Greenland: You boat of choice?

[Tim Good]

Ok here is a hypothetical question and I'd be interested to hear what people would say. This isn't a test I'm just genuinely curious.

If you were to sail to Greenland and explore the coast and Baffin Bay for at least 6 months what sail boat would you take and justify it. Feel free to pad it out with the types of stuff you'd have on board. Would you want an enclosed wheelhouse, ketch rigged, two foresails, center cockpit?

 

[TimBennet]

Westerly Discus.

You might as well go with something that's well proven.

 

[Ric]

Boreal.

Built especially for high-latitude sailing by people who have actually done it.

http://www.voiliers-boreal.com

 

[laika]

Drekar. Wine. Plenty of axes. And never mind this sextant malarkey: Decent set of sun stones. If the Greenland wine was no cop we could go on to America, and if that turned out to be rubbish we could just come home and self-publish a saga about it on the Interweb.

 

[claymore]

Something by Cunard

 

[John Barry]

Interestingly I'm currently planning a trip to Greenland. East Greenland rather than West.
We're going in a Rustler 36, because it's what's available. Currently getting to the end (some hope) of the long refitting list...

 

[GrumpyOldGit]

Royal Carribean for me !

Or possibly Cunard

 

[prv]

Something in nice thick aluminium, with a decent wheelhouse, and a focsle that can store lots of gear. An anchor that conforms to Steve Dashew's definition of "big enough" ("if people burst out laughing whenever they see it, it's nearly big enough") and four big drums (with winding handles) of polyprop warp for mooring in the middle of deep inlets. Diesel stove, with a series of mesh shelves above it and around the chimney for drying gloves/hats/etc. A tough and serviceable rig - probably two headsails - but otherwise I don't think there's anything arctic-specific to be done about the sail plan.

I've seen a boat for high latitudes with a sort of "crow's nest" on the mast about where a radar scanner is often fitted, for spotting leads in the ice. Looked rather ugly and topheavy though, so I don't think I'd have that. Thinking laterally, I suppose a steerable camera at the top of the mast would do the job.

Pete

 

[jerrytug]

+1^, my dream yacht! Does Greenland have bears by the way?

 

[Tim Good]

Does Greenland have bears by the way?

Yes. Of the big white variety. Don't leave you boarding ladders down.

 

[jdc]

Almost any boat is good!

The attached snippet is from a good article written by Beth Leonard.

 

[TimBennet]

. . . We're going in a Rustler 36, because it's what's available. ...

That's the secret! I think just as many trips get done in 'ordinary' yachts than specialist built boats.

The important thing is a combination of good skills amongst the crew and a realistic evaluation of the risks, and then taking practical precautions to counter them, both in the preparation for the trip and in your actions once there.

Experience learnt slowly is worth more than any specific boat. The weather once in the far north is often very settled and no yacht has the heft or strength to deal with ice to any significant amount. So really you need a boat you're happy to do two North Atlantic crossings (there and back), and one that can carry enough stores (including lots of diesel) for you to do whatever you want, in a degree of comfort with which you are happy, once there.

So if you have Bob Shepton's experience and the tolerance of cramped conditions that his 'passengers' seem to have, then a Westerly Discuss is all you need. Judy Lomax was also happy in the Beneteau 345 "Cloud Walker'. In my experience the sailors have more in common with each other than the boats they choose.

Starzinger and Evans have posted the RCC info pack on their site which gives lots of useful information from people who have been there, in their various craft.

http://www.bethandevans.com/pdf/Arctic guide.pdf

And hasn't an Albin Vega 27 done the Northwest Passage?

 

[prv]

That's the secret! I think just as many trips get done in 'ordinary' yachts than specialist built boats.

Oh, certainly. But I thought the OP was inviting the "ultimate" boat for the purpose as a fantasy exercise. If he'd said he was actually planning to go, I might have focused on what was necessary and realistic rather than what might be "ideal".

Pete

 

[Tim Good]

Oh, certainly. But I thought the OP was inviting the "ultimate" boat for the purpose as a fantasy exercise. If he'd said he was actually planning to go, I might have focused on what was necessary and realistic rather than what might be "ideal".

Pete

No I'm happy to hear all sides of the equation. All very interesting. Purpose of this for me is a long term trip planned in about 2-3 years.

