Sailing in Scoresbysund
Information based on experiences from our summer trip 2025
During 7 weeks this summer, we completed a 2,600 nautical mile round trip from our home port Elnesvågen located on the west coast of Central Norway to the world´s largest fjord system Scoresbysund, at the east cost of Greenland. Here we circumnavigated the largest island in Greenland, Milne Land. The voyage went directly from Norway via Iceland to Scoresbysund.
Back home we went via Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
We entered Scoresbysund from a slightly more northerly direction than it would have been natural since we were coming from Raufarhofn in Iceland, due to the wind direction.
Dense fog an heavy wind kept us on our toes looking out for ice as we approached Scoresbysund, but there was very little ice to be seen.
Other boats coming from the southeast at the same time as we did, encountered more ice. Thats probably only by coincidence, since the ice outside the entrance of the fjord moves quite much within the northern current.
Arriving in the area late in July meant the midnight (sun) light still was present, making night-time navigation quite easy. The journey home in late August was more challenging, as darkness at night took over and rain and fog stole what little light remaining in the sky. Ice can still be found in the sea outside the mouth of the fjord, and can be difficult to see in the darkness. The same goes for other vessels. Radar and AIS are extremely useful in these conditions.
The picture was taken about one hoour after midnight on July the 29
There is a lack of good electronic charts for chartplotters covering the east coast of Greenland, but we had usable electronic charts for planning on our iPad with the app "TZ-iBoat" and a pc with OpenCPN with O-charts. Together with nautical POD paper chartsfrom "Weilbach" those gave good coverage and was great for planning, but the lack of detailed soundings is still a major issue.
We found the fjords mostly very deep all the way close to the coastline, so we did not experience any dramatic situations even the poor soundings.
During our voyage to and from Scoresbysund, the wind conditions were occasionally strong and frequently changed direction, often resulting in headwinds.
Much of the sailing to and from took place in reduced visibility due to fog, with only a couple days with some sunshine. This provided sparse power production from the 700w on board solar cells.
As there was little wind in the Scoresbysund area, we did a lot of motor sailing. Although this gave us plenty of power, our diesel consumption became unexpectedly high.
We topped up our diesel supply in Raufarhöfn, our last stop in Iceland. This was fortunate, as the ice situation when we arrived Scoresbysund made it impossible to anchor at Ittoqqortoormiit, where fuel could be purchased.
In the village, fuel has to be transported to boats in jerry cans using dinghies, as the fuel pump is located on the western side of the village where there is no pier. Fuel is from the next to the fuel storage tanks. Fuel is self-service, with card payment at the outside payment terminal. There is a good, protected landing on the west side of headland, with good steps to the pumps.
It is not possible to moor alongside the small concrete pier. This is mostly due to the ropes that go from the pier out to the mooring balls that the locals use for their boats.
The pier in Ittoqqortoormiit. Click on the picture to enlarge
Once inside the fjord, on July the 29., the wind dropped and the fog disappeared quickly, but we soon encountered more ice than we had anticipated. This may of course be because we were not sufficiently prepared, but there are many indications that there was more ice than normal due to increased melting from the glaciers. The locals reported more ice than normal in front of the village at this time of year, but not exceptionally so.
Upon our arrival, no fresh produce was available from the store in Ittoqqortoormiit as they hadn't received any supplies since autumn 2024, and the first cargo ship of the season arrived on 1 August. Even if there had been some fresh produce in the store, the entrance to the village was blocked by ice, making it impossible for us to anchor or go ashore.
The water temperature in the fjord mostly hovered around 9-10 degrees Celsius, so it never got very cold on board. The air temperature was a steady 10 degrees on day time, but when the sun showed up, it created a real summer atmosphere.
We kept the Reflex stove burning steadily during most days to keep it warm and dry on board. It did not burn at night or while sailing.
On our way home after 18 days inside the fjord we anchored outside the village, where the ice now was completely gone. It was the weekend, but on Saturday we had to stay on board due to very strong winds, which is a well known issue: (Greenland Harbour Pilot:)
Fresh fjord and tidal winds can blow everywhere in the fjord system. The most prevalent wind is from N and can reach hurricane strength very quickly.
