Waiting

The sun is out in Nuuk so it’s no longer quite so irritating to read of the UK’s hot summer and the freakish fine weather enjoyed by most of Europe. Meanwhile a succession of vicious lows spin off the Labrador Coast and hurtle their way SE to southern Greenland whipping up the Davis Strait as they go.  

The low that we retreated from clobbered three boats that have subsequently arrived here after us. Kiwi Roa, built like a battleship out of 10mm aluminium plate and skippered by the hugely experienced Peter Smith, came alongside us with a damaged mainsail and broken ribs. Chaman, a Swiss Boreal 55, arrived from the Azores with a damaged keel and Brigantia, a German HR48 suffered engine failure and a crewman fell and gashed his forehead. Their mishap affirmed our decision to turn and run away from the storm. Chaman, incidentally, is skippered by  Dominique Wavre who is described online as Switzerland’s sailing superstar. He has been well placed in various around the world races and so with him and Peter rafted up to us we are very much in exalted company.

And so we wait here in Nuuk for a weather window to open up long enough for us to scamper across to Canada.