It is a short hop from the Nuuk area to Hamborgerland (65.5 degrees North) and the many adjacent glaciers – just 180 miles. Ought to be easy, right? Weather fax is not very useful now, but the GFS and NOGAPs models promised 10 to 15 knot northerly headwinds. No big deal, except the breeze got up to 35 knots, and with an opposing current we were fighting through 13 to 18 foot (4 to to 5m) seas, of the exceptionally steep variety. By itself, nothing to write home about, except for the presence of ice. The smaller pieces would be hard if not impossible to pick out in these waves.

Then there is the entrance to Sukkertoppen channel. Narrow, strewn with reefs on both sides, with charts of doubtful reliability. Let’s add in an ebbing current with the risk of breaking seas, just to make things interesting. And water temperature of a balmy 40F (4C).

This is not the place where you want anything to go wrong. The fact that we are writing this update indicates we made it, albeit with a thick covering of salt on deck. But it could have been a lot different. Every couple of years a yacht and crew are lost in Greenland, to ice, weather, or some combination thereof.

Coming through the narrow entrance channel we were behind this fishing boat. We figured they would know the way, and slowed down to allow them the lead.

This is the first of many harpoon guns we have seen. We are not sure what they are hunting, but it does not appear to be humpbacks.

This big guy came within 30 feet (9m) of Wind Horse, snorted "hello" and dove.

All of which took place with the previously shown fishing boat nearby.

This was taken about 1900 local time, late afternoon hereabouts. The topography in this area is amazingly varied. One of the unnamed anchorages we checked out was surrounded with mountains which looked like this.

The view from the anchorage we chose at "sunset" (midnight). You can just see one of the two glaciers which adjoin our bay.

Half an hour later, the lighting had changed to an even more dramatic hue.

To be followed by this. Something has to be done about this because these sunsets/sunrises are playing havoc with our sleep.

There are five major glaciers in this area, several of which reach the sea.

The mountains left behind by the glaciers now departed are impressive as well.

Raise the temperature, change the color to red, and this could be the Arizona desert.

We had planned to spend several extra days in this unexpectedly beautiful area, but when we got to this point, the sea was calm, there was no fog, and the weather data looked positive (not that we believe that).

So, it is off to the north for us.