat was destroyed. Though it was an alarming story we could see that Blair was right, Elizabeth Ann was now tied to several large bollards, with very heavy line.

Once settled we asked Blair if there was a welder in town as we needed some minor welding done on our stove. He told us we would be able to find a welder at the fish plant in the morning and then kindly gave us a ride into town. After taking advantage of the Wi-Fi at the pub, checking emails, looking at an extended weather forecast and paying credit card bills online, we returned to Snow Dragon to have a closer look at the damaged stove.

Since we knew a welder would be available we removed the stove to assess the damage. Removing the towel and hard piece of plastic we had used to wedge it in place was easy enough. The side with the damaged gimbal was complete free however, when we went to lift up the side that was still attached , it wouldn’t budge. We ended up levering it up with a piece of wood to free it and could clearly see that one gimbal had worn through. We decided it was best not to try to weld directly onto the stove as repairing the light weight stainless gimbal would not solve the problem from happening again. Instead Frances designed a repair that would bolt on and drew a picture complete with measurements of what she needed welded. She then located bolts and washers that would be welded into the new parts amongst our supplies on board so we would not have to impose on the welder’s supplies.

Fish Plant 

In the morning we walked to the fish plant and asked if they had a welder, it turned out they had several. Lots of people came to look at Frances’ drawing, thinking that she must be an engineer. After much discussion we were taken into a workshop to figure out the best way to go about the project before moving into the processing plan were the electric welder was located. They devised a method of holding the small pieces with a bent welding rod and made us 3 beautiful new gimbals. We only needed 2 but when the first one came out slightly crooked they insisted on finding more bolts and washers and making a third. When we tried to pay they absolutely refused payment and said if we did not take our money, it would blow away. It was incredibly kind of them to do the work especially since the fish plant was not even open.

 Welders Working On Our New Gimbals

Since the welders wouldn’t accept payment we decided the only way we could put money into the community was to buy groceries and have lunch at the pub. The grocery store in Cartwright turned out to be the best we would encounter in Labrador and we were delighted to find fresh fruit and vegetables including bananas, asparagus and mushrooms. Krystina even managed to find frozen strawberries amongst the Cool Whip, which were an excellent addition to our morning breakfast smoothies.

Having lunch in town turned out to be a delicious choice, Frances’ chicken Ceasar salad, Krystina’s chicken wrap and our shared order of onion rings well exceeded our expectations. After lunch, Frances headed back to Snow Dragon to begin making the backing plates for the stove out of a chunk of aluminum we had onboard. When Krystina eventually started walking back to the harbour, she was offered a ride by one of Blair’s friends, a very kind offer since it was about to rain. Elizabeth Ann was being blown off the dock and luckily Frances was grinding in the cockpit so it was easy to get her attention. Frances made the leap onto the dock and it took both of us to pull the boat close enough to safely get onboard without risking falling into the water with the computer.

Between weather, services available and extremely nice people, Cartwright turned out to be one of our longest stop in Labrador. After spending 3 nights, we finally left the dock with our beautifully gimbaled stove to remind us of our friends in Cartwright. On exiting the harbour, we could see snow on the mountains behind the town; winter was nipping at our heels as we continued south.  

Labrador: Emily Harbour & Cloudberries

It was too far from Mesher’s Harbour to Emily Harbour to sail in a day, so we decided to break the trip by stopping at Mostyn Cove at the head of Jeanette Bay. We had fantastic sailing winds and took the opportunity to roll out the staysail and check the repair in 25 knots of wind. The sail preformed as it should and the patch seemed minimal now that we were no longer staring at it on the pilothouse table. Once we rounded Cape Harrison the wind was on the nose and it was clear we were going to fall a few miles short of reaching Mostyn Cove before dark. 

