Greetings from Ilulissat, the iceberg capital of the world, and Happy National Day of Greenland! Ilulissat, a Greenlandic name, means “iceberg.”

We crossed the Arctic Circle at 66°33’N on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at 21:23. We are just under 1,500 miles south of the North Pole. Our current position is 69° 13’N / 51° 06′ W. Above 66.56° N, the sun never sets—it moves across the sky in a phenomenon called the midnight sun.

After participating in a long-standing ceremony, the crew are now “blue nose” sailors. For the Bowdoin, this marks her 30th Arctic crossing. Induction into the “Order of the Blue Nose” is a maritime tradition in which sailors who cross the Arctic Circle enter the realm of Boreas Rex, the King of the North, and must complete a series of challenges to be inducted. These challenges are not for the faint-hearted and include getting sprayed by 34° seawater—a feat we all bravely accomplished.

Sailing through sea ice and icebergs, we reached Ilulissat on Friday, June 21st, the third-largest city in Greenland, located approximately 220 mi north of the Arctic Circle. As of 2020, 4,670 residents call Ilulissat home. The city is home to almost as many sled dogs as people. Friday was also Greenland’s National Day. Although part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland gained self-government in 2009.

The Ilulissat Icefjord runs west from the Greenland ice sheet to Disko Bay, just south of Ilulissat. Disko Bay is a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay. The icebergs we encountered from Newfoundland have “calved off” or broken off from the glacier into Baffin Bay. Cold currents take them south, causing them to break and shrink as they make their way off the coast of Newfoundland.

We aim to reach 70° North and are preparing to get underway, but for now, enjoy photos of Bowdoin from up high on her fore mast as we make our way through the sea ice to Ilulissat and local shots.

For ongoing updates on this Arctic adventure, follow the Schooner Bowdoin Blog!

Post By: Jorge Morales-Lopez
Graduate Student, Global Logistics & Vessel Operations

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