Planning for 2011
Grønland & Island

Tur#	Periode	Pris	Båt	Merknad
XX	24 August -18 September 2011	€ 5500	Jon. IV

For 2011 we are planning a sailing expedition to North East Greenland, an extremely remote and seldom visited sailing ground. We had a great time there in 2004 and 2009. This trip will take 3½ weeks and start in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

From Longyearbyen we will sail as far north as we can until we meet the pack-ice. Up until now, no yacht has sailed further north then 81° 30’ North. We will be trying to go further North and set a new record. Then we will sail southwest until it gets possible to reach the coast of North East Greenland.
We intend to leave from Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen (Svalbard) on 25th of August and end in Akureyri, Iceland on the 17th of September

Although this seems to be late in the season, this is the best period for sailing and exploring in this area with the least ice on the Greenland coast.
We sailed to this area in 2004 with Jonathan III and with Jonathan IV in 2009.

2009 was a year with easy ice conditions by Greenland standards. We sailed as far north as Kongs Oscar fjord and even Geologenfjord at 73 North. On this trip, we met closely with the prehistoric looking Musk-oxes. They are related to goats rather than cows and their thick coats, which enable them to over winter in the ice look like Rasta dreadlocks .

Arctic hares were easy to approach after giving them time to trust these funny looking creatures with their daypacks. We encountered 4 polarbears and were lucky enough to see a cub suckling her mother just 10 meters off the beach.

We will try to visit the only Inuit settlement on this stretch, Ittoqqortoormiit in Scooresbysund.
On this coast there are some stations that belong to the Sirius patrol. This is a Danish organized dog sledge patrol that controls the North East coast during the winter.

Apart from that, there are remains of Inuit settlements and old trapper huts to visit. But the reason to go to this area is the stunning scenery with many mountains, innumerable glaciers coming down from the ice cap and the incredible huge icebergs that float through the fjords. Their shapes seem to inspire everyone’s imaginations and descriptions from "crocodiles" to "Napoleon’s face" have passed by Jonathan’s decks.

We then sail to northern Iceland visiting a few places on this coast before finishing the journey in Akureyri. This is a much greener area than East Greenland but ideal for some interesting hikes with very varied scenery and many waterfalls.

This is a real expedition in a remote area. We will have to find our own way as this area is so seldom visited. The charts are not very detailed and Jonathan IV will be fitted with a forward looking sonar to enable us to safely travel into seldom used anchorages. We expect our crew to be in good health with reasonable fitness as although we are sailors to get to the area, we are hikers too, once we get there. We do not intend to race down the coast to visit as many places as possible. No, we like to take our time to explore this vast beautiful landscape, to experience the peace and quiet and watch the wildlife before we move on again.

Jonathan IV will be equipped with all necessary safety equipment and in addition to the skipper there will be a professional crew. The boat will hold the MCA certificate for unlimited sailing. We hope that some of you will participate in the deck work and watches. If you are not a sailor do not worry, there are plenty of other ways to give a hand.

The cost for this trip will be € 5500,-. All included, except alcoholic drinks and transfers to and from the yacht. All guests must have a specific travel insurance covering Search and Rescue for this remote area of East Greenland.