Skipper's Update - Cruising the South of Greenland in the wake of Eric the Red

The Skipper's Blog reflects on our experiences in South Greenland

Lionel H: 16/07/2026

The one yacht we saw to the North of Tasiilaq on 3rd July was the first since Reykjavík and the last until we were in Prins Christian Sund. We were in solitude, seeing no boats and no people until the evening of 12th July, when a Danish yacht came alongside us at the weather station at the Eastern end of the sound. Nightcaps were enjoyed. We had all of the 380 NM of SE Greenland to ourselves.

Snow clad mountains, glaciers, the snow cap coming down to the sea, towering cliffs, icebergs in sight at all times, bergy bits and growlers to avoid, massive fjords, with smaller ones running into them, inlets and skerries giving safe anchorages and 24 hour daylight provided endless superb vistas for a very memorable cruise South. We enjoyed unusually calm and settled weather. Most yachts avoid this coast with its reputation for ice, bad weather and huge seas. The only downside for us was that we had to motor for most of the time.

After our first encounter with thick ice, we only had one other similar issue arriving and leaving the next anchorage. Fog has also been a problem at times, on 9th July I wrote in the log; “ luckily the fog lifted as we went into some quite thick ice, unluckily it returned for our entry into a rocky, iceberg strewn archipelago to find the anchorage off the abandoned Loran radio station at Qutdleg”. Apparently a polar bear had been seen there a week earlier. We met a wall of ice coming out to the south in the morning.

There were some stunning, warm(ish) sunny anchorages. I will let the photos tell the tale. A minor problem is that the chart datum can be out, with the Sat Nav plotter showing a passage over the cliff! The radar has been good at picking up icebergs in the fog.

Prins Christian Sund has a straight 30 mile entry under steep high mountains until it opens out into wider fjords and there we re-entered civilisation, of sorts, at the small settlement of Aappilattoq, where we were beset by flies and in the West coast towns of Nanortalik, Qaqortoq and Narsaq. We have only spent three nights alongside quays, so the anchor windlass has earned its keep.

We are now in the Viking heartlands, where it is green, so Erik wasn’t lying. We anchored in a bay off Ikigait where Herjolf Badarson had his farm. He arrived with Erik the Red and it was his son who first sighted North America, when blown off course on passage from Iceland.
The best preserved Norse building in Greenland is the church at Hersey, where we lay off to admire it. It was also the location of the last recorded event, a marriage in 1408.

Then we had to pay our respects to Erik the Red himself at Brattahlid. He settled there in 982. There we saw the remains of his settlement, including his longhouse, the tiny church built in 1000 and a larger thirteenth century church. It is not hard to see why he chose this spot, 50 miles up the Tunulliarfik Fjord, for its good grazing in a very sheltered bay. It seemed to have its own climate. We were much warmer here and Tim and I swam after lunch.

Temperatures have been as low as 4 c. They are usually around 8-10 and can be in the high teens in the sun. Wind chill is a constant feature making it feel colder. The Ebersbacher is now working, allowing us to warm the boat when we eat below. Dining and wining remains of the highest order. There was Whale meat on the menu in Nanortalik.

We have seen no bears; but many whales and some seals. The bird life is negligible, compared the vast amounts in Iceland; but we did spot a sea eagle at Eqalugaarsuit.

The Genoa furler has been repaired. The belt connecting the motor to the gears of the furler had broken. Luckily there was a spare one aboard. So we are set to go.

Tomorrow we leave to cross the Davies Straight to Labrador. It should take three days, with too much wind to begin with, too little in the middle and possibly too much to finish. There is another low in the offing which might not be as obliging as the one on the Denmark Straight.