On to Grimsey

Friday June 29 Ariel and I are on to Grimsey, and Island north of Iceland and north of the Arctic circle. With the chance of clearing to the north and a shot of the midnight sun, we embark upon the next leg of our adventure!

Midnight Sun in Akureyri!

Here is the midnight sun lighting up the northern fjords of Iceland. Akureyri is within a degree of the Arctic Circle. As a result the midnight sun illuminates the mountain tops even when the houses and valleys have seen sunset.




Hawk and I drove north to the end of the road where we caught the midnight sun heading east across the horizon to the north.

Across Greenland Eastbound to Iceland

Hanging glaciers abounded as we crossed the ice.
The ice sheet covered mountains over a mile high.
On the east side of greenland we encountered numerous icebergs.
As soon as we got to Iceland, what did we run into than the Eclipse 500 coming back from the Paris airshow. Ariel was jealous, but stands her own for low-altitude videography work.

Abundance of Ice

Flying East over South Greenland, we encountered the glacier east of Narsarsuaq and flew over the ice sheet. Note the higher glacier in the background.

On to Akureyri

Today I repositioned the aircraft to Akureyri in Northern Iceland. I am writing this blog in the midnight sun close to the Arctic circle. Flew past several glaciers on top of volcanoes on the mid-Atlantic ridge that happens to be on Iceland. Eyeing the possibility of getting to the Isle of Grimsey, which is the one part of Iceland north of the Artic Circle. Here in Akureyri the sun is setting in 20 minutes at 12:51 am and is rising 43 minutes later. A photographer's work is never done at sunset and here sunset lasts an entire summer. What a combination!

On the chart above the flight plan is the gray line and the GPS track is the blue array of dots. The start of the flight was in Reykjavik in the southwest and Akureyri is in the North. More tomorrow on Greenland and Iceland!

Greetings from Iceland!

We made it to Iceland today, and will post lots of exciting details shortly. We have been diverted to Reykjavik and are staying there for the solstice. We had intended to go to Isafjordur but the authorities got different ideas in mind for customs clearance and directed us to go to Reykjavik. Having experienced this process before, last year on a westbound trip, discretion was the better part of valor.

On the way we saw seals from the air, large fog banks shrouding large icebergs, and fantastic fjords that only pictures can describe. We also saw much melting of the ice climbing east out of Narsarsuaq, a sign of the times as the glaciers continue to retreat.

Sunset at Solstice

As we finished our adventure of 10km across the fjord, down along the far side and back across to the harbor, the last rays of sun filtered into this northern clime at 10:30 in the evening, highlighting the clouds from underneath and treating us to a spectacular sunset that lasted for hours. Even now at 1:30 in the morning the twilight is still with us, saying goodnight to a fantastic day loaded with adventure. Tomorrow to Isafjordur via Kulusuk and the

southeastern coast of Greenland!

The Little Tug that could

On the way home we found this little tug that could. The ships here need to break ice and handle very rough conditions, especially when the Fuhn winds come out of the glacier.

Peeking through the keyhole

Some of the caves we explored were wide enough for only one kayak. Surprisingly these caves and the water inside of them was exceedingly clear, perhaps from the spring runoff coming through the bedrock.

Overhanging Caverns

We managed to explore many nooks and crannies with the nimble kayaks we rented for the day. The rock formations in southern Greenland were outstanding, including the red rock formations that may be common with northeast greenland, the dark basalts just north of the East Kangerlussuaq area, and the ancient base rocks of the region.

Taking a break

After kayaking 4 km across the fjord, it's time to take a break along the gravel beach. As you can see, we were decked out for the occasion. Swimsuit, wetsuit, another swimsuit, spray skirt, booties, gloves and jacket. Enough to keep anybody warm!

Narsarsuaq Fisherman

This fellow we met on the way back to our kayaks. He had caught a good fish in the fjord. Apparently the fjord is teeming with cod, who have taken up residence here now that the fjord is much warmer. After getting fished out of Cape Cod where else would the cod go? According to local residents, the fjord is teeming with great fish and the fishing community is thriving here. Last week two humpback whales were seen right here in the fjord next to the airport going upstream eating the small fry. Three days later they were seen heading back down after apparently eating their fill. It's great to hear this ecosystem is doing well here and is not overfished yet.