With night approaching we decided to motor into the wind instead of tacking to minimize our travel time in the dark. After looking at the chart we decided to head for Ship Harbour just off the entrance to Jeanette Bay where the soundings looked reasonable for anchoring in the dark. Miss McKenzie I, a 21m fishing vessel, called us on the VHF and chatted with Krystina about where we were from, the weather and harbours in Labrador. The fisherman was heading north to shrimp but his home port was St. Mary’s Harbour in southern Labrador where he freezes Miss McKenzie in for the winter and checks on her by snowmobile. He encouraged us to stop and spend time in St. Mary’s before leaving Labrador.

 Ship Harbour In The Morning

 

It was completely dark by the time we reached Ship Harbour but true to the chart we didn’t encounter any obstacles and anchored well out to avoid extensive shoals. After spending a peaceful night at anchor, we continued on under sail to Emily Harbour. Though logic told us we should continue to make tracks south, Emily Harbour, a narrow passage between islands sounded too intriguing to pass by.

 Entering Emily Harbour 

Charting of Labrador is deceiving, the coast looks well charted but then when you look closely at the anchorages you realize they’re often either completely un-surveyed or only have a few cryptic soundings. Emily sided on cryptic with the odd sounding and underwater rock marked, just enough to either give you confidence or make you nervous approaching the tight entrance. Once between the islands the channel widens slightly, allowing just enough room to anchor without running a stern line to shore. The south end is completely blocked by drying rocks, making the north the only entrance and exit to the passage.

 Snow Dragon At Anchor, Emily Harbour 

It was nice to have a break from dense forest, the islands where rocky hills with low level vegetation and the remains of a few abandoned cabins. At first the decaying buildings gave a depressing impression of the area but once on shore the complex colors of the landscape and thriving plant life erased the sadness of the gray cabins. The hiking was easy and we had to be disciplined to turn around at sunset to make it back to the dinghy before dark.  

Old Cabin, Emily Harbour 

On the second day wind and rain kept us onboard until the afternoon. This time we decided to visit the other island. The wind was cold but at least it was keeping the mosquitoes away as we leisurely walked along the spine of the island. We were surprised to find that we were surrounded by cloudberries and enthusiastically filled our containers before heading back to Snow Dragon to warm up and then returned to shore to keeping picking. The fading light finally put an end to our cloudberry madness and we returned to Snow Dragon to make the golden berries into jam.

Two nights was not long enough at Emily Harbour but the weather was right to continue moving south. With jars full of jam and freezer full of cloudberries for smoothies we left our snug, magical anchorage and headed for Cartwright.

View From Emily Harbour

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Prins Christian Sund Photos

Please click on Prins Christian Sund Album 

Labrador: Mesher’s Harbour

                                                                                               The wind was too light to test the repair on the way to Mesher’s Harbour, instead we used the calm to run our engine at a higher rpm to burn off any carbon build up. By the time we arrived at entrance to Mesher’s Harbour the wind had picked up just in time to make getting into the bay challenging. Our cruising guide explained that their was a shallow bar and suggested staying 60ft off the starboard side rocks to keep enough water under the keel. The wind strength and direction made it impossible to safely go as close as 60ft to the shore. With the wind pushing us sideways we also needed to cross the bar at a higher speed than we would normally choose to do when crossing a shallow bar to avoid being blown down onto rocks. The one consolation was the guide said the bottom was soft mud so at least we wouldn’t do damage if we bumped bottom. 

With Frances at the bow, Krystina kept Snow Dragon as close to the shore as she could and made it over the bar without seeing anything less than 3.5m on the depth sounder. We didn’t see any sign of the river the guide suggested anchoring by on the north side of the bay and decided to anchor on the south side based on aesthetics. Aside from a small cabin that looked well maintained but not currently in use, the area was wild forest. An unusual sight for us after spending the previous months in areas where trees are few an far between.

