Day 96. 16th July 2026
Reading time: 5 minutes
Confidence rating: 9/10
This is my third time in Husavik. Each time was an attempt to reach Scoresby Sund. The first attempt, in Integrity, failed due to ice, so we ventured further south. The second try in Sumara in 2022 failed due to consistantly strong northerly winds. I eventually got the heebie geebies and fled to Scotland. I feel this is the year that we will make it.
The ice is now begining to clear and the Windy app isn’t streaked in purple. Anoraq, a French yacht has just left the harbour in benign conditions en route to Greenland.
Jo and Grit catch their plane home on Friday and Paul will arrive on Sunday (actually is was Friday, my mistake). The planing to get from here to the airport is only marginally more complex than planning the whole expedition to Scoresby. When Paul arrives we may just go straight away if the conditions are half reasonable. No point in waiting for perfect conditions, up here they don’t exist. If the weather doesn’t play fair we may mooch along the coast to Siglufjordur or Hrisey as a mini shakedown to get Paul used to the little ship again. Clearing out of Customs can be a delay.
In the meantime, although some little jobs need doing on Sumara, there is plenty of time to enjoy Husavik’s delights.
The town thrives on the tourist trade associated with whale watching. The sea nearby is naturally nutrient rich and the whales come to feed. In town there are plenty of shops selling fluffy puffins and whale shaped fridge magnets but if you dig a bit deeper you can find there is more to Husavik.
As a sailor arriving in need of a beer, the Gamli Baukur will catch your eye. The consistently miserable staff and grumpy service, selling beer in one size only (small) is marginally compensated by the homely ski lodge atmosphere upstairs with some soft comfy armchairs.
Don’t panic, there is a local brewery just up the road with super friendly service and big beers, but sadly no comfy chairs!
When the cruise ships arrive, and they do, perhaps the best thing to do is scarper. You can walk up the big hill if you have the energy or, involving slightly less effort, walk up to Lake Botnsvatn which I can highly recommend.
Amongst the tourists shops there are a few gems. At first I thought the Red Cross second-hand shop had been convertrd into a cafe called Dísu. That would have been bad news if you were after a cheap pullover but it proved to be very good news if you want the world’s best cookie or a huge peach and cinamon construction. Later I found the Red Cross shop still exists6, so that’s all good!
Slightly disturbingly, the Netto Supermarket seems to have a Freemasons Lodge bolted onto it.
You will need to walk out of town past Netto to find this gem of a fishing and hunting shop. It is hidden in an industrial estate but if you are into fishing or shooting it is definately the place to shop. The chap who runs it is super friendly and if you are into English football you may be there a while.
Right back in town is HeimaMenn, not quite up to the scale of MacGregors or Highland Supplies in Inverness, but nevertheless a very handy large hardware store.
There is, of course a local swimming pool. Husavik’s one is outdoors and has hot tubs and a twisty slide popular with the local children. These local pools provide much needed shower facilities which are not normally available in the harbours.
After washing my clothes on the pontoon and drying them on a handy fence, I have since discovered there is a launderette and showers just 200m past the swimming pool in the local campsite. I must tell the tourist information about them!
As a real treat you can walk out of town northwards and indulge in the infinity hot pools at the Geospa. Jo spent 6 hours there, only leaving for fear of growing fins.
There is a danger of falling into the trap of thinking I am actually on holiday not on a mission to get to Scoresby Sund. I must stop enjoying myself and get on with ticking some jobs off the list:
- Replace main halyard – Done
- Test wooden drone – Done
- Darn my pullover – Done
- Check over engine
- Provision for 4 weeks for 2
- List stores on board
- Fill up with diesel – Done
- Full rig check
- Climb mast to check steaming light – Done
- Clean and wash down inside boat
- Laundry – but will it dry?
- Weather and ice monitor
- Check sat phone is recieving ice gifs and charge it up
- Test hyrophone and recorder – Done
- Checking out procedure with Customs
That’s all for now. Hopefully the next post will be to say we are underway for the big one.
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