Finally the day has come for kicking off the first leg of Sailing to Siku – our voyage to the Last Ice Area.
The crew for the first leg – nature photographer Thorsten Milse, researcher Tim Dowson, biology student and interpreter Sascha Schioett and myself, Greenland Policy Officer with WWF Denmark, travelled to Upernavik, Greenland for our first meeting with the Arctic Tern and its crew, already onboard.
Sunny and calm weather with temperatures around 8 C gave us a very pleasant introduction to Upernavik.  From the airstrip overshadowing the town from the island’s central hilltop, we saw the harbor and the Arctic Tern, our home for the next 16 days.
With all our gear onboard Grant, Pascale and Valentine, the Students on Ice boat crew, gave us an introduction to life onboard a sailing boat – how to deal with a ‘man overboard’ emergency, how to fight a fire onboard and or to evacuate the boat if necessary. More importantly we learned that life on board the Arctic Tern includes good coffee and snacks and that a very nice dinner can be prepared with Greenland Halibut, a tad of white wine, a few fresh carrots and potatoes and lots of spices.
We discussed the days ahead and decided to start with only 3 miles on the first day, taking us to the north-east shore of  Upernavik island. Here Tim had was excited to have identified an inlet containing a salt marsh, early this morning – with the help of the midnight sun.

Since our arrival in this country, we’ve discovered a new culture and a new language – because few people speak English, we’ve learned some useful words, like how to say hello and thank you in Greenlandic. I practice my ‘thank you’ whenever it is needed: qujanaq, pronounced ‘Kru-Ya-Nak’. Half the time, it makes the locals laugh out loud! But I don’t despair. We always make ourselves understood for the important things (fueling, getting water, finding a grocery store, shower, etc..). People here are very friendly and smiling, and the assistance is appreciated in these isolated villages halfway around the world. Everyone takes the time to answer our questions in half-English, half-Greenlandic, half-sign language.
The biggest challenge for the crew takes place at the supermarket: stalls full of meat and fish all look equally delicious. Fishing is an important part of the country’s economy. The only problem: we have no idea what’s what! ‘Allatooq’, ‘eqaluk pujuugaq’ or ‘Tuttu’, the choice is yours! (based on our understanding, those translate to ‘seal’, ‘Muskox’ and the name of a delicious smoked fish that still eludes us to date). The crew is divided: Pascale has a soft spot for seal meat, Grant and I definitely vote for muskox. Note also that it is very easy to find whale on the menu here.
We return to the boat, get a few hours of sleep and it’s off to the north via the east side of Disko Island. A superb second day with full sun and a slalom between the icebergs. The coast of Disko Island is beautiful, we see even the Greenland ice cap. Heading out of the bay, we have a small setback: head wind and fog. So we make a last stop before Upernavik, in Arfertuassuk, a fjord that offers a quiet shelter for the night.

The next day we decide to circle Disko Island to the east to see the mythical Ilulissat glacier. It’s the source of nearly 10% of Greenland’s icebergs, and is often considered one of the most productive in the northern hemisphere. We are not disappointed.
The villaqe of Ilulissat is already active, with many people in the streets (in proportion to the village’s size, of course!). A few stores open (even though today is Sunday), and a few restaurants. It is after all the third largest municipality in the area, with about 4,500 inhabitants.
Our captain is already here. He guides us for a short hike (the crew was initially divided on which direction to follow – women on one side and Grant on the other – the reader will have to guess who won) and we finally made it to the Jakobhavn glacier and an unforgettable view! Icebergs, bergy bits, small ice cubes, whites, blue, transparencies and so on, an ice field so compact, no doubt, this is the right place!

Our stop in Sisimiut allowed us to complete some routine maintenance, stock up on a few fresh supplies, and indulge in much needed hot showers for all! Shopping missions in town proved to be the most entertaining (for us and the locals) as none of us aboard speak Greenlandic or Danish. Despite our best efforts to learn, sign language naturally becomes the international language of choice in these situations, leading on one occasion to Pascale and Valentine imitating various wild animals, including Seals and Musk Ox, in an effort to purchase some meat at the fish market! Sorry, no pictures were taken of these animal antics.
After a couple of days in Sisimiut we all feel well fed, watered and rested. It’s now time to continue our journey North to Upernavik. Fair weather, sunshine, calm seas, and a light northerly breeze great us as we leave the harbor. Our “at sea” routine naturally recommences, although we will be making relatively short hops along the coast from now, stopping to anchor at night at a couple of spots before arriving in Upernavik.
By the way, no sign of Bob since our arrival, despite the crew continuing to call him day and night. We suspect he jumped ship, or hopefully made his own way ashore.

It’s only been a week at sea, but it feels a lot longer, probably due to the almost constant fog that has engulfed Arctic Tern since our departure from Canada. A South Easterly gale is now pushing us north. Daylight hours are rapidly increasing as we pass the Arctic Circle, the line of latitude north of which one enters the land of the midnight sun. More light makes “night” navigation easier, but also adds to our warped sense of time when combined with the ever-present fog, and our 9 hour routine of 3 hours keeping watch followed by 6 hours off, eating and sleeping.
It’s with great excitement that we approach Sisimiut, our first port of call in Greenland, as landfall promises to break this cycle.

We’re headed for Upernavik where we’ll meet the WWF team and scientists on July 24th.
Since yesterday, the wind has been south-east between 20 and 25 knots. Goodbye southern summer and hello Arctic summer: long johns, jackets, fleece, mittens, waterproof jacket and pants, everything comes out … and everything is quickly soaked! But we move at about 6/7 knots and almost on a direct route! One mystery remains, however: the fog does not seem to dissipate or leave us. Either we are in an unimaginably huge fog bank, connecting Newfoundland to Greenland … Or the fog  has taken a liking to the Arctic Tern 1. Whatever the wind and outside temperature, it sticks around. When Bob is not there, the fog is our fourth crew member!
We can’t see the horizon, but the Arctic Tern seems happy to sail in these northern lands. Yesterday we crossed the 60th parallel. Yesterday? Or maybe it was this evening. The days and nights are starting to look more and more alike.