 On our way to shore we took the dinghy over to look at the sandbar which was easy to see in the clear water. The bar did appear to be mostly mud but there were a few scattered boulders that would not have been a good idea to hit. Not ready to walk amongst the dense spruce and larch trees we opted to explore one of the rocky islands at the entrance to the bay which only had a few shrubs and trees to negotiate. It was a delightful temperature for an early evening wander and we ended up taking our jackets, hats and gloves off. Without needing gloves it was much easier to pick the blueberries and cloudberries we found amongst the vegetation. The sun was beginning to set but what really drove us off the island were the mosquitoes who were out in force. Little did we know that the bites we received would annoy us for a week.

Krystina Picking Berries With Rifle For Bear Protection   

Photos of Qutdleq And The Old Loran Station, Greenland

Please click on Qutdleq And The Old Loran Station Album

Labrador: Makkovik Population 360

Once Snow Dragon was settled at anchor in Makkovik Bay we launched the dinghy and headed for shore since we couldn’t raise any officials on the radio. We tied up at a wooden pier that had seen better days, and we gingerly walked along on the supports to reduce our chances of crashing through the weak boards. After not touching land for 7 days it was a strange feeling to walk along a pier that was actually moving underneath us. The sign on the neighboring pier said, “Caution boards bad on warf. Enter at your own risk,” a comforting sight knowing we would have to return to our dinghy. Frances still felt the ground was moving once we reached the dirt road but the swaying feeling quickly passed.

The town was surprisingly quiet for a sunny afternoon. We walked up to the grocery store but the chain on the door told us it was shut before we got close enough to read the sign in the door saying they were closed for Labor Day. In true Snow Dragon fashion we arrived in Makkovik on holiday.  

We braved the wooden pier and returned to Snow Dragon to make our post passage breakfast, a tradition we follow regardless of our arrival time. After eating our fill of eggs sunny side up, sausages, bacon, fried onions and toast we went to bed still not knowing the local time or being officially checked into Canada. 

In the morning we were woken by the arrival of Astron a coastal freighter. Krystina got up to double check we were well out of their way and the crew gave a friendly wave. Makkovik is an Inuit Community that is only accessible by plane or sea. In the winter it is possible to reach Goose Bay, the nearest larger town, by snow mobile. It’s a 7 ½ hour trip that the locals enjoy doing. 

Later a couple on their way out to fish stopped by Snow Dragon to welcome us, bearing gifts of hat pins. One was a Canadian flag, another the Newfoundland and the local Makkovik flag as well as a polar bear charm. They explained the polar bear was the official mascot of the community and asked us if we needed any information about the town. Krystina used the opportunity to ask them for the time which turned out to be only an hour behind Greenlandic. 

Torn Staysail

Frances Repairing The Sail

After our visitors departed to go fishing, we continued repairing our staysail which we had taken off the furler that morning. We used the pilothouse table as a makeshift sail loft floor as large flat surfaces are in short supply on a boat. Initially the damage was intimidating but once we applied the sticky back sailcloth to both sides, it began to look much more manageable. It was a full day’s work, over 4 meters of hand sewing and a bit of blood sacrifice to secure the patches but once done the repair seemed much more minimal than expected. The hardest part of the process was maneuvering the sail onto the table and then out of the pilothouse.

During a break in the sail repair, we headed back to shore to find out if we could check in to Canada. Once again our timing wasn’t brilliant and we ended up arriving in town as offices and stores were closing for lunch. Instead of going back to Snow Dragon we decided to hike out to the point where we had seen a lookout with a flag. Not wanting to walk through people’s yards we decided to go along the beach but when the owner of the house near the viewpoint saw us, he welcomed us to use the trail that runs through his yard. On our way back into town 2 Golden Retrievers ran up to us, though we were in Labrador, goldens seemed to be the breed of choice in Makkovik.

Eventually we ended up at the RCMP who were extremely helpful and helped us get our CANPASS number even though the official they had to call wanted us to sail directly to St John’s Newfoundland over 600 miles south, to clear in. The RCMP officer diplomatically told the official he was mistaken and that it could be done by phone. It was helpful that the official could see that Snow Dragon was already in the computer system from her time in British Columbia and finally relented and gave us our official CANPASS number that registered Snow Dragon for Canadian waters.

