Winter Boat Storage In The North

by Phyllis May 19, 2007

Question: We are thinking of buying a 70′, 55 ton, steel motorsailer which we want to fix up and cruise on for 4 months of the year. We would be starting out on the east coast of the US and are contemplating going via Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Greenland to Northern Europe. We would have [...]

Champagne And Polar Bears: Romance In The Arctic

by Phyllis May 19, 2007
The research station built by the Swedes for the International Geophysical year of 1957/58 on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard.

Approaching the lee shore of Nordaustlandet (the uninhabited—or so we thought—icecap-domed island separated from Spitsbergen by Hinlopen Strait) in a building gale in early August of 2002, was intimidating to say the least.

Why The High Latitudes #1—The Light

by John May 20, 2007
Hunters weave their boats between icebergs on their way back to Illulisat (Jakobshavn), Greenland at sunset.

Phyllis and I have just started planning a voyage to Greenland for 2009. If we pull it off, it will be my sixth sailing trip to the largest island in the world. You might logically ask, why go again? Or even, why go at all?

Which Charts For Greenland’s West Coast?

by John May 19, 2008

Question: I’m planning a cruise of the west coast of Greenland. For charts I have the choice between C-MAP electronic charts running on Furuno Navnet with Maxsea on a PC and Danish paper charts. Which would you recommend?

Ice Risk, Eastern Canada To Western Greenland

by John March 19, 2009
An iceberg factory caught in the act

Question: We are planning a trip from eastern Canada to south west Greenland and return and have the following questions about ice [see specific questions and answers below summary answer].

Rounding Cape Farewell, Greenland

by John May 18, 2009
An iceberg is formed by waves on the southeast coast of Greenland.

Question: We are planning to cross the North Atlantic east to west via the Arctic route in June on the way to an attempt to transit the North West Passage. We plan to leave from Iceland on a passage to the west coast of Greenland and are wondering how close to round Cape Farewell [south [...]

A Rugged Boat For The High Latitudes

by John June 1, 2009

A few weeks ago we met up with our friends Michael and Martina on their beautifully designed and built custom Hutting 54 Polaris. They were kind enough to give me, camera in hand, a tour and to patiently answer my many questions.

S/V Polaris, Built For The Arctic

by John December 1, 2009
The red drums contain a shore survival kit in case the crew is forced to abandon. The blue bag is a small light inflatable that is both a backup to the larger tender and intended to assist in getting ashore during the freeze-up.

Those of you who have read some accounts of boats wintering over in the polar regions may have visions of dented hull plates, narrow escapes and three inches of frost on the INSIDE of the boat. That is not the Polaris way.

Atlantic Crossing, East To West, Via The Arctic

by John January 18, 2010
Map showing path of east to west Atlantic crossing via the Arctic

Question: We are toying with the idea of sailing the northern route [to North America from Scotland] with stops in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. Is that nuts? I know you have done it at least once if not more times. Our boats are sound, an Alden 48 and a Shannon 43, and we want to [...]

A Novel, But Probably Smart, Way To Cross The Atlantic, East To West

by John February 18, 2010
A map of the northern Atlantic Ocean and surrounding land.

Question: I’m thinking about sailing to Greenland from my home in Germany. My boat is a very sound 33-foot steel sloop, which I have singlehanded often. The natural way to go to Greenland from the German coast seems to be to use the stepping stones: Norway and/or Scotland/Shetlands, thence to Faroe and Iceland and on [...]

Questions About Sailing In Svalbard (Spitsbergen)

by Phyllis February 19, 2010

We have incorporated all questions and answers about sailing in Svalbard into the recently released 2010 Edition of the Norwegian Cruising Guide.

S/V Danza In Greenland

by John August 11, 2010
David and Judy Nutt of S/V Danza in Greenland

Well worth a read: An interesting blog by our friends, circumnavigators and frequent commentors on AAC, David and Judy, who are in Greenland with their family on Danza, their beautifully prepared and just plain beautiful steel ketch.

Climate Change In Action

by Phyllis October 2, 2010
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John and I have a longstanding interest in collecting books on historical and present-day exploration of the high latitudes, or “death and destruction on the ice” as we call it. But it looks like climate change could put an end to this genre more quickly than we thought: This summer, for the first time in [...]

A Voyage To Greenland In “Polaris”, Part 1

by John November 8, 2010
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We have a real treat for you: A photography essay by our friend and incredibly talented photographer, Michael Haferkamp, who, together with Martina, has just spent 18 months cruising the west coast of Greenland in their Hutting 53, Polaris.

A Voyage To Greenland In “Polaris”, Part 2

by John November 30, 2010
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Two weeks ago we published the first of a three part photo essay by our friend and and incredibly talented photographer, Michael Haferkamp, who, together with Martina, has just spent 18 months cruising the west coast of Greenland in their Hutting 53, Polaris. If you thought part one was spectacular, and clearly you did judging [...]

A Voyage to Greenland in “Polaris”, Part 3

by John January 7, 2011
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Back in November, we published the first two parts of a photography essay by our friend and incredibly talented photographer, Michael Haferkamp, who, together with Martina, has just spent 18 months cruising the west coast of Greenland in their Hutting 53, Polaris. Now join Michael and Martina after their long winter in the ice as [...]

Why The High Latitudes #2—The Scenery

by Phyllis March 8, 2011
Scanned With Provia Profile

When John wrote the first post in this series back in 2007, we were planning a trip to Greenland for 2009. Well, for various reasons—including boat refit leftovers, a repower, and moving to Canada—we never made it to Greenland in 2009 and we never continued with the series.

A Big Adventurer In A Small Boat

by Phyllis March 18, 2011
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On our way to Svalbard (Spitsbergen) in Morgan’s Cloud in 2002, we stopped at Teltvika, a cove on the west side of Bjørnøya (Bear Island), a virtually uninhabited island which lies at the halfway mark on the 550 nautical mile passage from Norway. During our second evening at Teltvika, the fog came in pea soup [...]

Why The High Latitudes, #3—The People

by Phyllis April 10, 2011
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Genevieve from Bonavista, Newfoundland stands at the gate of her summer place Local Connections When we first went to Newfoundland in the early 1990s, very few foreign boats cruised there, and so, when we entered a harbour, the entire population of the outport would gather on the docks to silently observe us and Morgan’s Cloud. [...]

Enough With The Northeast Wind

by John June 17, 2011
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Over the last 20 years I have sailed north toward Newfoundland from Maine or Nova Scotia more years than not and I thought I knew how to get it done:

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