After having departed her mooring in the Norwegian fjords yesterday, NANUQ headed west last night initiating her crossing towards Iceland. An update message was sent early this morning by the skipper via Iridium, at 6.03 UTC (8.03 Norway’s time): “Good morning. We are now (in position) 62d00N 2d08E, 120 (N)M NNE of Shetlands. Beating against 4 to 5 Bft to the N to get around a low pressure system while headin(g) NW now. Crew still tired and getting now acquainted to life on sea. Speedin(g) at 8 to 9 (kts). Great sailing job!”. Like other sailboats, NANUQ can navigate at much a faster speed on sail than on engine (her normal cruising speed in that case would be 6-7 knots) and wind-propelled cruise is always preferred during open sea crossings, being much more environmentally sustainable and performance-efficient. During the first days of navigation – as usual onboard NANUQ – activities are mostly managed by the sailors and by the more experienced crewmembers, while newcomers warm-up in their roles onboard and progressively take over some part of the work.