We thanked the RCMP and then headed for the grocery store hoping to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. The store was large but after looking and shelves of Pop-Tarts, marshmallows, Chips and other heavily processed foods we realized we were out of luck. After a bit of searching we managed to find 2 sweet potatoes, onions and dried dates. At the checkout we asked if we could get cash back as we wanted to make a purchase at the local craft store and were told the store was out of cash but to try the town hall. The town hall did not have any cash either, we went back to the craft store and asked if their was any chance they could take US dollars. They agreed and we made our purchase of handmade mittens and a novel, Confession In Moscow, by Michael Johansen who lives in Labrador.

Makkovik Bay 

For more photos please click on Makkovik Album

New Photos Skoldungen, Greenland

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New Greenland Photos

Please click on Amitsuarssuq Album

Greenland To Labrador The Long Way

With our outboard motor returned, we were free to leave Qaqortoq and head for Kap Desolation. While untying our numerous lines form the dock, Frances happened to notice that the side cabin hatch was cracked. The drunk must have dropped the outboard on it as he carried it forward to the ladder on the quay. Krystina took one look at the broken Plexiglas and said, "I'll get the duct tape". We don't usually cross oceans with Snow Dragon held together with duct tape but even if we found Plexiglas in Qaqortoq it would still take 2 days for the sealant to cure. The weather wasn't going to wait for the repair.

After taping both sides of the cracked Plexiglas and wedging a piece of thick plastic between the Plexiglas and the hatch hardware for good measure. We started the engine and resumed untying our lines when a young Spanish guy stopped by to say hello. He turned out to be the skipper of a small Canadian flagged sailboat we saw sailing into Nanortalik. Figuring the knowledge gained would be worth the brief delay. We decided to shut down the engine and invite him on board for a quick cup of tea and picked his brain on sailing eastern Canada.

Fog surrounded us once we left Qaqortoq Harbour, reducing the visibility to less than an 1/8 mile at times. We didn't have enough daylight left to make it to our intended anchorage at Kap Desolation and ended up anchoring in a marginally charted cove just off the marked channel. Unlike the sporadic depths in the channel, the bay was remarkably even and provided excellent protection. In the morning, before continuing, we switched propane tanks to insure we didn't run out of propane while at sea. Then winched the dinghy on deck with the main halyard and secured it to the aft deck. By 7.30am we were ready to pull anchor and head for sea.

Before leaving the protection of the sound that runs past Kap Desolation, we pulled in the latest 5 day weather report off the satellite phone to double check the crossing conditions. The wind strength and direction was much more optimist than we had seen while watching the weather over the previous weeks. We were going to encounter some strong headwinds that would make it uncomfortable at times but nothing sinister was on the forecast. With less than 500 miles between us and Labrador, we exited the protected waters of the sound and made our way past a string of small islands and submerged rocks into open water.

There wasn't much wind but the sea was turbulent, making it difficult to adjust to the motion. Reading, eating and drinking were not appealing during our first night at sea. In the morning Krystina was woken by Frances. Thinking it was her turn to come on watch she gently started waking up until she heard Frances say, "I need your help". Which meant foregoing the waking up part and she sleepily rolled off the settee to find Frances hugging the stove in the galley. Frances had gone into the galley to put the kettle on for tea when she noticed that the stove was trying to make a run for it. One of the gimbals had sheared off and Frances needed help stabilizing it before the other gimbal gave out. Krystina stuffed a towel underneath and then took over holding the stove in place while Frances rummaged for a thick piece of plastic to wedge in between the stove and the counter. An inventive field fix that left only the stovetop useable but at least Snow Dragon was no longer in danger of her interior being attacked by a loose stove with very sharp corners.

Later that day we got a crashing indication that this wasn't going to be the smoothest passage when three of our plates went flying. Followed by the oven racks trying to escape. With the stove no longer gimbaled the racks slid forward and pushed the oven door open. Krystina grabbed a piece of string and tied it shut and then helped Frances sweep up the numerous plate shards, not and easy task when being bounced around. Then we properly secured our dishes for storm conditions. The wind wasn't excessive but the sea didn't seem to agree.

