SAC: Sailing to the Arctic Circle

It's another world at high latitudes; cold, yes, but breathtaking beautiful too.

This summer it felt like time to sail outside the comfort zone and achieve a long held wish to sail in northern waters.

Over the last couple weeks I sailed a Contessa 32 double handed with the natural navigator Tristan Gooley:
- starting from Kirkwall in Orkney
- headed NNW to the Faroes
- transversed the Faroes along the Kalsoe Fjord
- headed north up to the Arctic Circle
- then sailed roughly west along the top of Iceland
- saw lots of wildlife including seals, dolphins and whales
- rounded Iceland's untouched Hornstrandir headland
- sailed up the Jokulfirdir fjord into uncharted waters (literally)
- admired the Drangajokull glacier
- headed south passed the volcanic cone of Snaefellsnes
- to finish in Reykjavik

That's a thousand NM to blog, with a memory card full of photos, a boatful of kit to review and dozens of stories.

It begins with the screen grab above, the iNavX route from the iPad, when we sailed up to 67N.

When we sailed to the Arctic Circle.