moving piem

Arriving in Narsaq, South Greenland

We reached Cape Farewell — Uummannarsuaq in Greenlandic — around June 1st. Luckily, we had very calm sea and no wind, but a lot of ice. The navigation in the pack ice was amazing. We could observe many seals of at least three different species (ringed, bearded, and harp seals).

After three days sailing South then West to go around the cape and avoid the pack ice, with only very little fuel left in the tanks, we finally managed to reach the coast and entered Bredefjord, sailing towards Narsaq.

More than one week later than planned, we touched the ground for the first time after two weeks at sea. It was really moving to see my brother Eric, France and my two nieces together again.

Enjoying a bit of sun

Since Islay and all the way to Cape Farewell, the southernmost point of Greenland, we didn't meet a single boat. The weather was not very good. We had a lot of front wind and sometimes really rough sea.

On top of that, we had a few technical issues. First sea water in the fuel tanks, so we had to go down at least twice a day in the engine room to clean up the filters. We had a little bit of salt water in the drinking water as well, which is not very pleasant. And we managed to block the main sail winder, so we had to tie the main sail to the mast.

Three days before reaching it, there was a big storm at Cape Farewell, but luckily the low went up North, mostly avoiding us. Those two weeks at sea were beautiful and memorable. It was my first time so far away from a shore, and I was surprised how different time and space can be out there.

Sunset in the Irish Sea

On May 13th, surrounded by a few boats and kayaks, six of us left Brest: Eric, my brother and our captain, Vincent and Lea, a couple of young French people, and Arthur and Arnoul, 17 years old, two young recrue from the French military naval school.

Stopping by in Scilly islands, we first went to Limerick Harour, Ireland, were a film making crew was waiting for us. We had a beautiful day filming the boat amongs the thousands of guillemots who live in Saltee islands.

Two big lows were moving across North Atlantic, so instead of going West, we decided to sail East and then North across the Irish Sea.

Before arriving in Islay, Eric managed to repair the compass of the auto-pilot, so after a few days of training at steering the wheel, we could rely on our old friend Robertson to do it for us. We spent only about half a day moored in Port Ellen before heading West to cross the Atlantic.

Vagabond in her new dress

After 5 days on the coastal path, I used my thumb to reach Brest hitch-hiking. Again, I met generous friendly and interesting people on my way, and the last driver took me all the way to the harbour where Vagabond is moored.

I spent two weeks here in Brest, helping my brother Eric, his partner France and my tow nieces Léonie and Aurore, 4 and 1 years old, to get ready for their wintering in Brise Fjord, Ellesmere Island, North of Greenland.

Most of the time, I was taking care of my two adorable nieces. It was really great to have some time with them. I also helped with the boat's logistics. Preparing 18 months of food is a lot of work, and while it's not the first time the boat leaves for such a long time, it's the first time I am here to help, and I found it very impressive to load half a ton of flour, 1000 soups, 50 kilos of chocolate.

Joining the GR34 near Mont Saint-Michel

Before joining Vagabond and her crew in Brest, I went in the North of Brittany for 5 days hiking, just to check if being alone for a few days was not too boring.

I walked about 140 km along the coast, from Mont Saint-Michel to Saint-Lunaire, passing by Cancale and Saint-Malo. The sky was blue and the air as hot as on a summer day, the trail was full of spring flowers, and the very high and low tides made the landscapes even more beautiful.