To America
The Viking WayA thousand years ago, Vikings sailed island by island from their Scandinavian homeland to Shetland, to the Faroes, then Iceland and on to Greenland. Each new land was first sighted accidentally by voyagers driven off course through storms or uncertain navigation. Exploration followed and soon men women and children crowded aboard the open boats with their domestic animals and cherished possessions, to begin new lives in unfamiliar lands. For a brief historic moment, a few explorers stood on the soil of North America becoming the first Europeans known to have crossed the Atlantic.
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Remains of Viking houses, churches, and farms form a fragmented but continuous trail. Jarlshof in south Shetland is a picturesque ruin beside a curving sandy bay. An unfinished cathedral lies between mountains and sea in the Faroes. In northwest Iceland the pagan holy mountain, Helgafell, overlooks a promontory where Eirik the Red was banished and propelled on his historic voyage to Greenland. In the settlement he founded, Erik's farm at Brattahlid, the colony's cathedral at Gardar, and Hvalsey church all enjoy delightful fiord-side settings. L'Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland is a worthy final link in this distinguished chain.We explored each island, leaving Symphony moored in busy ports, tied up at a small fishing dock or swinging at anchor in a remote, isolated anchorage.
Spectacular scenery unfolded on each leg of the journey. The fiords of Norway gave way first to cacophonous Shetland bird cliffs and then to long desolate Faroese valleys. In Iceland, volcanoes were still warm and smoking and hot springs spouted water skyward. Greenland was a classic composition of icebergs, glaciers, and snow-sprinkled mountains. Deep fiords in Northern Labrador cut from the sea to the heart of the Torngat Mountains. Whales, seals, dolphin, and the always-amusing puffins were our constant companions. Eagles and gyrfalcon soared over Greenland. In Labrador, we watched from our anchored boat as polar bear, black bear, and caribou foraged along the shore.
It is well that we prepared carefully for voyaging in these cold sub-arctic waters. Approaching Shetland, a fresh breeze split the mains'l. South of Iceland, waves driven by gale-force winds buffeted Symphony for eighteen hours as she lay tethered to a sea anchor. A fouled propeller necessitated diving into frigid water off northwest Iceland. Icebergs threatened us constantly around Greenland and early winter gales kept us sheltering at anchor for several days in southern Labrador.
Apart from these excitements, we enjoyed a lot of great sailing. We left from our winter base at Hull on England's northeast coast at the end of April. After a five-day passage across the North Sea we found Norway wreathed in fog using GPS, chart plotter and radar. A line of offshore islands protects the Norwegian coast. Behind them is a sheltered waterway. Here we enjoyed brisk, fair winds in waters essentially without waves. It was great sailing. For much of our stay we had sunny weather. We were told this is not usual.
For the first part of the voyage, most of our berths were in commercial harbors. These varied from Bergen, Torshavn, and Reykjavik which are busy commercial ports, to small harbors used primarily for fishing such as Westmanna (Faroes) and Stykkisholmur (Iceland). After Norway, Shetland was rather gray and dour. Houses in the Faroes are colorful against the green hillsides. The valleys are long and deep with a great sense of isolation. Iceland is like no other place we have visited. The land is so barren. There are very picturesque places around the coast. Notable is Snæfellsness, a classic cone shaped mountain capped with a small but well fitting ice cap.
Most of Greenland is inhospitable. The inhabited areas are along sheltered fiords, and may be sixty or more miles from the sea. The winds here are light and we motored more than we are accustomed to. Here too we used harbors when they were available, but we also spent time at anchor in remote, often picturesque bays. Icebergs are everywhere. Usually these are not a problem, but they certainly get your attention when they disintegrate or roll over with a tremendous crash.
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For navigation, the most interesting part of our journey is Labrador. The surveys used for the charts are generally of a preliminary nature with soundings limited to a single line. This marks "the route usually followed by coastal traffic" and is deemed safe by repeated use. GPS errors can be large. In some cases, the datum used for original surveys is unknown. We found discrepancies of over half a mile. There is no habitation for the most northerly three hundred miles. We sailed down the coast in September. The nights at this latitude by this time of the year were quite dark and we enjoyed our first views of the extraordinary Northern Lights, accompanied by perfect crisp views of the Milky Way.
Our sail along the Labrador coast gave us a unique insight into the Vinland voyages. What extraordinary sailing directions the sagas provide! The Wondersands (the first sandy beach we had seen since Shetland) and Keelness (Cape Porcupine) form unmistakable landmarks for mariners in search of Vinland.
Finally, we stood beside the Viking houses at L'Anse Aux Meadows and looked out over the Strait of Belle Isle. Our thoughts turned back 1000 years to sailors who navigated here in magnificent high-prowed, open boats. Our fascination for them had not dimmed. Rather it was enriched; bare bones now clothed with vivid impressions of the lands they occupied. We had discovered the extraordinary beauty of the ice. Deep fjords backed by bold dark snow sprinkled mountains, are lasting memories. It will be very difficult not to return.
Trevor and Lesley Hodgson, sail Symphony, their Tayana 37. They are recipients of the Windward Lifetime Membership Prize in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments.