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.