By 0600, National Geographic Resolution was poised at the southerly entrance to Upernavik Icefjord, a shortcut of sorts that has little or no charted soundings. This, however, wasn’t going to deter us from exploring it. The bridge team, under Captain Martin Graser, launched our state-of-the-art sounding Zodiac ahead of the ship to ensure that the passage would be safe for us to navigate. After roughly an hour the data was in, and Staff Captain Sam Cook began carefully bringing the ship through the narrow passage. No other passenger vessel in the world has made this passage, and National Geographic Resolution would be the first to explore this magnificent fjord strewn with massive icebergs cast off the glacier at its terminus.
Our intentions were to launch our fleet of Zodiacs and inflatable kayaks and take in this wondrous location on the most intimate level. Being our final day in West Greenland and our last experience with massive glacial ice, it was the perfect way to say farewell to this spectacular coastline before setting out on the Northwest Passage.
