A deck diary of Ribbing for Arctic mission.
Day 6th-7th 8/9 July 2022
Position: 64° 13’ N 15° 408’ W – Hofn/Iceland
The 6th day was spent by the crew trying to find and transport fuel which was finally done by Taxi. On the 7th day, at 6am they set sail for Iceland taking advantage of a good weather window. But the ocean did not do them any favors as the big waves were completely unruly. Only in the last few miles, they manage to have laminar sailing, where the temperature was at 8 degrees and the fog very thick. Finally, after 15 hours of sailing they managed to reach Hofn. Luckily in these latitudes it never gets dark…At speeds of 18 to 30 knots, they covered 287 nautical miles and burned 1038 liters. The next few days will be dedicated to Iceland and repairs on the boat.
Day 8th-9th 10/11 July 2022 Position: 64° 09’ N 21° 56’ W – Reykjavik
The 8th day, the crew was anchored in Hofn with 8 degrees temperature, drizzle all day and dense fog. By noon, they were carrying fuel and spent the rest of the day in the cabin trying to get warm. At 5 o'clock the next morning, they set sail for Vestmannaeyjbaer islands, 160 nm further west, with temperature of 4 degrees. Coming out of the harbor the sea was once again untrodden by the tide and the headwind. It was a very rough couple of hours for them, and they made only 24 miles. After that, they had more laminar sailing and increased speed to 23 knots. They reached the islands after 9 hours of sailing, they went out for coffee and they intended to stay there for the day. The low barometrics, however, continue to chase them. Seeing the weather the next day, they packed up on the run, carried fuel and in two hours they were leaving the islands behind. Course for Reykjavík, 120 nautical miles more. Luffing again, 6 knots against currents with a lot of fight and a lot of water….A total of 15 hours of sailing.
Day 13rd / 15 July 2022 Position: 64° 09’ N 21° 56’ W – Reykjavik
Thomas Panagiotopoulos, writing about the status of the mission: "Unfortunately, changes are as rapid as the weather. We are trying to cross to Greenland but the ice has closed the bay of the harbor that we want to approach (Tasiilaq). The authorities there, have warned us not to venture there because there is a lot of ice and they are already trying to rescue the crews of two sailing boats that are stuck in the ice. So we stay in Iceland, and we are constantly looking for ways to escape. The only positive thing that is happening to us right now, is that we are lucky enough to be hosted by Vangelis Evan Kyrou and Rafnar Maritime. I am not sure what problems we would have faced, if they hadn't made such a significant contribution. There aren't enough words to express how grateful I am."
Day 15th / 17 July 2022 Position: 64° 09’ N 21° 56’ W – Reykjavik Thomas Panagiotopoulos, explains the current data of the mission: "According to the schedule, Cristiano and Carlos would have been arriving in Nuuk, Greenland on July 20 where they would replace Konstantinos and Andreas (who, as you understood, ultimately failed to come to mission). However, the weather conditions did not allow us to reach Nuuk before July 20th, and so Konstantinos returned by plane to Athens from Reykjavik.
On the other hand, the Nuuk airport would remain closed until the end of July due to dense fog. So, Cristiano and Carlos had to cancel their tickets to Nuuk and got new ones for Reykjavik, so we can all be together because with so many changeable conditions we risked not even meeting each other. Waiting, then, and arranging the boat that still has a lot of damage to repair, until Wednesday where the new crew will come…"
During our mission there will be a 24-hour monitoring of our route by SmartBoat, which generates a daily report with the routes of our boat. You will be able to see live, where we are with the boat at any time during our journey. You can check in real-time the position of our boat : www.smartboat.info/arctic-live
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