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Greenland Tourism's Project Leif 2000
Terry has the end in sight
Log Date: September 9, 1998
Author: Terry Moore
Position: 055.28.4 N, 059.54.9 W
Observations: Beautiful sailing day in the fog amongst the islands, even if we weren't pointed exactly where we wanted to go
From Terry:Wasn't but a day or two ago that I was finally feeling like we are going to make it. We have yet to rack up any really big-mile days here in Labrador, but we have kept the boat moving in more or less the right direction for a long time, and it has paid off. Life and what it might contain post-Snorri could not even enter my head, the thought so remote in the face of all the miles yet to sail, all my energy brought to bear on decreasing that distance. And now we are talking about things like how we will get home, what we will eat, how many hot showers it is possible to take in a 24-hour period....
Granted, these are not overly ambitious topics, but you gotta start the decompressing process somewhere. Besides, after this long, you have to get every last drop out of a conversation. I was very impressed today listening to John and Doug discuss the merits of different brands of dental floss. They went on for nearly half an hour without even having to branch out into oral hygiene in general. Anyway, we have spent every moment of the past three months focused on this boat and where it might take us, and now it is drawing to a close. I'm not sure what magic threshold we have passed that allows us to begin thinking ahead - we still have over 300 miles to go, the weather is showing no more signs of cooperating than it has in the past three or four weeks, and the days are getting short.
We are anchored tonight in a small cove in the lee of Naulikattarvik Island. I thought, when we left this morning from Shoal Tickle Bay, that we'd be sailing now, the wind light NE and slowly building. Not the perfect wind, since the coast here runs ESE, meaning we would be sailing close hauled (not Snorri's favorite point of sail by any stretch) but we should be able to make some miles. Unfortunately, the wind didn't back far enough into the north, and we couldn't sail our way clear of the coastal islands before nightfall, in the fog, in a rising gale. Hmmm, maybe I am perfectly content sitting here at anchor after all, my stomach full of Erik's split pea soup and homemade flatbreads. I think I need to write an addendum to the cruising guide to Labrador entitled, "Incredible Places I Would Never Have Chosen to Anchor if I Had Any Other Choice in My Boat with No Engine." Should be a best-seller.
Now I want everyone who reads this to close their eyes, yep, close 'em, and focus on the low-pressure cell hanging stationary over the Strait of Belle Isle. Now visualize that low pressure moving off to the northeast and stalling there instead, bringing the coast of Labrador north winds for days on end. If Arnold Palmer claims he can alter the path of a golf ball in flight with the power of his mind, then heck, we should be able to nudge that low a little way out into the Atlantic. Sorry is the day when a wind with even a little north in it just won't do, and I have to go begging.
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