An expedition saw one man kayaking around Greenland over the course of six days.
Jamie Donnelly’s Kayaking and Climbing, Challenge, and Expedition began on July 20 and took him on a tour of the Arctic Circle where he explored icebergs, set up camp on the land in the evening, and hiked and explored local mountains and hills.
Jamie went on behalf of the Holywell social enterprise, Teddy Bear Children’s support Ltd, which helps raise funds for children’s charities that need aid.
The journey began in the remote village of Oqaatsut, where Jamie’s and a team of three others met up. Two members of the team used a tandem kayak for the journey, but Jamie’s previous experience meant that he was able to use a single. They headed to a bay where they camped overnight.
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Day two saw the team kayak the Arctic Circle on the Labrador Sea towards Pakistok Bay through what Jamie describes as a “City of Icebergs”.
Icebergs can be dangerous and were frequently heard breaking down. Jamie said that it sounds similar to a gunshot when an iceberg breaks.
On day three Jamie and the team again headed towards Pakistok Bay. The team even spotted a whale. The weather up to this stage was rainy and cold about 6 °C.
Pakistok bay is an extremely rural remote location with no wifi or phone signal or network, however, they had a satellite phone and GPS system and flairs in case of an emergency.
On day four the weather was sunny and the temperature increased. Pakistok bay was described as being “fairytale-like”. Jamie and the Team prepared for a hike up to the summit of a mountain named Kijssaviap qaqa which is 777 meters in elevation.
When they reached an elevation of 350 meters they could see that the summit of Kijssaviap qaqa was completely covered in mist, so the team turned around.
On day five the team began heading back Oqaatsut, and a local expert instructed and guided Jamie to kayak a shortcut root back.
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The following morning Jamie began the journey back towards the village of Oqaatsut where the challenge ended.
Jamie made it back first and the team congratulated him. Jamie said that he enjoyed this Challenge and Expedition, and found it very, interesting, educational, and beautiful.
WATCH: Jamie's trip around Greenland
A spokesperson for Teddy bear Children Support said: “At this time of year it never gets dark in Greenland which proved to be very beneficial to the Expedition
“The original plan of kayaking to the second largest ice sheet in the world and then trekking to the summit of it had to be altered as when Jamie was organising the Expedition
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“There seemed to be a communication problem with an intermediary between Jamie Donnelly and the local expert in Greenland, the intermediary made it clear to Jamie that on the expedition they will be trekking up to the ice sheet, but on arrival the local expert told Jamie that this would not be possible as the distance to the ice sheet is too great.
“However Jamie was not too disappointed as the expedition proved to be physically challenging, risky, educational, interesting and beautiful, Jamie normally works directly with the local expert.”
For more information on Teddy Bear Children's Support Ltd visit teddybearchildsupport.com
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