THULE CRUISING

Sailing the Thule area aboard sv Rembrandt van Rijn - Greenland and its surrounding waters are home to an impressive array of wildlife. There are about 50 bird species on the island such as Gyrfalcon, Snowy Owl, Barnacle and Pink-footed Goose.

ITINERARY

Day 1: Departure from Aasiaat We arrive in Aasiaat from Kangerlussuaq by chartered plane. Aasiaat is a settlement which was created in the 17th century to support the whaling at the mouth of Disko Bay. Its port is ice free from late spring to early winter. We depart the same evening Learn more about Greenland

Day 2: Landing at Umivinguaq On Hareøen we make a landing at the northeast side at Umivinguaq a lovely little bay with Thule houses.

Day 3 - 4: At sea At sea, sailing north in Davis Strait, always with a view on the Greenland ice cape.

Day 5: Cape York Cape York where, in 1818, the Inuit and White Men first met when Royal Navy ships under John Ross arrived. Today the small settlements on the eastern side of the cape are deserted. Just east of Parker Snow Bugt we cruise below the spectacular,

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com ice capped Crimson Cliffs. and sold it to an American museum. We may try to visit the site at the east side of the island. Day 6: Landing at Umivik At North Star Bugt, we visit the old Thule settlement where we Day 11 - 12: Greenlandic icecap see Umanak and Thule Mountain (The American Base is off We sail by the enormous Greenlandic icecap through Melville limits), later we land at Umivik at the northeast of Saunders ø, Bay south of the perimeter of the Nature reserve. The coast here with beautiful geological formations. is dominated by the vast Greenland ice cap which reaches the sea as a series of enormous glacier fronts, the largest outside Day 7: Thule (Qaanaaq) Antarctica. We land at N.E. Balles Ø, Depot Øer. Cape Seddon We call at Thule (Qaanaaq) the main settlement of the area. In and Red Head, areas completely surrounded by glacier ice, are the 1950s the inhabitants of Old Thule were forced to move to other possibilities. Qaanaaq when NATO created an air base at their former village. We will try to sail some way to the east into the Inglefield Day 13 - 14: Between Melville Bay and Upernavik Bredning. Later we sail to Siorapaluk, the northernmost In the maze of channels and straits between Melville Bay and Greenlandic village. Behind it is a mountain with Little Auks. In Upernavik we will make some landings and zodiac cruises. Atikerdluq a valley more to the west we see Thule dwellings, Qavdlunat (8 miles south of Cape Shackleton) offers a colourful graves and again Little Auks. landscape. The settlement Tasisusaq is surrounded by icebergs and is nice for zodiac cruising, as is the Upernavik Isfjord. At Day 8: Herbert Ø Kingigtorsuaq, where 14th Century Viking Ruins were found, we Qeqertarssuaq on Herbert Ø is one of the many deserted will go ashore and try to walk to the top of the island and settlements in Greenland. At the Missumassoq Glacier (south of imagine how these Norsemen stood on the same island seven Hvalsund) we will have a zodiac glacier cruise, where we can centuries ago. From there we sail to Upernavik, the main town in come quite close to the front. North Greenland.

Day 9: Kaminski Bugt- Qarsuarssuk Day 15: Svartenhavn In Kaminski Bugt- Qarsuarssuk we can have a beautiful view on Svartenhavn is a secluded bay in the Svartenhuk Peninsula the Putigfik Glacier and again make a zodiac cruise along a where we can expect to see Musk Oxen. glacier front. Day 16: Nussuaq Peninsula, Bjørnefaelden Day 10: Meteor Island At the western tip of Nussuaq Peninsula we land at On Meteor Island we land at Savigsivik, the southernmost Thule Bjørnefaelden assumed to be named after a bear trap from the settlement. It was on this island that the famous York meteorite Viking period. provided the Inuit with a source of iron - until Peary removed it

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com Day 17: Sail through Vaigat into Disko Bugt Depending on the weather we sail through Vaigat into Disko Bugt with a landing at Flakkerhuk, a tundra with a rich birdlife. Alternatively we sail west by Disko Island and land In Fortune Bay (Greenlandic, Kitdlit = whale bay) and Engkelsmanshavn near some warm (8 degrees C) springs, which create a lush vegetation. We have good opportunities to see Humpback Whales when we sail south of Godhavn

Day 18: Disembarkation in Aasiaat We arrive in Aasiaat. In the morning we fly from Aasiaat to Kangerlussuaq by chartered flight, and onward by scheduled flight to Copenhagen (flights not included in the voyage cost).

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com YOUR SHIP: REMBRANDT VAN RIJN

YOUR SHIP: Rembrandt van Rijn

VESSEL TYPE:

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BUILT/REFURBISHED:

S/V 'Rembrandt Van Rijn' was originally built as a herring lugger. The vessel was rebuilt as a three-masted passenger sailing schooner in The Netherlands in 1994 and sailed in Spitsbergen (1994 - 1996) and in Galapagos (1998 - 2001). The vessel underwent a complete rebuilding and refurbishment shower and toilet) program in 2011. The communication and navigation •6 Twin Private Inside cabins (with shower and toilet, no equipment has been completely renewed according to the latest porthole) SOLAS regulations. •9 Twin Private cabins (with shower and toilet and porthole) The Rembrandt van Rijn measures 56 meters in length (168 ft.), •The general interior public areas include a spacious restaurant 7 meters in width and has a draft of 2, 5 meters. area so that all meals can be taken together as well as separate •The maximum engine speed is 9 knots bar area and reading table area •She has an experienced crew of 12 on board including two tour •There is room to relax, read and socialize guides •The ship is well suited for expedition cruising among small •The ship can accommodate a maximum of 33 passengers in 16 islands and offers excellent open deck viewing areas, even cabins when under sail. The two inflatable rubber crafts (zodiacs) •1 Triple Private cabin with porthole (with enable landing and wildlife viewing opportunities in otherwise inaccessible areas.

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com INSIDE YOUR SHIP

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