At 3 am on the 3rd day, Krystina heard a staysail sheet snap while she was on watch. She woke Frances up to assist furling in the sail and replacing the sheet. When we rolled the sail back out we noticed a tear in the center, making it unusable until we could repair it. We sailed under the mainsail alone until it got light and then put up the storm staysail for extra drive. It was alarming to have a new sheet snap in only 20 knots of wind but when you are at sea you can't exactly call the company to complain.

The sea finally calmed down on day 3 long enough for us to cook something that resembled a real meal after living off of a few bights of packaged snack food during the first few days while we adjusted to the motion. It was only pasta with jarred sundried tomato pesto and grated cheese but under the circumstances it was a gourmet meal.

Then the strong headwinds we were expecting finally arrived on day 4 and we spent the day riding out 35-40 plus knots of westerly winds. The steep waves were uneven and at times it felt as if Snow Dragon was being picked up and dropped off the top of a high-rise building when she would fall off a wave before another one came along and picked her up again.

As promised by the weather report, the wind began subside by evening and we enjoyed our first smooth sailing of the passage. When Frances went out to check the sail trim she noticed that the aft second reef line had chafed through the grommet. She lowered the sail and re-ran the line, while Krystina held her around the waist so that she could use both hands in the rough seas. The Northern Lights were putting on an impressive show as we worked, a rare sight at sea that made it easy to forget the hours of discomfort. However, the comfortable sailing was short lived and Snow Dragon soon resumed her wild ride. At least we had long enough in the calm to have a much needed shower and eat another meal.

The unrelenting west wind was disheartening. Labrador was right in front of us but we had to tack back and forth, adding a lot of additional millage to make little progress in the right direction. Not having the staysail also hindered our progress, as we were underpowered with the storm sail. Unfortunately there was too much wind to use the jib and we did not want to risk further damage to the staysail by taking it down in over 20 knots of wind to repair. After clawing our way across the Labrador Sea we finally dropped anchor in Makkovik Bay, a week after leaving Greenland. It wasn't our favorite crossing but not our worst either, though we did break more than usual. We seem to have a history of easy passages to Greenland and then paying our dues when we leave. At some point we might skip the difficult leaving and just spend the winter in Greenland. We just need to settle on a location.

Photos Added

The photos from our passage to Greenland and our attempt to get into Tasiilaq are up. Please click on Tasiilaq Album for photos

Greenland: Qaqortoq, Return Of MR. M

Frances noticed a British registered Challenge Business boat docked behind us, one of 60 built for round the world racing. When she mentioned to them that a friend of ours had sold one just like it called Jonathan IV, they said it was the same boat renamed Nashackata II. Now Polish owned and sailed by a group of friends sharing expenses and changing crews as their work and vacation schedules permit. A fantastic way of keeping such a seaworthy boat in regular use. They invited us over for coffee later that morning giving us time to finish boat tasks while Nashackata refueled.

While Frances was in the middle of epoxying a broken oarlock on the dinghy, a crewmember from the neighboring navy ship told us that both Snow Dragon and Nashackata needed to move to make room for a large ship arriving within the hour. Frances frantically finished epoxying, a task one can't stop in the middle of, before figuring out if there was anywhere else in the crowded harbour we could go.

The Danish survey vessels that were rafted together at the dock, invited both of us to raft up to them. After re-docking we stepped over our lifelines and onto Nashackata for coffee. It was strange walking on to a boat we knew and not having to think were to put our feet as we descended the steps into the cabin. Though we hadn't been on board "Jonathan IV" for 4 years, it felt like yesterday we were sitting around the table in Norway drinking tea with Mark, the boat's previous owner. Coffee turned out to be a generous brunch of eggs, sausage, bread, salad and pastries with nonstop conversation. It was a fantastic group of 10 people and we hope that some of them join us on Snow Dragon when we are back in Alaskan waters.