The wind disappeared during the night, and the next day we were allowed to go ashore, but the store is closed on Sundays, and since we left on Monday morning before the store opened we were unable to check it out.
We brought all our food for seven weeks with us from home, with the last upgrade of fresh produce in Vopnafjordurin Iceland.
The formal procedure for checking in to Greenland is to be found on the web site of Danish Geodata Agency :
The GREENPOS system is mandatory for all ships sailing to or from Greenland waters within the Greenland continental shelf or EEZ.
GREENPOS reports must be sent to the JRCC Greenland, if necessary via Aasiaat Radio.
COASTAL CONTROL reports apply to any ship of 20 GT or more and fishing vessels sailing between Greenland ports and landing sites. These vessels must submit COASTAL CONTROL reports to Aasiaat Radio.
The local police will be happy to greet you when you arrive in the village though, but since it wasn´t possible to enter due to ice when we arrived it was not a problem for us to sail on without making contact. This was confirmed by another sailboat that spoke to the police on land a few days later.
We didn´t manage to get in contact with the police the day we left.
When we arrived in the fjord, we spoke to another sailboat on VHF. It was anchored in Fox Bay, not far from the village, but we were both unsure if there was enough room for the both of us, and how beneficial it would be to have two boats measuring 47 feet there in the then quite fresh northeasterly wind, so we didn't try. Amdrup Havn was completely blocked by ice.
We continued on to Viking Bay, in the south-west of the fjord. However, both it and access to Hekla Havn were blocked by a thick belt of ice extending from Gåsefjorden.
Charcote Bay then became the next and closest alternative, and access there was easy. The bay had some large ice chuncks, but plenty of room to anchor. This became our first harbor, anchored in mud/river sand in the northwest corner at a depth of about 20 meters. Good fishing. All fishing is done with nets set from land. Arctic char is almost impossible to catch with a fishing rod. We stayed there for four days before sailing (under motor) further north to Jytte Havn in the Bjørneøyene.
Arctic char is superb food. Note the waterproof rifle bag in red. We brought a weapon with us as soon as we left the mothership, as protection against bears.
Charcote Bay. The ice outside the bay did float in a northerly direction, and just a few chuncks entered the bay while we was there.
Jytte Havn located at Bjørneøene (Bear islands) with the monumental mountain Gruntvikskirken (1977m/ 6486 feet above sea level) in the background. A very beautiful area and a good anchorage, with a good holding bottom at about 12-15 meter.
We think the area of Bjørneøene and Sydkap, together with Rypefjorden is among of the most beautiful places in Scoresbysund. In retrospect, we regret haven´t spent more time here.
To the west from Bjørneøene you will find Øfjorden streching out about 40 nautical miles. It had plenty of ice, but we found it easy to navigate in between the chuncks through out the fjord. The mountains on both side of the fjord gives a breathtaking impression.
We chose to turn right in to Rypefjorden towards Eielson Gletcher. Just before arriving at the gletcher on the nort-east side of the fjord, we found a river outlet which made a very nice anchorage. Good holding in 6-10m sand. Here is a flatter green area very well suited for some hiking. There where several muskox grassing along the hillsides, so keep a good lookout.
In the end of Øfjorden just before arriving Harefjord we was able to see the edge of the main glacier that covers all of Greenland. Stunning.
Rødefjord was a sight to behold with lots of large ice and beautiful red colors on the mountains. Further south, off Den rolige bre and Vestfjorbreen, large amounts of dense ice had built up. Vestfjordbreen is the largest feeder of ice in the area.
We managed to sneak past the ice jam, also known as "Iceberg Graveyard" in shallow water close to land to the east, and came out through the narrow sound between land and Røde øy.
The 80 feet charter boat "Hildur", pushed forward impressively through the ice, but this is a boat specifically built to withstand just that.
Our boat is not as sturdy and our experience too limited for us to dare to try our luck in the dense ice, and it turned out perfectly fine to go where we went.
According to an Inuit we spoke to, the ice is normally more open towards the west later in the summer.
As we passed the sound between Røde øy and Milne Land, the depth gauge suddenly showed 2.7 m.
