Expedition Day 16 The frozen North Atlantic from 11,000 ft over the Davis Strait in mid-summer. I selected this altitude because it was thousands of feet above the uniform cloud layer containing freezing fog and known rime icing conditions. No visible moisture was present at my flight level with temperatures about -6 C. My ISPLR single man life raft and ditch bag were close at hand in the event of an emergency. 80 percent of the time, the cold, scary Atlantic was hidden from view, with an occasional glimpse of the ice pack between gaps in the clouds. Eventually, the clouds dissipated and the ice sheet melted about half way across the Davis Strait. On the horizon, a white line of jagged mountains, then Fjords grew in size as I approached the west coast of Greenland. The coastal capital of Nuuk was invisible until I could spot the bright, primary colored houses scattered around the harbor. 446 nm from Iqaluit to Nuuk with 25 knot headwinds. The EFIS MAP displays the route and geography on both sides of the crossing with no ADSB or radar coverage. I am getting better at blindly broadcasting position reports every 5 minutes. I spotted my first Iceberg 100 nm from Greenland. It was likely big enough to sink the Titanic. The incredibly scenic approach to Nuuk, Greenland. The airport is perched on a bluff above the city and a beautiful harbor. The houses and even the aircraft at the airport are all painted in bright colors. Colorful houses in contrast to the stark landscape. There are only 55,000 people in the entire country. On a layover day in Nuuk, the owners of my guest house asked me to join them for their first coastal cruise of the season. Besides lunch, we packed a huge caliber rifle in the event of an unexpected polar bear encounter. The bears were apparently quite hungry and show no fear at this time of year. I had a wonderful time with my hosts as we explored the Greenland west coast, cascading waterfalls, and dodging miniature icebergs called growlers.
Steve Koehler
6/17/2018 08:29:28 am
Super nice blog entry. Thanks.
John Ragozzino
6/18/2018 02:16:34 am
Excellent post! Please take lots of photos across the ice cap!
BRIAN EISNER
6/18/2018 02:49:18 am
I've been to Nuuk Greenland with the Canadian Navy.
John Ragozzino
6/18/2018 11:17:47 am
Congratulations on your Iceland crossing! Comments are closed.
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