Leaving the Greenland fjords behind was bitter sweet for the whole crew, though seeing the REAL icebergs outside of the entrance to Prins Christian Sund was a great way to ease the yearning for more time in Greenland.
The Denmark Strait is body of water between SE Greenland and Iceland. Not to be confused with the Danish Strait, which connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. Most of the icebergs stayed closer to Greenland, and the further NE we sailed, the further away from the ice we went. Greenland continued to extend east, so even by the second day we were still seeing peaks of Greenland in the distance. Which we are pretty sure were exagerated by the arctic mirage, because it seems like being 150 miles offshore, we shouldn’t be able to see the peaks as well as we did.
We had hoped to sail along just at the edge of a low pressure system flowing north, but the wind didn’t quite fill in as predicted.While we didn’t get as much sailing in as hoped, it was still a pleasant motorsail crossing with clear skies. The first couple days we were seeing 6-8 foot swells in front of us, but the last day or so coming into Iceland the wind started to move behind us and the seas started to move with us. Surfing down waves is much more comfortable than the poor potholes Dogbark had to crash through. The chop got to a couple of us (mostly me), but luckily for me we were able to keep me hydrated.
The further north we went, the days got longer, which made for easier night watches. The sun wasn’t setting till around 11pm, and skies ever got entirely dark. Graeme and Brian had some near whale encounters and Rusty and I are pretty sure we saw a blue whale spout off on the horizon, just because it was so large and so far away. Ted and Al were able to add a few more seabirds to their list seen this trip. So far their list consists of: Black Guillemot, Glaucous Gull, Great Shearwater, Parasitic Jaeger, Northern Gannet, Northern Fulmar, Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Common Murre, Arctic Tern, and Common Raven.
Our last day at sea was rather exciting as it was my 40th birthday! I felt so cared for as the guys nursed me back to health and having real food never tasted so good. Ted even made me a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and gummy bears spelling out “4-0” and the gelato we had been saving since Sydney finally made their debute! I couldn’t be happier watching the Iceland coastline with the sunset glow on it, eating gelato and having a dance party as we turned into Ísafjörður around midnight.
Turning 40 doesn’t feel as daunting as it did when I was in my 20’s. It hardly feels like much of a milestone at all. Like all birthdays before, it feels more like a moment to reflect on appreciating what I’ve been able to experience in this crazy thing we call life. I want to make sure I don’t miss the opportunity to appreciate what is in the wake behind me. The good and the unforunate.
Celebrating my birthday at sea (now my second time with Dogbark) may be becoming a tradition and I’m absolutely here for it. If you had asked me just three short years ago how my life would look now, I wouldn’t even be able to come close to describing how transformed it would be. The unpredictability of life is something that I have truly come to embrace the last few years. Some of you might remember my 2024 motto: The end of everything is the beginning to anything. Just as in life, being out at sea is one of the ways we build resilience in ourselves. You cannot choose the wind, but you can choose how to trim your sails. It’s a reminder that we are just speckles on this vast ocean of life.
I am deeply grateful for this journey, not just because we are magically sailing to Iceland, but for everything the water has already given me. I believe that water heals us. It gives us the space to breathe and slow down. It allows us to let go of things we hold onto physically and emotionally. Maybe it’s the water or maybe it’s the wind that carries away the things we have been holding too tightly. At sea, I find myself thinking about the people, choices, heartbreaks, and adventures, that have brought me here. There is space in my heart to continue to let things go and make space for new moments to fill me up.
I think about my family and the people who came before me. How their immigration journeys have profoundly changed our family legacies. I think about about this inspiring crew, and how each member has lived such accomplished and beautiful lives. Accolades and milestones aside, they are all the kindest and most generous humans. Which really makes me find deep gratitude to be a witness and be a part of their lives for however long it may be. I think about Graeme and how he and Janna are raising two amazing girls with Dogbark and beyond to live life with so much enrichment, even without spending a lot of time with them, I know they are going to live extraordinary lives and have such a beautiful impact on the world. These girls have lived more life than most people would ever dream of so early on, and it is so beautiful to see a world of opportunities for the up and coming generation, especially when our world feels so hard right now. I have high hopes that the world will keep showing up in magical and mysterious ways.
I still have no idea what my life will look like even one year from now, but I’m startign to believe that that is the point. What I do know is that I will keep showing up. I will always keep learning and moving. To keep saying yes to the adventures that scare me just a little (finding your edge is a skill and that’s how I know I’m in the right place). I hope to always surround myself with good people, stay curious, and will try to remind myself that it’s not about the destination, it’s the journey.
Here’s to 40, and to everything that lies just beyond the horizon.