Ankerviken was a fairly good anchorage where we anchored at a depth of about 12 m close to land.
No ice came close, but followed the eastward current further out in Fønfjorden.
The water in the fjord was discolored due to the river that flows into the innermost part of the bay. We experienced nice hiking conditions in the area, and encountered muskox on the flat plateau above the anchorage. There are a few cabins by the beach, and a nice little stream runs between them.
The picture is lying. Since the motive has been zoomed in the person looks a lot closer to the animals than she really is. The absolute minimum safe distance to muskox is no less than 200 meters. They may look cozy and slow, but don´t like visitors and can go from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye.
Can muskox really be that dangerous, you may ask? Take a hint; polar bears rarely attack muskox.
Fønfjorden had some large ice, but it was easy to navigate. On our way towards Hekla Havn we were about to drive close to an large chunk of ice for photography when suddenly, with a violent bang, a large peace of ice broke off. We were not so close that it would have hit us directly, but at the same time it could have damaged the hull or propeller have we ended up running over it. Now we was able to avoid it, and everything went well.
A valuable lesson; if avoidable, Never move close to ice higher than the deck of your boat. (Her you will easily find ice twice as tall as your rig).
The ice that blocked the access when we tried to enter Hekla Havn on our first attempt had now broken up, so we could easily enter.
Hekla Havn, a good anchorage with a beautiful view of Sydbreen and Gåsefjord, where a lot of ice is released.
During our entire circumnavigation of Milne Land, there was practically no wind for sailing. Nor was there any on the trip from Hekla Havn to Ittoqqortoormiit, but the wind picked up as we arrived in front of the village. We chose to anchor at a depth of 22 meters in gravel about 200 meters outside the river outlet. This was probably a wise decision, as the boats that anchored further in on both sides of us dragged in the strong wind (38 knots) the next day. Both the near by Amdrup Havn and Fox Bay are known for their notorious outbreaks of strong northern katabatic wind gusts. The Greenland Harbour Pilot warns specifically about this. The tides differs with about 1 meter.
We visited the village on a Sunday, so the store was closed, but the two kiosks were open. Exept of some candy and soda for the kids, the selection of goods was very limited.
The local museum was closed due to renovation, so there were no other activities except strolling around looking.
The locals we met were all friendly and welcoming when we spoke to them. We could understand Danish, which most of them could speak, but several also knew a little English.
We met a total of 6 smaller sailboats on the trip, five 50-80 feet charter sailboats with about 12 guests, and three cruise ships. The latter was not seen west of Milne Land. Three of the smaller charter boats sailed in the same area as us when we circumnavigated Milne Land. One of them anchored close to us once making a bit of noise, running its generator throughout the night.
None of the large cruise boats were close to our anchorage or around at the same time.
As far as we could tell we were the first recreational boat to complete the circumnavigation of Milne Land this summer. Regarding the amount of ice we encountered may be it might be a good idea to try a week or two later.
Pantaenius, our insurance provider, would not insure the voyage in Scoresbysund, but we negotiated an agreement with Simon Winter Marine – Sail and Motor Yacht Insurance www.simonwintermarine.co.uk for boat and liability insurance. Expensive, but reassuring.
There is a mobile phone network in the village, but with limited range. IridiumGO (our backup communication) with an external antenna seemed to have coverage all the time.
According to their web site Starlink is not approved for use in Greenland. Our SL was in “Ocean mode” since the voyage from Iceland, and worked 100% of the time we where in Scoresbysund, even when we were at the furthest "in land" west of Milne Land.
There is no VHF contact with any land-based radio station in Scoresbysund, only boat to boat. All communication beyond boat to boat VHF, or mobil phone at the village, has to be via satellite phone or email.
You should definitely bring protection against polar bear since they are often seen here on the Greenland east coast.
The polar bear is a very skilled swimmer and diver, and has even been seen climbing aboard boats.
The only polar bear we encountered
We brought our usual setup that we have learned from 4 previous visits to Svalbard, which is a 12-gauge pump shotgun loaded with slugs and a 7.62 mm rifle. We are happy to bring just one of the parts if we are going together, but it is very practical to have two units if we are moving on land separately. We always carry a flare gun as a first deterrent.
