voyages/lblEastGreenland

In the wake of Louise Arner Boyd

Expedition to Louise Boyd Land, East Greenland, August/ September 2018

Louise Arner Boyd (1887-1972) was an American Arctic explorer who wrote extensively about her many self-funded expeditions between 1924-1935. During her 1931 expedition she found land between the De Geer and Jaette Glaciers, a discovery that contradicted the best available maps at the time. The land was eventually named Louise Boyd Land by the Danish Government (Weisboydlund). Her photographs, which often used photogrammetry, were so good that the American Geographical Society was able to map the region to scale. Subsequently the AGS gave Boyd their prestigious Cullum Medal in 1938 for being a “dauntless leader of scientific expeditions into the Arctic”.

In August/September 2018 I led an expedition to Louise Boyd Land (73° 31’ N 28° W) located in the uninhabited and relatively unexplored National Park region of East Greenland. I commissioned the Icelandic sailing vessel OPAL a traditional two-mast top-sail schooner (owned by North Sailing) that had received international innovation awards for its unique electrical propulsion system by RENSEA. This expedition sailed into the fiords of East Greenland using Miss Boyd’s original charts. I recorded the expedition using a multi-disciplinary approach including film, photography, drawings, audio and visual recordings. Drone footage added a unique topographical perspective, complementing the photogrammetry technique used by Boyd. GPS/AIS and a Manta trawl were used to collect water samples in order to map the extent of plastic pollution in the seas in this pristine uninhabited part of the world.

“The expedition led by Anne Lydiat is in the best Cape Farewell tradition that will produce a true legacy and vision of this wild and extreme landscape of ice and ocean. I fully support and endorse this East Greenland expedition and its objectives and encourage others to help make this an important intervention that celebrates the dialogue between science, gender, art and history”

— David Buckland (Founder and Director, Cape Farewell)

Day 1: Tuesday, 28 August 2018, Constable Point

The flight from Reykjavik to the small airport at Constable Point, was uneventful. I had spotted OPAL and the other ships, anchored in Hurry Fiord. As I walked along the shoreline to the ship, I photographed the plastic debris I found. I could hear the persistent noise of the drone above recording my first steps on east Greenland. The RIB was waiting at the landing point. I was so looking forward to being on board OPAL again and meeting the crew who were going to take us on this unique expedition to Louise Boyd Land. We were to be accompanied by HILDUR as a safety support vessel.

SS OPAL, SS DONNA WOOD and SS HILDUR anchored in Hurry Sound, Constable Point, Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Constable Point, Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat, 2018

HILDUR with DONNA WOOD leaving Constable Point, Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018.

Icebergs, Scoresby Sound, Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018.

Icebergs, Scoresby Sound, Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Day 2: Wednesday, 29 August 2018, East Greenland

It was an emotional reunion meeting with the OPAL captain and crew again. So much had happened since the voyage around Scoresby Sund in 2016 when I had previously been on board with my husband the late Chris Wainwright. We made ready and sailed out of Hurry Sound, past the settlement of Ittoqquoortomiit and into the open sea along the East Coast of Greenland. The icebergs were just as spectacular as I had remembered them but I hadn’t reckoned on how rough the open sea would be. I set up my drawing book and started recording the violent pitching and rolling of the ship. I could hear the pen swinging backwards and forwards at the side of my pillow. was unbelievably seasick for 36 hours, the duration of the first drawing.

First Ship drawing, 36 hours, Greenland Sea. Anne Lydiat 2018.

HILDUR, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018.

Iceberg (Close up), East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018.

Day 3: Thursday, 30 August 2018, Jomsborg, Greenland

Sailed up through King Oscar Fiord - totally spectacular scenery. The scale was utterly disconcerting in that the land seemed to close in behind the ship so that you could never see where you had come from, or where you were intending to go. I was beginning to understand the true meaning of sublime. I felt insignificant in this landscape and far away from anywhere and everything that was familiar. Sailed past a mountain that I recognised as having seen in Boyd’s book The Coast of North East Greenland (p. 25). It was Jomsborg - Boyd had photographed it on Aug 7th, 1937 and here I was photographing it eighty years later.