Nashackata was in the middle and we untied from them so that they could continue on their way and then we moored directly alongside the survey vessel A12. The same vessel we rafted to 3 years ago when we were in Qaqortoq. Two of the crew remembered us and when we set off for our hike around the lake we joked with them about not letting anyone take our main engine. They kindly assured us they would only allow Snow Dragon's sails to be stolen, to which we all laughed.

Tourist information had told us that the locals walk around the lake in 2 hours so we thought it would take us a similar amount of time. We also thought that the trail would be fairly level. Walking out to the lake was easy along a gravel road that took us through an industrial storage area to the trail. A group of teenagers on dirt bikes came up behind us and courteously waited until we were out of the way before continuing their exploration of the granite mountain on two wheels.

The more we climbed, the more we wondered if the woman at tourist information was right about the time. 45 minutes into our slow scramble along trail, an older local man overtook us, powerwalking at high speed over the rocky terrain. His red jacket quickly disappearing into the distance. So much for the deceiving leisurely walk the locals had in town, these people were tough and extremely fit. The second half of the trail was level but even so it took us over 3 hours. There is no way we could have come close to finishing the walk in 2 hours even if we hadn't stopped for short breaks to take in the view and ingest a few calories. Thanks to hunting, fishing and other traditional occupations, there won't be a need for Crossfit in Greenland anytime soon.

The weekend passed quickly and early Monday morning we were ready to head over to the police station to deliver brownies as a thank you for their help and check if they had any new information before going over to the chandlery and asking them to deliver the 5hp outboard. Before we got the chance, a police car pulled up to Snow Dragon and 3 officers stepped out with big smiles and said we have your motor. They apologized for not being able to find the battery, the thief could not remember where he hid it. We were so happy to have Mr. M., our 6 month old Mercury outboard back that a missing battery was irrelevant.

Not only did the police officers help us get the motor back onboard, they took the time to help us get it lifted and clamped onto the stern-rail where it would ride for the crossing to Canada. We gave them their well-deserved brownies and the policewoman who had handled the case of our stolen outboard from the beginning, gave Frances a big hug. Now when was the last time you were hugged by the police? A harbour official came out of his office and cheered when he saw that our motor had been returned. And the chandlery was glad to hear we wouldn't be needing the 5hp outboard after all. A happy ending to our time in Qaqortoq.

Greenland: Qaqortoq, Drinks And Theft

Before we could manage to cross the street in Qaqortoq and head into town, we were almost run over by a large black Cadillac Escalade SUV, not exactly the type of car you expect to see speeding down one of the few pieces of road in Greenland. From the way people dress, the cars they drive, and the Starbucks drinks lining the supermarket shelves it's easy to forget where we are. Even polar bears seem to be a foreign concept. When Krystina asked if we needed to bring a rifle along on a hike outside town, the woman at tourist information laughed, she had never seen a polar bear.

Qaqortoq was intended to be a 2-day stop, just long enough to enjoy our last Greenlandic town, buy fresh provisions for our crossing to Labrador and upload blog photos. Sadly the hotel where we had previously used Wi-Fi was no longer offering the service and only source of Internet access was the public computer at tourist information. At 50 Danish Kroners for 20 minutes, it was only usable for quick email and weather checks.

A German registered boat, Morning Haze, pulled into the space behind us. They had planned to do the Northwest Passage but when the ice didn't clear they decided to make their way down the west coast of Greenland. Along the way they had a serious steering malfunction, which resulted in being towed by a tanker. In the process of getting the tow lines sorted their forward looking depth sounder was ripped off by one of the tanker's lines, sending water spraying into the boat. With strong winds, heavy seas and being towed at a strange angle by the tanker, they decided to shut the watertight door and deal with the problem when they got into port. Now the boat was heading back to Holland for repairs. We invited the crew over for drinks and they brought over a bottle of Islay Whiskey and the key ingredient, glacier ice. It was a special experience to be sitting in Greenland with new friends drinking whisky from a place we had both been and were very fond of.

