Reading time: It’s a long one!
Day 130 – Thursday 30th July 2026
We decided that we would like to sail up into the massive fjord later in the day, in the mean time we would plan the passage and go ashore for a final visit to the settlement. By 12:50 we were ready to haul up the anchor. It came up clean from the rocky bottom.
We concluded that Viking Bukta would be our preferred first stop but if there was too much ice we would proceed to Hekla Havn some 100nm away. It was a dead calm sunny day and the fjord was littered with massive bergs, it couldn’t have been better for us, although with the sea temperature at 12.5 degrees C and the air temp reaching 18C it was probably not so good for the local wildlife.
After a evening meal of chicken curry with brown rice and nan bread we found a gentle beam breeze and were able to sail in silence for the next four hours.
I decided to list the date that all the various foods have run out and nan bread was the first item to go on the list.
At 22:00 we passed a massive berg and were then clobbered by a sudden squall which involved some very rapid reefing.
This period of sailing would help to increase our fuel contingency in case we decide to circumnavigate Milneland. Sadly after four hours the wind lightened and we were forced to motor again. We passed the Solgletscher glacier to see its impressive snout and eventually arrived at Viking Bukta to find it regretably full of bergy bits making the anchorage untenable. We would proceed the extra 25 nm to Hekla Havn.
We rustled up a bacon, banana and tomato sandwich in memory of our old crew mate, the wonderful Peter Mercer who we sadly miss. After negotiating more ice we eventually arrived at Hekla Havn at 09:45 GMT.
Day 131. Friday 31st July 2026
Hekla Havn – Two Contrasting Yachts.
There were two yachts anchored in the lagoon. One in the port bay and one in the starboard bay. Both our pilot books and a pencil note on my chart from Will suggest that the best anchorage is in the port hand bay. As we slowly checked the area before dropping our anchor someone from the boat anchored there came up on deck, dancing wildly to repel the mosquitos, and called to us pointing that their anchor was laid where we were hoping to drop ours. It was a very strange because we were well clear and as there was a gentle breeze their yacht would normally be laying to their anchor and not at 45 degrees to it. I called back to say we would therefore anchor the other side of them putting us nearer the rocks but in an acceptable position. We swung back on our chain and laid quite close to the anchored yacht but not too close. If their anchor was near where they said it was they would soon drift back as their chain realigned. However their position rather indicated that their anchor was where I thought it was in the first place and we should have anchored where I first wanted to. After half an hour the crew member came out from the yacht and started hauling their chain, then another guy came up and began shouting at us asking why we didn’t anchor in the other bay, near to the other yacht. There was no need for this unfriendly behaviour which rather spoiled our otherwise perfect day. They didn’t own rights to half the harbour.
In total contrast, the Australian yacht on the other side of the bay decided to leave and motored over to have a pleasant chat with us about our plans and suchlike. That is what sailing is all about. Thank you Willow 2 for restoring our faith in the sailing community.
The funny thing was that yacht number one who re-anchored in the now clear other bay, were shortly joined by another yacht who anchored next to them!
It later transpires that the probable reason they wanted to be alone was to fire off about 20 practise rounds from their rifle. They should have just said that in the first place.
After a little snooze, we replaced a broken sail slide and pumped up the dinghy to go for a walk ashore and test our own rifle. Our nasty neighbours left, to our relief, and we had the whole anchorage to ourselves. It was very peaceful. The bizarre thing was the heat which I really was not expecting.
I was slightly prepared for mosquitos and had brought head nets, inserted mosquito net filters in the Dorade vent and even made a special net for the companionway. I discovered the little blighters bite right through thermals.
The day passed quickly and we found ourselves eating our evening meal at 23:00 and sleeping for 12 hours!
Day 132 Saturday 1st August
We woke up late. This place is so silent that there is nothing to wake you. Again the sun was out and with no wind the thermometer was reading 24 degrees in the cabin.
I went for a swim. We tried the hydrophone but heard nothing. Paul tried perking for cod but caught nothing.