One of the boats we encountered had no weapons, and their movements on land were therefore severely restricted. Ironically, of those we spoke to they were the ones who saw a polar bear (the bear swam a safe distance from their boat).
Be aware that the hunters in the Ittoqqortoormiit get an allocation of a total of 35 bears each year(!) A inuit we spoke to told us the quota was done in just a few months, so there are lot of bears in the area.
The village got a small "hospital without a doctor" staffed by two nurses. We expect that first aid and simpler treatment will be available there.
Any serious medical situation can be challenging, as the sick/ injured person usually has to be evacuated. Nearest Emergency hospital is Reykjavik in Iceland or the hospital in Nuuk. The latter located approximately 700 nautical miles away. Keflavik in Iceland is 430 nm away, so everyone should think carefully about how to deal with any medical situation that may arise..
The same challenges applies when crossing an ocean, so in that sense, this is not unique for sailing in Scoresbysund.
Our safety strategy was first and foremost to put in extra safety margins in everything we did. Even a sprained ankle or a broken finger can create major challenges for a small crew, and there were only the two of us on board.
We trusted that the police in Ittoqqortoormiit was able to suggest some solutions if we needed help. For example, we think they should be able to organize an evacuation with some of the locals in their fast small boats, so in our "emergency plan", our first choice was to contact them (+299 991022,
+299 599122).
Probably (not verified) an evacuation may also be possible with the small helicopter stationed at Constable Point (the local Airstrip). This is primarily a taxi helicopter, but in an emergency, one could hope that it could be used if the weather permit and a landing site can be found where the patient is. Both will probably come at some expence, the latter significantly higher.
A second option would be to seek help from the tourist boats in the area and possibly rely on their emergency response capabilities. The larger cruise ships normally have a doctor on board.
Another challenge is that you must be largely self-sufficient and able to help yourself technical, as there is no coast guard or other government vessels patrolling the area.
Your anchor rode must be solid, and depending on your strategy regarding scope bring enough chain/ rope for up (down) to 20-25m depth in most anchorages.
An important trick: Leave 10m of rode on the boat so you´re able to let go more if an chunck of ice drifts on to your rode. One boat we spoke to had that happened to them, pushing the bow really deep in the water. Thanks to their foresight to still have some chain on board and good seamanship, they were able to release more chain and, using the engine, wrestle the ship free from the ice that had settled on top of the chain. Dont forget to bring ice poles.
Should you need to get hold of vital parts or crew, the small airstrip at Constable Point at the innermost part of Hurry Inlet normally got a couple of flights a week by Nordlandair to and from Iceland.
They fly via Akureyri and Reykjavik in Iceland, respectively. The airport is about 20 nautical miles from the village, so if you need to go there, you either have to fly by the already mentioned taxi helicopter or, if the weather is bad, by boat.
The charter boats transfer their guests by Zodiacs just outside the airstrip. One of the charter boat captains we spoke to said that they had an agreement with the airline for 30 kg of cargo on each flight to bring in fresh produce and other necessities.
There are no public communication between Ittoqqortoormiit and other parts of Greenland, so for instance if you want to go to the capital Nuuk which is situated on the west coast, you first have to fly to Iceland, then to Nuuk.
The village is described as the most remote permanent settlements in Greenland, and that is probably true.
In summary:
Nature was absolutely breathtaking, and provided unforgettable memories
Lots of ice and mountains that rise straight up from the sea and tower with their peaks reaching 2000meter/ 6500 feet. Between the steep mountains and the sea, we found flatter, vegetated areas where the musk grazed. The sea provided a good catch of char (with net) which we greatly appreciated.
Weather conditions meant little wind and minimal sailing within the fjord system. There are no harbors, other than anchoring. In the village, there is a small concrete pier, but it is not really suitable for mooring.
There was hardly any rubbish to be seen along the beaches, but if you find any and collect it, the village will NOT accept it. (They obviously have enough problems taking care of their own.)
The nature and the people we met in Scoresbysund gave us an incredibly memorable experience.
Check out the boat here: MOON