Narsarsuaq Fjord in all its glory; church foundation

Bill is standing in front of the actual foundation used to build the first church on the American continent some thousand years ago, hundreds of years before Columbus. The little ice age took out this settlement in the 1500's when the ships no longer could make it here because the ice never melted in the summer. Needless to say the weather is much warmer now (is that a good thing?)

Eric's House

This is one of the houses of Eric the Red, who lived here more than a thousand years ago. Actually it was reconstructed next to the site of Eric's foundations. It was still raining in the fjord but we managed to stay warm and do some exploring.

Rolling Ice Cubes

This ice cube kept rolling over with Bill right next to it! Bill was wondering why there was a waterfall on the iceberg, when suddenly the whole thing rolled over! Icebergs are known to be unstable in this way because they melt from the bottom up until they roll over!

Kayaking in Ice Fields

Here's Bill hanging on to an iceberg(!). It was raining and in the 30's and was as cold as it looks. But Bill and I were pretty warm with all the wetsuits and drysuits we had on. Still, taking a roll 2 km out was a risky proposition, and we both hoped that we wouldn't have to right ourselves out in the middle of the fjord. Fortunately the wind did not whip up too much and the waves stayed small.

A day in Narsarsuaq

So today we decided to stay in Narsarsuaq, Greenland and enjoy the sights. It rained a lot but we managed to amuse ourselves in any case. Here is the Greenlandic flag and the usual precipitation.

What we decided to do for the day was to go kayaking in freezing water. So Bill wore a dry suit and I wore a wet suit. What's more is that we decided to kayak 4 km across the Narsarsuaq Fjord to the place that Eric the Red colonised in the year 984.

All the Way to Narsarsuaq

Today's goal was to fly from Goose Bay to Narsarsuaq, Greenland. This one entails wearing survival suits, emergency life raft on standby. Total flight time was scheduled to be 4.5 hours, including 4 hours over freezing arctic waters of Davis Straight.

Goose Bay was high 30's and cold and rainy.

We met Peter from New Zealand who was going to follow us by several days in a Cessna 172, waiting until the weather improved. We also met Marcus and his colleague who were flying at P210 to Narsarsuaq and also waiting out the weather due to possible icing. We were icing equipped and so offered to play the role of wind dummies and check it out.

We got weather, analyzed the weather, prepared survival gear, got the life raft ready, packed the plane, water bottles ready to go, only to find when we checked the fuel tanks that two of them were still empty! Just then a commuter plane pulled in who got the exclusive attention of all of the fuel operators. If you arrive in Greenland after 4:45 pm you get to pay an extra $1000 for the privilege of keeping the airport open. At this point we were pushing the time window and had to encourage the FBO to fill our tanks in a timely manner.

We had to put the survival suits on in the terminal and crawl out to the plane.We called up clearance saying we're IFR to Narsarsuaq and would like to copy our clearance, filed hours before, only to be told that they had to call up Gander to get it. At this point our motors were running and we were burning precious fuel. Twelve minutes later we offered to get our clearance airborne and were told "NEGATIVE!" As we were asking ourselves "What does that mean?" we finally got the impression that meant he was on the phone to Gander and would have our clearance. After 20 minutes of delay we were finally cleared for takeoff. If Goose Bay had to handle more than one IFR aircraft at a time we're not sure how they would do it.

We took off, climbing out to 21,000 feet, with low level headwinds and higher tailwinds. We had +2C temperatures all the way up to 10,000 feet. We picked up some ice from 11,000 to 16,000 feet, whereupon our pitot heat failed causing our IAS to drop to zero. Still, we were showing 200 knots ground speed and a good tailwind. All systems were operating normally, made hourly reports in to Gander, using satellite phone links where VHF was out of range. Every hour on the hour we reported "ops normal" and also gave position reports at required waypoints at the edges of controlled airspace.

Happy campers at FL210, over Davis Straights 300 nmi from the nearest land packed to the gills.

Given higher ceilings at Narsarsuaq, we decided to go for a low level visual approach. The WW2 Army Air Corps were nice enough to provide us with an oceanic NDB radio beacon at the mouth of the fjord leading up to Narsarsuaq (SI). We homed in on this as we commenced a rapid descent from 21,000 feet to 500 ft over the fjord.