Approach to Jomsborg, King Oscar Fiord, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Retreat from Jomsborg, King Oscar Fiord, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

SS OPAL and SS HILDUR anchored at Ella Island, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Day 4: Friday, 31 April 2018, Ella Island

Today we would be sailing up King Oskar Fiord and then anchoring at Ella Island, a Danish wireless station in the Northeast Greenland National Park. The huts were all locked up for the oncoming winter months against the weather and polar bears. Once inside Eagles Nest, I signed the visitors book, my name now alongside all the many trappers and explorers, who had visited Ella Island. Louise A. Boyd had visited there many times. I wrote ‘Greenland Expedition to Weisboydlund’, Anne Lydiat Wainwright, 2018. We recorded a short film about the expedition. We walked up to the small landing strip at the back of the settlement. I recorded the flora of the island. Back on board we made ready to set sail for Louise Boyd Land located at the top of Ice Fiord. The fiord is narrow and the Captain had concerns that we might not be able to take the ships all the way up due to icebergs blocking the fiord. I couldn’t contemplate not getting there…

Ship Drawing, Anchored in King Oskar Fiord. Anne Lydiat 2018.

Ella Island, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Ella Island, Danish wireless station, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Ella Island, Looking out towards Maria Island and Ruth Island, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Outbuilding, Ella Island, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

‘Niagara’ (outside toilet), Ella Island, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Eagles Nest (1931) Main hut of the Ella Island Wireless station. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Interior of Eagles Nest, Main hut of the Ella Island Wireless station. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Flora, Ella Island, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

HILDUR, Ice Fiord, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat. 2018

OPAL nav chart. Louise Boyd Land, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Day 5: Saturday, 1 September 2018

We had anchored overnight in Renbukten and left early as we were still several hours away from Louise Boyd Land. The waters were much calmer now we were in the fiord system of the Greenland National Park. The scale of the landscape was truly awesome and so difficult to capture the scale through the lens of my camera. It was eerily quiet, the silence only interrupted by the sound of OPAL making headway - it was reassuring to see HILDUR in the distance. We entered Ice Fiord and thankfully there were no icebergs blocking our passage and so we made good headway. Suddenly, there straight ahead was Louise Boyd Land with the Jaette and De Geer glaciers holding the land in an icy embrace. It was with a deep sense of satisfaction and achievement to finally be within touching distance of Louise Boyd Land. I had been planning this expedition for two years. We spent hours trying to find a safe place for me to step ashore. The Captain was worried in case one of the glaciers calved and I would be left stranded. At last the wind dropped and I was given the all clear for the RIB to carry me across, flying the silk flag with all the names of the crew and the other women who had voyaged with me. I filmed the landing on my go pro and sat completely alone on the rocks of Louise Boyd Land. I folded the flag, covered it with a cairn of stones, and left it behind. I collected one stone to bring back with me as a memento.

Ship drawing, Louise Boyd Land, Anne Lydiat 2018.

Louise Boyd Land with the Jaette and De Geer Glaciers on either side. Ice Fiord, north east Greenland National Park. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Louise Boyd Land, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Jette Glacier, Louise Boyd Land, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Anne Lydiat setting foot on Louise Boyd Land carrying the flag with the names of the crew, east Greenland. Photo: Heimer Haroarson, Captain of SS OPAL.

