Greenland and Iceland Adventure - The Calm Before the Storm!!

As we departed from Narsarsuaq, the Captain came on the tannoy to give us the bad news that our stop the next day in Nanortalik was cancelled.  Apparently a huge storm was on the way up through the Atlantic and if we managed to get through the ice to Nanortalik there was every likelihood that ice would be blown in behind us and we would end up marooned in Greenland.  He warned us that the next couple of days things could get a little rough but he would do his best to keep us away from the worst of the storm until we could reach our next port of Isafjordor, Iceland.

As we sailed away that evening everything was so tranquil with a lovely sunset - little did we know what we were going to be in for over the next few days!!!!

As the evening went on the waters started stirring up and just after midnight the ship really lurched and almost came to a complete sudden standstill (we later found out that we had narrowly missed hittting an iceberg - eek!!).  Needless to say we kept a tight grip on our cocktails and carried on drinking LOL!!  We knew as we went to bed in the wee hours that it was going to be a night of little sleep as we were already being tossed from side to side as the storm gained strength.  Then at 4.30am everything was flying around the cabin especially the furniture that wasn't secured to the floor.  We quickly got up and put as much stuff as possible on the floor of the cabin.  I found that the rubbish bin was the best place to keep the vase of flowers safe and the contents of the mini bar.  The Atlantic storm persisted for three days and we spent two days barely moving due to the strength of the winds.  Fortunately we are both good sailors and didn't feel ill during this time but I found it really difficult to walk around the ship so for one day I did stay in the cabin for safety and used room service for my meals.  Also during this time a freak wave hit the starboard side of the ship taking out a window of the restaurant and the theatre and bending the flagpole at the bow of the ship in half.  Richard got some good footage of how rough the seas were from our balcony - I will have to see if I can upload video clips to my blog - but I wouldn't watch if you get seasick LOL!!

In the end our stop at Isafjordor was cancelled and there was some doubt as to whether we would ever reach Reykjavik with time to do anything.  But on day three the winds finally dropped from force 10 to force 4 and we were finally back onto calm seas and smooth running with enough time to get into Reykjavik for our two day stop - I swear I saw people kissing the ground when we did finally make it safely onto dry land!!