(written by Nick)

Got in two days ago; no drama en route.

Back to where I left off in the last blog -

At Ammassalik, I followed the stream up into the mountains, looped around behind one, ascended a 2nd on the coast, crossing fields of snow, a 2000' climb. The  peak over the sea, the huge bergs beneath small, Ammassalik and its harbor Kong Havn greatly shrunken far below me, Teddy my boat nearly invisible. The Greenland coastal range fading into tinyness far off to the SW. 60 or 80 miles of icecap in view.

That night was our last in Greenland. Spent the night in the pub drinking & dancing til 3.30 am. Talked with a few Eskimos, found one who had lived in Pennsylvania 15 yrs; he said "Small world, huh?" in the most perfect American colloquial. I have his address & Email should I return, to hunt & fish with him. The Eskimos utterly shameless, cadging me for beer, occasionally for money, just because I'm 'foreign'. In the pub it was the Wild West - wonderful. Drunks asleep on the floor & dragged out by the staff, tussles & fights & men kicked out, plenty of lust (have you seen 2 Eskimos kissing? Very very closely & intimately, with their flatter faces & noses, the eyes so much closer - a pleasure to watch!),  contemplaters on the sidelines, ferocious cheering for the local football team,  wild dancing. Uninhibited & free.

We left the next morning. Passed through a last small icefield; had trouble getting through on the outside edge where the onshore wind had compressed the floes. This is where I got careless & hit 2 bergs hard trying to squeeze between them. Nice shallow ding a few feet aft of the bow, two foot across & half an inch deep.

The return from Ammassalik to Clifden took 12 days. Lots of calm or very slight wind - had to motor more than half the time. I had hoped for a SW or W gale approaching Clifden to drive us in, and what I got was a 3 day faint breeze right on the nose.

Lots of minke whales in the 60s latitudes. In the 50s a pod of respectful pilot whales accompanied us awhile, then lots of dolphins cascading in from all sides to share the joy of the world with us. Ben & Sam hung onto the bobstay under the bowsprit, inches above the water, and touched the dolphins on their backs & dorsal fins many times.

We returned from 24 hours daylight to day/night. Saw the stars for the first time in 6 weeks. Ditto phosphorescence - that of our wake, and that of the trails of dolphins zigzagging under & around the boat in the dark.

We came into Clifden harbor to a welcoming flotilla. Sailed up to the mooring, tied up, & had all aboard for hugs and a celebratory drink.

It is great to be back - my friends, my dog, Connemara the land, my house. The end of an adventure, now renewing my old/new life.

Ben transferred 1000 photos of the trip from his digital camera to my computer. I looked them over & I cannot believe that we were at some of those places. Greenland was a shocking jagged raging thunderous wilderness - I still can't get over it.

I have a 5' x 3' cloth map of Greenland, in Danish, 1953, which I took from the one room school at the abandoned Eskimo village, now hanging up on the wall. Inspiration for the future, perhaps?

Many thanks to Ben & Sam for joining me on this splendid trip & for helping me to make it happen.

I enjoyed very much doing this blog. I really liked the informal & unplaned partnership with Ben who put on all those great pics with great comments.

I now end my part in this blog.