The next day was warm and sunny. After admiring the beautiful sealskin bags and clothing at the Great Greenland Furhouse we followed the road outside town to a trail that took us across to a view of the next fjord. When we returned to town, the weather was still exceptionally warm justifying a stop at an outside café. The only probably was there really isn't an outside café in Qaqortoq but we knew the hotel had an outside deck. Though the hotel's café seating was inside, they had no probably bringing our order out to the deck where we were sitting enjoying the view over the harbour.

In the evening we went over to Morning Haze for drinks. Both of us were planning to leave in the morning, we exchanged anchorage information as we were heading in opposite directions each having been where the other was going. While we were sitting around chatting we kept hearing strange noises but could see nothing unusual so we thought it had something to do with the tide and the boat moving against the dock.

A drunk man on the dock made getting back to Snow Dragon an interesting experience and the crew of Morning Haze ended up making sure we got back safely. Once on board, we bolted the pilothouse door, happy to be away from the drunk. While Krystina was lying in bed she heard the dinghy move and thought it was either bumping the dock or rubbing up against Morning Haze and asked Frances who was still up to have a look. When Frances went out, she discovered our 15hp outboard motor, battery and fuel take had been stolen.

Krystina immediately got on the VHF to Costal Radio and asked to be put through to the Qaqortoq police. They patched her through to the wrong person but they were able to give her the phone number of the local police. Within minutes of our call, a policewoman was standing on the dock. Krystina explained what was missing while Frances and a crewmember from Morning Haze walked around to see if they could spot anything obvious.

Our motor weighs 55kg and we thought it would have taken 2-3 people to steal it but hadn't heard a boat or a car that would have been needed to transport it. From our description, the police woman was certain she new the identity of the drunk man we met on the dock and that he had single handedly taken our motor. She asked us to come by the police station at 8am to file a report. It was already well into the early hours of the morning when we finally got to bed and managed to get a few hours of sleep.

In the morning it was raining, the policewoman picked us up and drove us the short distance to the station were she filled out an official report detailing the model, serial number and cost of the engine. She also brought out a black book full of Polaroid photos and pointed to a guy and asked us if that was the drunk who had been hassling us on the dock. Sure enough it was the guy. The police spent the day searching the town and found our fuel tank but had yet to locate the engine or the guy that stole it.

The police were optimistic that they were going to get our motor back it was just a question of how long it was going to take. We had planned to leave that morning for an anchorage near Kap Desolation our last stop before crossing to Canada. However, leaving without an outboard would not have only made it difficult at times to get to shore, it's also our way of towing Snow Dragon with the dinghy if her main engine fails. It really wasn't prudent for us to leave without one. The policewoman kindly dropped us off at the local chandlery so we could find out what outboards were available. They had a 15hp but that would have been a strain on our budget since we just purchased a new one 6 months ago and there was the chance our outboard would be waiting for us when we returned to Greenland next summer. Instead we decided that if the police couldn't find our motor by Monday morning, we would purchase a 5hp to get us through until we came back to Greenland and hopefully pick up our motor from the police who were happy to hold it for us. We were already planning to buy a 5hp outboard as a backup and to use when we wanted less weight than the 15hp for beach landings. It jut would have been nice to make the purchase when we were ready and not when we didn't have much of a choice.

With the unexpected weekend in Qaqortoq, we headed to the café at the Qaqortoq Hotel to gather our thoughts over 2 half pints of local beer and an order of nachos. Given the unusual circumstances and that it was still raining we decided to lift the ban we put on Ben and Jerry's ice cream after our slight indulgence in Nanortalik. With a pint of Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup in hand, we went back to Snow Dragon and watched a movie to take our minds off worrying whether or not we were ever going to see our motor again and if our decision to stay an wait meant we were going to miss the right conditions for crossing to Labrador.