We awoke to a windless day of drizzle but that didn't matter as we were on shore leave for the day being safely docked alongside Alchemy in Qaqortoq. The saloon was full of balloons and bunting to celebrate Tim's fiftieth. We had plenty of treats in store for him.
Overalls on it was time to transfer diesel around the boat and, in the process. reduce our port list caused by the eccentrically mounted long range 600 litre tank. In 2015 I had "designed" a fuel transfer system that got installed and baptised in 2016 and tweaked in 2017.
I'm always a little nervous about putting my ideas to the test, especially where diesel is concerned, but this time it worked flawlessly. Birthday boy was on deck in his, now very off-white, overalls manning the hose and I was in the bilge manning the pump. In ten minutes we had transferred 183 litres into our day tank and jerry cans and not a drop of diesel entered the bilge. So good so far.
Next up Birthday Boy was squeezed into the port lazarette and was supplied with copious spanners, hacksaws and screwdrivers. It was time to make a permanent repair to the electric steering that the overalls had patched up mid Denmark Strait. With an incredible stroke of luck I had been able to buy 4 spare bolts in Qaqortoq which, at the current rate of use, should last until I'm 96!
The new bolt was fitted, the steering lines tensioned and greased and the rudder bearings lubricated. It seems that on the morning Tim took his pension his productivity had never been better.
With boat jobs and laundry done we walked back up the hill for showers and a snort of wifi at Laila's hostel to wash away the oily perfumes of the morning's labours. Good to be in harbour!
I forgot to mention Anna's visit the night before. German by birth but studying for a masters in Tourism in Copenhagen she had managed to wangle a summer in Greenland surveying tourists. Bored with with cruise passengers the crews of Alchemy and Shimshal presented a different take on the tourist theme to inform her Thesis. We ended up having a lovely and informed conversation about the pros and cons of tourism in Greenland and how to steer it in a sustainable, non-destructive, direction. Thanks Anna for the chat and maybe see you again in Nuuk on the 19th?
The Half Centennial got into full swing at 4pm when Alchemy stepped over to share in the celebrations. Heather had cooked a delicious three layer cake which meant that Qaqortoq will be remembered mainly for calories, birthday parties and copious quantities of carrot cake.
At last it was time to say fond and final farewells to Dick, Ginger and Brian. The crews of Alchemy and Shimshal had very much enjoyed their impromptu cruise in company through some of the wildest waters on the planet. We have been honoured to share the experience.
The harbour day and the birthday was now drawing to a close but, before more celebratory calories (chicken wrapped in bacon with broccoli and cheese sauce), there was more passage planning to do. The way north is an intricate set of passages threading hundreds of islands, islets and boulders. We all poured over charts and chart plotters until we were confident that we had a workable route and schedule for our onward journey to Aasiaat.
Finally Sally and I went ashore for a last sniff of internet and to download two omnibus editions of the Archers. Yes we have been offline that long!
