PADDLER 44
Words : Mike Keen . Photos : Mike Keen & Arina Kleist
Part one : https :// paddlerezine . com / south-north-greenland The line between being ok and being very much not ok is a fine one and one that is very easily crossed . I never capsized out there , but several times , I got into weather that made me a bit twitchy . It can ’ t be helped despite having the latest weather apps and tech to ensure I had up-to-date reports .
PADDLER 44
South to north
GREENLAND
SOLO
Part two
Words : Mike Keen . Photos : Mike Keen & Arina Kleist
Part one : https :// paddlerezine . com / south-north-greenland The line between being ok and being very much not ok is a fine one and one that is very easily crossed . I never capsized out there , but several times , I got into weather that made me a bit twitchy . It can ’ t be helped despite having the latest weather apps and tech to ensure I had up-to-date reports .
Sometimes , the crossings were just too far for it to be spot on all the time . My longest crossing was 38km in Disko Bay , a day or two after leaving Ilulissat and its incredible ice fjord , but there were plenty of crossings around the 15-20km mark . The weather apps were pretty accurate ; I used PredictWind , which worked with the satphone for updating when I wasn ’ t near a settlement or phone connection . When I did have a connection , I also used Windy to cross reference for extra peace of mind . When the waves picked up , it was reassuring to know that it ( probably ) wouldn ’ t turn into something nasty – or at least I ’ d convince myself that .
Despite the unseasonably bad weather , I didn ’ t lose too many days to storms – it was much colder than expected . The worst weather I experienced was a day or two north of Maniitsoq . I knew the wind was going to pick up and turn gale force sometime late evening , so around mid-afternoon , I ’ d come out of a fjord