(Greenland Flag)
(Greenland Map)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2008:
Sunday was a day at sea as we approached Greenland.
Our outstanding Captain, Dino Sagani, navigates turbulent waters today.
Watch the video below to hear the Captain keep us informed about today's journey.
11 minute video of the Sea Princess as she sails toward Greenland. |
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2008:
All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.
Captain Sagani woke us up at 6:30 A.M. today and told us to go look out our windows.
Following Captain's orders, I made my way to the window and it was quite a beautiful site.
I could see the mountains on the southern coast of Greenland just a couple miles off the ship's bow.
There were numerous large icebergs floating in the current on both sides of the ship.
The Captain told us that it was going to be safe to round the turbulent Cape Farewell toward Nonortalik.
This was very good news. We had been experiencing bad weather for the past 48 hours.
There was a very strong gale at Cape Farewell and we had altered course to avoid the worst of it.
So our visit to Greenland had been very much in question up until this point.
Cape Farewell is a headland on the southern shore of Egger Island, Greenland.
It's the southernmost extent of Greenland, projecting out into the North Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea.
Nanortalik is Greenland's tenth biggest town and is located on
a small island 60 miles from the southern tip of Greenland.
The town itself has 1564 inhabitants. The name Nanortalik means "place of polar bears".
11 minute video of the Sea Princess rounding the southern tip of Greenland. |
We dropped anchor in the Nanortalik harbor and tendered to shore shortly after noon.
Despite the spectacularly bright sunshine, it was bitterly cold.
The air temperature was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. But the wind was still blowing at gale force.
I enjoyed walking all around the small village despite the wind and cold.
11 minute video of the village of Nanortalik, Greenland. |
The town put on a show for us in the local gymnasium. The children were especially cute.
At 5:00 P.M. we raised the anchor and sailed out into the Labrador Sea toward Newfoundland.
It was a short visit, but a very unique and enjoyable experience.
11 minute video of the show the people of Nanortalik put on for us. |
52 minute video of my day in Greenland. |
|
Hello, Last we talked was on Saturday evening as I was leaving Reykjavik. Sunday was a sea day. A very rough sea day. As I told you in the last email we were heading directly into a strong gale. The Captain altered course to keep us north of the worst of the storm. We experienced about 15 foot swells through out the day. They were about 25 feet just south of us where we were supposed to be sailing. By the end of the day we reached the center of the low pressure system and things calmed down a bit. The Captain kept us well informed as to the conditions and our progress. Everyone on this ship is in complete agreement that the Captain on this ship is the best they have ever sailed with. I talked to a couple today, this is their 25th cruise, and even they said he was the cream of the crop. As we went to bed Sunday night things were up in the air as to what was going to happen on Monday. We were supposed to drop anchor at Nanortalik, Greenland at 8:00 in the morning. That was definitely not going to happen since our altered course made the trip longer. At best we would arrive late. Weather was still questionable around Cape Farewell. That would be rounding the southern tip of Greenland. Nanortalik is just on the other side. The captain discussed sending up a helicopter to survey a fjord to see if it was clear of icebergs and we could hide in it until the weather passed. He said he would let us know in the morning. The Captain woke us up at 6:30 this morning and told us to go to our windows. We were just a couple miles off the coast of Greenland. The sun was shining bright. Large icebergs were floating by. The wind was still blowing quite strong but conditions had improved enough that we would be able to go ashore in Nanortalik after all.  Below is a picture of me on my balcony as we rounded Cape Farewell.  It took about another five hours to sail around the southern tip of Greenland and then drop anchor at Nanortalik. Beautiful scenery all the way. Below are a few pictures of us rounding the southern tip of Greenland.  Below you can see the Sea Princess arriving in Nanortalik.  Below are a couple pictures from the ship of Nanortalik before we went ashore. Just past noon they started tendering us ashore. It was nice and sunny but boy was it cold. The wind is what made it so cold. The air temp was about 40 but the wind was blowing at about 50 miles an hour. Despite the brisk conditions we all had a good time in Nanortalik. This is a very small village. They get about seven cruise ships per year, so our arrival was a big deal. The locals are very friendly. Some spoke a few words of English. I walked all around the village. At 2:30 they put on a show for us in the local gym. The kids that sang and danced for us were very cute. After the show was over it was about 4:00 and time to head back to the ship. I walked over to the harbor and the tender line was about a mile long. By the time I finally got back on the ship I was about froze to death. The Captain says things should calm down tomorrow but things are still rocking and rolling tonight as we are sailing southwest away from Greenland. And with all this turbulence guess what one of the acts was tonight. A comedy juggler. Most of us can barely walk without falling down and he was juggling knives and riding a unicycle. He was hilarious. It was a very good day. Despite the windy conditions there was a pretty sunset tonight. Only four more days left on the ship and three of those are sea days. One port left on Wednesday and that will be my next email. Tim |
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2008:
(Newfoundland Flag)
(Newfoundland Map)
After one sea day crossing the Labrador Sea we approached Newfoundland, Canada.
Unfortunately we were not able to sail through the narrows
to reach our berth in St. Johns due to high winds.
4 minute video of our aborted call to St. Johns, Newfoundland. |
THURSDAY & FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11-12, 2008:
Thursday and Friday were sea days as we sailed south off the coast of New England toward New York City.
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Hello, My last email had me sailing away from Greenland on Monday evening. Tuesday was a sea day as we sailed southwest toward Newfoundland. Below is a picture of Tuesday's sunset in the Labrador Sea.  On Wednesday we were supposed to dock in St. Johns, Newfoundland. But the wind was blowing so strong we could not pass through the narrows into the harbor. Below is a picture of the narrows that we were not allowed to pass through.  We waited just outside the harbor for about 90 minutes to see if the winds would calm, but they never did. So we left and Wednesday became a sea day as well. St. Johns was the only place on the entire cruise that I had already been to, so it wasn't that great of a disappointment. Although it would have been nice to get off the ship since that made it four consecutive sea days. Beautiful sunny weather on Thursday and Friday as we sailed southwest off the coast of Nova Scotia and then New England. We never got close enough to see land, however. We are due to arrive in New York City Saturday morning at 7:15. My disembarkation time is 9:45. It has been a fantastic cruise. I have enjoyed every minute of it. I can't wait until February for the next one in South America. Nothing much picture worthy to send from the last couple days, so I will just send you a picture of my home for the last month. It will be hard leaving tomorrow.  Hoping for three fun days in New York before flying home on Tuesday. More later, Tim |
Click on the arrow above to continue to my next adventure, NEW YORK CITY.
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