 

[Seajet]

Greenland; my choice would be a Macgregor, sailed by the git who owes me money, my ex wife, traffic wardens, and ideally a nutter who can't help playing with nitro glycerine...

 

[TimBennet]

. . . Purpose of this for me is a long term trip planned in about 2-3 years.

You better get your skates on! Seriously, that's not long to get ready. The summer before your trip you need to really give your boat a real test in the configuration you'll want her for the actual trip.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

First of all, GRP is unsuitable for use in water where you WILL encounter ice; it has poor resistance to abrasion, and will rapidly degrade from repeated contact with minor ice floes or bergy bits. The gel-coat will soon go around the waterline, and then it's a matter of time before the laminate starts degrading. Steel is the preferred contruction; aluminium and wood are OK (wood can be protected with sacrificial planking around the bow and waterline). Of course, the interior of a metal hull should be suitably insulated.

Second, you MUST be able to get out of the wind. So, a pilot house or similar is a good thing. But you need good visibility from it; ice in the water can be hard to spot, and you don't want to hit anything too big.

Third, the rig must be handy; if working in ice you need to be able to tack etc. quickly to take advantage of leads. Ketch or schooner are a good idea, to split the rig up into smaller sails.

A really reliable engine with ample power will be very useful!

The rudder and stern-gear should be well protected; ice floes frequently project horizontally below the water, and of course ALL lumps of ice are mostly below the water. Sailing ships designed for operation in ice often had retractable rudders and stern gear.

Heating, of course - but that isn't as big an issue as you'd think; sea-water never gets below about -2 or-3 degrees C, so the hull can only get that cold.

If I were going there, I'd regard a radar as being a very desirable extra; in calm conditions, it can get foggy, and you want to see what ice is around you.

A rifle if in the Arctic, and the skill to use it. Polar bears on the ice might well think you look just what they want for a snack between seals! But don't use it unless it is you or the Polar Bear; apart from the ethics, the paper-work if you kill a Polar Bear is probably worse than if you kill the first mate. Some people have reported that a shotgun works; the advantage is that you're unlikely to kill a Polar bear with a shot gun. Disadvantage is that you might just annoy it!

It is worth considering stores. The best laid plans could go pear-shaped, and you end up having to over-winter in an ice harbour. Ample emergency rations should be carried, along with fuel - and remember that fuel isn't just for cooking and heating, it's for melting drinking water as well, whi8ch uses a LOT more fuel. Whatever, you need to be COMPLETELY self-sufficient while up there.

As an aside, I understand that Greenland and Svalbard both insist on bonds being posted against the possibility of rescue being required. There's no RNLI or Coastguard in those waters.

 

[prv]

A rifle if in the Arctic, and the skill to use it.

True - my brother's girlfriend went on some kind of geological investigation in Svarlbard and they all had to do some skill-at-arms training and then carry at least one rifle per group at all times.

No idea how you'd handle the bureaucracy involved in this in the sadly firearm-paranoid UK

Pete

 

[TimBennet]

No idea how you'd handle the bureaucracy involved in this in the sadly firearm-paranoid UK Pete

You hire them when you arrive. There's lots of 'agents' who can arrange whatever you need.

 

[oldvarnish]

I'm at the other end of the world to Greenland and it's interesting to see the sort of boats that come down here. There are some steel/aluminium monsters, of course - mostly charter boats - but there are some very old and often smallish GRP boats which have come huge distances despite looking better suited to trips around the bay.

There is a pilot book for Chilean and Patagonian waters written by two Italians which is a work of art in itself. They state, quite clearly, that choice of boat for high latitudes is far less important than the way it is fitted out. Quite right.

So, if I were heading for Greenland I'd have a damned big anchor (Manson or Rocna) and lots of chain, a reliable heater which required the minimum of electronics, good dinghy and oars, a duvet of the highest TOG rating known to man, and a spray hood which had the strength of something befitting a battleship.

When it came to the boat, I would probably go for elderly GRP. Pre-1980, while they were still unconfident about the strength of plastic, they made them twice as thick as they needed to be. Not a bad thing for wild places.
A modern boat, dare I say, is likely to be a thinner and more fragile beast altogether.