We broke out of the clouds at 4,000 feet and an sea full of icebergs greeted us.

The start of the 50 mile Fjord up to Narsarsuaq.

Sculpted iceberg

cracking iceberg, a sign of global warming?

swimming pool anyone?

the scenic town of Narsaq (watch the power lines!)

The view on the way in.

Iceberg factory.

icebergs on final approach, glacier on go-around (watch your climb angle!)

There's a cowboy in Greenland!

Our trusty steed turned in to her stable for the night.

Cheated death once again, the two boys celebrate their achievement. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of whale steaks, reindeer filet, two kinds of caviar, wonderfully smoked halibut, shrimp, bacapple berries and a bunch of other tasty morsels that we really couldn't identify.The water is so delicious that we're thinking of hiring an oil tanker to bring it back and bottle it in the states! Tomorrow is the most dangerous part of our trip yet, as we venture forth in two kayaks to reach the home of Erik the Red.have to paddle 4 km across a iceberg-laden fjord in 30 degree water in two kayaks and we'll try to visit the first Viking establishment in North America, 500 years before Columbus was born.Stay tuned for more adventures.

Flight plan to Narsarsuaq, Greenland

Here's the flight plan to Narsarsuaq, Greenland. We have moderate rain here in Goose Bay, with 8000 foot ceilings and the promise of rain in Narsarsuaq (BGBW). SE surface winds but good tailwinds aloft. We will try to get a view on the way out and then file for FL190.

Flight plan to Goose Bay

Here's our flight plan from Bar Harbor to Goose Bay. We flew up the coast of the Bay of Fundy looking for whales and tidal bores. The currents were huge! Could see lobster pots getting dragged along at 3+ knots. Lots of mud getting stirred up. The shorelines north of Moncton were gorgeous and the water clear. Gaspe's northern shoreline was spectacular, as was the island of Anticosti. Hardly a mark of civilization. We encountered clouds up to 17,000 feet at the border with Labrador, and got over it and down into Goose Bay 20 nmi east of Goose Bay. On to Narsarsuaq today!

First day's track

Here's a map of our first day's track from providence (Quonset State Airport) to Bar Harbor, Maine. The straight line is our route and the track is our actual sightseeing flight along the coast. We skirted east of the controlled airspace of Providence and Boston, enjoyed the view over the water and got down low along the coast for a nice view of the shoreline. On this trip we are using 3 video cameras and 2 still cameras to get some shots along the way.

The Bounty in Booth Bay

Here's a shot of the Bounty we saw in Booth Bay, Maine, on the way to Bar Harbor.

The coastline was dotted with small harbours and islands, making for a gorgeous sunset flight.

First two legs to Greenland!

Bill Swonger and I are flying the Cessna Riley P337 to ICELAND! Yesterday was spent flying the Maine coast at 1500' from Rhode Island to BaaHaabor. Nice Labsta dinner and then "Contra Dancing" at the local Grange within walking distance of the KBHB airport. Today we are heading to Goose Bay. Monday should be Narsarsuaq (sp) Greenland to explore glacers and Viking ruins then onto Iceland for the Summer Solstice parties!!!As we travel further north our Internet access may become less frequent but when its available I'll post our progress along with photos.Our N number is N52DG.

Here's our trans-Atlantic Cessna SkyMaster 337 with its entourage of support vehicles in Bar Harbor, Maine, after the first leg of our journey.

Tonight we are in Goose Bay. It's and old WWII base that is still used as a Shuttle abort site and also by several European air-forces for training in the wide open spaces. Lot's of Belgian, German, Dutch air force planes about.Dinner was Caribou steak, Artic Char and Bacappleberry (?) covered cheescake.The flight from Bar Harbor was great. Flew up the Bay Fundy at 500 agl looking for whales. Didn't see any but had spectacular views of the coast of Maine and Nova Scotia.Bob - we see why it's called the Blue Spruce route - hardly any deciduous trees left!Many lakes and rivers and no roads for 100's of miles.Monday we have the long over water flight to Greenland - the approach plates have warnings about icebergs on the approach to a few alternate airports.I'll try to post a few pics - not sure how they will turn out!

Gaspe Peninsula near St. Lawrence