Reflections of many sorts

 September 12

We have shifted to Greenland time, but we are far west in that time zone. This means that sunrise is at 8am and sunset at 11pm, a very asymmetrical day! On the other hand, this time of year, approaching the solstice, tends to draw out sunrise and sunset. This morning’s sunrise was particularly lovely. 

We spent the morning at Savissivik, a small village at the north edge of Melville Bay. Savissivik is also known as “meteorite  island”.  The Thule people established a community here in the 12th century, drawn by the availability of iron in the remnants of a large meteorite. The iron was “cold forged” (essentially beaten into shape) for arrowheads and small tools. In the very late 19th century, an American explorer (Robert E. Peary) came and convinced the Inuits to trade him their meteorite chunks (which weighed from 6,000 to 68,000 pounds each ) for rifles and cooking pots and other “goods”. The Inuit lost their source of iron and Peary sold the chunks for $40,000 (in 1900 dollars) to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. 

The harbor of Savissivik was full of small icebergs. Some of our colleagues kayaked amongst them this morning while others took zodiac cruises. We chose a gentle hike across the tundra to a small lake. We were amazed at how much more lush the lichen were here in the “south” (75th parallel) compared to farther north. Some spots were spongy with the intermingling of eight or more species of lichen.

At the lake, the edges had frozen but the center was still open. This confused a flock of Canada Geese, which landed on the frozen section by accident and had to practice their skating skills. The open water allowed great reflections of the snow and glacier covered mountains around us. 

As the ship continued south through Melville Bay this afternoon, we were offered tours of some of the operational parts of the ship. It was fascinating to see all the emergency equipment stored in each zodiac, including equipment to hoist a person that overboard back into the zodiac and special thermal blanks to keep them warm. The captain was a good sport and served as the example of how to rescue a person into the zodiac if they have fallen overboard. The ship also carries a special winch to allow an overturned zodiac to be flipped over in the water from a second zodiac.

After dinner the captain gave a presentation on the making of the ship. One of the key features is the structure of the bow which thrusts forward, trademarked as an X-bow. This design allows the ship to cut through rough waters more smoothly and efficiently than traditional designs. The bow design was inspired by how certain sea mammals efficiently move through rough seas.  Viking ocean going war ships and trading ships, dating to the 9th century, also had a front thrusting bow which allowed them to travel in rough seas, at times reaching speeds of up to 12 knots. However, those vessels did not have horizontal stabilizers, very comfortable cabins, or the many other amenities of our ship.

Pictured: lichen carpet, sunrise (2), reflections on the lake (2), finger ice on the edges of the lake