May 25, 2025

Our new captain, Captain Paul Adams, (ship captains work 3 months on-3 months off) called a general meeting of all passengers yesterday. The captain showed us a picture of the Greenland Sea, full of white caps, and asked the audience if we could identify the ice growlers (small ice bergs) from the waves. Almost 90% of an iceberg is under water, hence the phrase “tip of the iceberg.” An icebergs maximum width under water is 20-30% larger than you can see at the surface. It was a good exercise because no one in the audience could identify the ice growlers. With that said, the captain had decided to change course.

We were scheduled to disembark at Nanortalik and Qaqortoq two small ports in Greenland. The captain brought up a map showing where the ice bergs were and the route that the ship would have to take to avoid the ice bergs and arrive at our destinations. Captain Adams is a registered ice pilot and on board he had registered ice pilots from Denmark and Greenland. Ice pilots are specially trained captains who are certified to navigate icy sea conditions. They had a busy night ahead.

During the night we experienced some turbulence. I actually like the gentle movement of a ship it is like being rocked to sleep like a baby. I am a seasoned enough traveler to not worry about the capabilities of these vessels many of which break the 1-billion-dollar mark with cost of construction. I slept like a baby.

This morning the captain came on our cabin televisions and made an announcement that we would not be disembarking in Nanortalik. During the night, the bridge clocked wind speeds of 90 knots. The wave height at one point was 7 meters, just short of 23 feet. The captain shared a picture of the wind read out at 83.6 knot. He said it was like sailing through a force 2 hurricane. I slept like a baby.

What about tomorrow? At this point, the ice looks good for sailing into Qaqortoq, but the seas could be rough. Qaqortoq is a tender port, and the captain will decide tomorrow on whether it is safe to disembark. Here’s hoping that we will get into Qaqortoq ahead of the ice. We’ll see.

Either way, I still intend to sleep like a baby.

Thirdmill Update You may be wondering why you have not seen any updates from Iceland. Thirdmill is not aware of any students in Iceland or Greenland who are enrolled in study programs. That does not mean that individuals are not using the materials. People could be accessing and benefiting from the curriculum. The beauty and challenge of a free curriculum is that it is not always tractable. As we travel to Canada, I will share many stories with you as Thirdmill has a strong commitment to this country.

Thanks for traveling with us.