Whilst attending a Competent Crew Course at the Joint Services Adventurous sail Training Centre in Gosport, I first heard about the opportunity to attend “Ex Arctic Express”. This expedition would see HMSTC Endeavour, a Challenge 67 round the world racing yacht, sail from Gosport to Iceland and then to Greenland before returning home. The chance to sail to Greenland hugely appealed to me. Visiting somewhere relatively few people get the opportunity to visit whilst adding to my sailing experience and knowledge was too good a prospect to pass up on!
I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that rather than being massively oversubscribed, expeditions such as this were in fact struggling to fill all their places and so as soon as the DIN appeared online I submitted my application. After a month or two I received an email confirming a place on my preferred leg, a three week trip commencing on the 3rd August sailing from Iceland to West Greenland and back.
Soon enough the 3rd of August came around and I found myself at Luton Airport where I would rendezvous with the rest of the crew. Thanks to the distinctive issue black grip bags, spotting them wasn’t difficult and after a round of quick introductions we departed for Reykjavík, Iceland.
After arriving in Reykjavík we met our Skipper Chris Sumner and were introduced to our home for the next three weeks: HMSTC Endeavour. The first two days in Reykjavík saw us run through basic sailing drills, stock up on supplies for the following three weeks and gave us a chance to explore the city. On Tuesday 5th we departed for Prins Christian Sund, Greenland; a 700 mile trip across the Denmark Strait - quite an introductory sail for the novice sailors on board! Breaking down into watches, we rotated through sailing the yacht, resting and performing “Mother Watch” (where you would cook, clean and take care of the rest of the crew). We had favourable wind conditions and made good time crossing the Strait, arriving at Prins Christian Sund on Friday 8th. Sleeping down below prior to arrival, I was awoken by a commotion from above. As I went up on deck I was met with an awesome sight! After three days at sea with little variation in scenery I was now looking out at the rugged mountainous coastline of Greenland. Huge icebergs drifted to either side of us and to cap it all was the appearance of a pod of twenty Pilot Wales swimming right underneath the bow of the boat! It was an incredible experience!
After spending the night moored up at an isolated weather station at the entrance to Prins Christian Sund, we set off up the sund early the next morning. This 60 mile journey offered some of the most spectacular scenery of the trip with huge mountains flanking either side of this narrow channel and several stunning glaciers running straight to the water’s edge.
Over the next few days we visited the towns of Nanortalik and Julianehaab. Even with populations of only a couple of thousand people these are some of the largest settlements in Greenland! Exploring the towns and surrounding areas we trekked in the nearby hills and tried our hand (unsuccessfully!) at a spot of fishing. Visiting the local bars we got chatting with many of the local people, learning a bit of Greenlandic as well as some local games. Some of the crew proved very popular with a number of the older Greenlandic women and it was a source of great amusement trying to set them up!
After visiting Nanortalik and Julianehaab we headed south around Kap Farvel, the most southerly tip of Greenland, before making our way up the east coast towards 66◦ North and the Arctic Circle. Along the way we passed several more magnificent glaciers and spotted numerous types of whales and dolphins, always giving the cry “there she blows” when we saw one! We were even lucky enough to see the Northern Lights!
As we ventured further north, icebergs became ever more frequent and grew to massive sizes! Taking Endeavour’s inflatable dingy we were actually able to climb onto a smaller one, bringing back some ice for everyone to have with their drinks that evening! We finally made it to the Arctic Circle on Monday 18th where after stopping for a quick photo opp (no one could pass up the chance for a quick snap in the Arctic Circle!) we set off back to Iceland from where we would depart for home.
Over the three week expedition we had all been challenged to one extent or another, had learnt how to communicate and work together effectively and had all gained an incredible set of experiences. It was a fantastic trip, one I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to undertake.