We went ashore to try out the drone. Every time I start it up I get a different response. This time, after a lot of frigging about, I finally got it to fly but only with the camera facing up! Yet in Iceland I could control the camera tilt. I find technology very frustrating and I think I will give up with trying to fly this contraption before it totally stresses me out!
Besides, there are loads of hills here so getting a nice picture of the boat isn’t an issue (when I remember to pack the zoom camera). Showing a way through the ice is a different matter!
It is spooky that there are still no other boats around, I wonder why? We have no weather data here, another technology issue, so maybe they know something we don’t?
Talking of spooky, walking ashore and seeing what could be polar bear prints in the sand is quite disconcerting, even though we are armed. We walked for a couple of hours and returned to the boat.
Our evening meal of omelette was rounded off with chocolate and Aquavit.
Paul read out articles from a copy of Sailing Today given to me by Bob Shepton, then we retired to our bunks. That kind of thing wouldn’t happen if we had installed Starlink. I am glad we resisted.
Day 133 – Sunday 2nd August
Today we plan to sail around to Dougwal Bukta about 13 nm on the north of Denmark Island. And that is exactly what we did! And we found paradise once again. As we approached the inlet our AIS alarm went off. We are rather alert to alarms after the engine overheating so the revs were cut until we worked out what was going on. Low and behold another yacht was making its way up the fjord. We hadn’t seen a yacht for days. The spectacular anchorage up a deep inlet was deserted. We found a shallow patch and dropped the hook to spend a pleasant day just chilling on the boat. The temperature in the shade was 29C!!! Something very wrong is happening to the climate.
Day 134 – Monday 3rd July
We set off at 10:50 to sail towards Fulgeø about 35 nm away. Again a gorgeous sunny day with a light following wind. We motored the whole way. When the anchorage came in sight we were concerned to see a large berg behind the island that we needed to round to anchor.
As we approached we could see some more ice but the big berg was aground the the other ice was being blown towards the west shore.
We dropped the anchor in 15m on a steeply shelving bottom. As the boat swung to the chain we noted the depth dropping rapidly until we were just touching on the morraine. We re-anchored in 17m but a bit further out and came to a rest in 14m.
There were musk oxen grazing on the beach! It was a most spectacular anchorage. We were looking forward to exploring ashore.
Day 135 Tuesday 4th August
Sadly we were not to explore ashore. I was worried about the short scope of chain that we let out, about 2.5x depth. We were close to the shore and any more chain could mean swinging towards the beach. When I heard the slapping of wavelets against the hull I was immediately alerted to the fact that the wind have picked up. A quick look out of the hatch showed a large band of ice approaching. It was 03:15 but time to get up and go!
We quickly dressed in thermals as it was rather cold. Paul hauled up the anchor and we motored into the fjord.
Ankerveg remained ice bound so we headed north and found the whole fjord was filled with massive bergs. It looked totally impenetrable but we were able to wriggle our way through. Harefjord was our next choice some 41 nautical miles away.
After we had cleared to worst of the ice we spotted a yacht heading towards us. We called it up for a chat.
They asked us to call alongside for a present and we were given a bag of wonderful fudge – thanks Ocean One!
They also told us that Harefjord was ice free and there were two yachts there. At 12:42 we anchored in the lagoon near to a French yacht having fun practising jumping in the sea with their survival suits, and some just in their swimming gear. It was once again very hot. We pumped up the dinghy ready for a shore visit in the morning. The French yacht left early in the evening leaving us for a very peaceful night.