Anne Lydiat on Louise Boyd Land, East Greenland. Photo: Captain of SS OPAL

eastgr_day5_HILDUR SAILS 1 SEP IMG_2514.jpg

HILDUR sailing offshore from Louise Boyd Land, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Day 6: Sunday, 2 September 2018, Blomster Bay

We anchored in Blomsterbugten (Bay of Flowers). It was the first anniversary of my husband Chris Wainwrights’ death - I had brought some of his ashes and cast them into the fiord in his memory. We went ashore and walked up to Lake Noa photographing the flora. It felt good to get off the boat for a while. The peace was wonderful, broken only by the incessant sound of the drone overhead! Stopped at a hut for tales of past explorers. Back on board we consulted the charts and decided to sail to the Waltershausen Glacier up North Fiord. Some of the crew warned me that due to climate change it could so be so far in land that we would not be able to see it.

Ship drawing, Franz Josef Fiord, East Greenland. Anne Lydiat 2018.

Pancake ice, Blomsterbugten (Bay of Flowers), East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

OPAL and HILDUR, Blomsterbugten, Bay, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Hut, Blomsterbugten, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Lake Noa, Blomsterbugten, East Greenland. Photo: Anne Lydiat 2018

Flora, Blomsterbugten, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Broad Leaved Willow Herb, Blomsterbugten, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Arctic Cotton Grass, Blomsterbugten, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

HILDUR, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Iceberg series, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

OPAL nav chart showing Waltershausen Glacier, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Waltershausen Glacier, North Fiord, east Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Day 7: Monday, 3 September 2018, Walterhausen Glacier

We could sense when we were approaching the glacier as the temperature dropped dramatically and the light appeared to comprise of a million ice crystals giving the landscape a silvery veil. We spent several hours at the glacier as the Captain wanted to make the most of the photo opportunity. Again the silence was only interrupted by the annoying sound of the drone overhead. We eventually set sail and started to head south. I wanted to go back through Sofia Sound but was over ruled as it was felt that it would take too long. It was decided to go back down the east coast on the open sea. Another 24 hours of debilitating sickness in spite of taking heavy duty sea sickness tablets. We sailed through the night - again I could hear the sound of the pen recording the ship pitching and rolling next to my pillow. The drawings were much fainter as my pen was running out of ink…

Ship drawing, North Fiord to open sea. Anne Lydiat 2018

East Greenland Open Sea. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Day 8: Tuesday, 4 September 2018, Greenland Sea

Another day on the open sea. I can’t eat or drink anything so am confined to my bunk. Set up another drawing. The sound of the pen is drowned out by the incessant sound of the anchor banging on the side of the boat as we plough through the waves. It is the first time that I have been really scared that we might not make it. The crew has been on duty all night - I worried that they might fall asleep. I heard the bell for breakfast and emerged on deck. A thick mist had set in and it was impossible to see the landscape.

Ship drawing, Greenland Sea, Anne Lydiat 2018.

Underway, Greenland Sea, East Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Ittoqqortoormiit, Scoresby Sound, Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 201

Church, Ittoqqortoormiit, Scoresby Sound, Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Graveyard, Ittoqqortoormiit, Scorseby Sound, Greenland. Photo: © Anne Lydiat 2018

Ship drawing, at anchor Constable Point, Greenland, Anne Lydiat 2018.

Day 9: Wednesday, 5 September 2018, Ittoqqortoormiit

We had left going to the Greenlandic Inuit settlement of Ittoqqortoormiit as the last port of call of the expedition. I had visited in 2016 on the Scoresby Sund voyage when we had been given supper buy one of the local villagers (narwhal and potatoes). It was a beautiful sunny day and I headed up through the village. I visited the church but it was closed - it’s apparently sinking into the ground due to the permafrost melting. I could hear dogs howling in the background and children laughing - there were plastic toys everywhere. I walked up to the graveyard where all the crosses are facing their traditional hunting grounds. Many of the houses were boarded up. The village is dying as the young people are leaving. We boarded OPAL for the last time and headed for our final anchorage back at Constable Point in Hurry Inlet. I set up a drawing overnight - I was sad to be leaving as I realised that I would probably never return.