Day 136 Wednesday 5th August
We had a peaceful night sleep but in the morning the wind got up. It was blowing the ice in the fjord gradually towards us. We let out another 10 m of chain with a 10 m nylon snubber, all the while being aware that we may need to haul the 15kg Rocna anchor back up and anchor in another part of the bay. The wind picked up to around force 5 and there was quite a choppy sea. We kept a close watch on the ice and decided it was unwise to go ashore. We were keen to find some water to replenish our stocks but it will need to wait. Soon it started to rain and we passed the day with various tasks, Paul polishing his boots, me refilling the meths and paraffin and going through the food supplies. Hopefully we will get ashore tomorrow. After the minor weather and ice scare this morning we concluded that we shouldnt count our chickens for more fair weather but we should make our way home. We will fill up the diesel tank when the rain stops in case we can’t stop at Bear Island (Jyttes Havn). We have both seen a total eclipse and waiting here may see our luck run out. Perhaps we will catch it in the Denmark Straight?
Day 137. Thursday 6th August.
As there was a lot of drifting fog we decided to go ashore today and wait until Friday to head towards Jytte Havn. We walked along the musk oxen tracks to see if we could find a stream to replenish our water tanks. We found a shallow stream and used the roll top water bag to collect the water and decant it into our Ortlieb water bags. Drifting fog when walking ashore would give good cover for a polar bear attack. Luckily the fog steered clear.
At lunchtime a French boat called Aztec Lady came to the anchorage to keep us company. They came over to ask if we needed anything. As a joke I said chocolate and sure enough they came back with two bars of chocolate! We were then invited to join them for aperitifs and shown around their wonderful little ship.
It was built by Berthon and had a massive Gardiner engine.
A few of them came to visit Sumara and after they returned with gifts of butter, cheese and Kaviar! What a lovely group of people.
Day 138. Friday 7th August
At 07:15 we hauled up the anchor and set off into a light headwind and a slight chop. The wind gradually increased but with a light contrary current and the amount of ice around it ruled out sailing. We pushed on through the slightly larger waves which knocked our speed down to 3.4kn. The few white horses made it hard to spot small lumps of ice. This 3 mile wide fjord is perhaps one of the world’s most spectacular. Mountains rise to almost 2,000m on one side and 1,500 on the other. It is one advantage of circumnavigating Milneland in a clockwise direction – we save the best til last. We pressed on and by 16:00 the wind eased and we made good progress only to find it once again building steadily by 18:00. There is a certain sea state which slows the boat right down to a couple of knots and I was hoping the longer fetch wouldn’t cause us a real problem. Luckily there was not far to go. We eventually rounded the headland, spotted the rock marking the entrance to Jyttes Havn and ran hard aground on a rock at 4kn! Our charts only showed one rock but it transpires there are about three rocks and we chose the wrong one. It didn’t feel like a fatal blow to me but Paul dived below to check the bilges for flooding. Once given the OK, I got the boat into reverse and slid it off the smooth rock. It was very confusing to find a rock in the entrance but of course we were not in the entrance. I dread to think what would have happened to a fin keeled yacht.
We sounded our way gently into the main inlet and could then see a wider entrance opening up. I wonder how may people have hit our rock?
We eventually anchored in 10m further up the inlet and enjoyed jacket potatoes and chilli followed by some of the excellent Tomme cheese and chocolate that Aztec Lady gave us. We had a peaceful nights sleep.
Day 139. Saturday 8th August
I rigged up an underwater camera to inspect the hull damage and found the keel band had been slightly torn away. A bit annoying but a minor repair job when shen is next hauled out.
We had a walk ashore and some rifle practise. There were bears in the area a couple of days ago. In the afternoon we were visited by two speed boats belonging to Fisheries Protection. They wanted to know if we had placed a net at the stream. We assured them it wasn’t us. In the evening we planned the journey back to Ittoqqortmiit some 100nm. We will set off at 08:00 on Sunday morning.
Day 149. Sunday 9th August.
We sailed back to Ittoqqortmiit some 100 nm away arriving early on Monday morning.
Day 141 Monday 10th August.
That is now! We have purchased diesel, filled with water and done some minor shopping. It looks like strong winds on Thursday may delay our departure. It may mean we get to see the eclipse on Wednesday after all. The anchorage here is exposed to the south west so we are hoping any strong winds come from the north or we will need to move to Androp Havn.
I will add photos to this blog when I get time. Better get on with planning our escape!
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