Gijón, Spain – September 24 Date and time: 24.09.25, 17:00 Location: LAT 43.33°, LON 0.41° SOG (speed over ground): 0 knots Wind: 12 knots We have arrived at last. The MV Roland Oldendorff is safely berthed in Gijón, northern Spain, under blue skies and calm…
Bay of Biscay – September 23 Date and time: 23.09.25, 15:00 Location: LAT 46.24°, LON 10.00° SOG (speed over ground): 11.5 knots Wind: 12.9 knots The sea is calm and generous today, filled with encounters that feel like small gifts. Whales swam by in steady…
Spain Ahead – September 22 Date and time: 22.09.25, 11:30 Location: LAT 49.44°, LON 15.39° SOG (speed over ground): 11.2 knots Wind: 15 knots We are close enough now to hear Spanish over the VHF, a sure sign that the coast is near. The past…
English Channel – September 21 Date and time: 21.09.25, 13:00 Location: LAT 51.58°, LON 20.45° SOG (speed over ground): 11.2 knots Wind: 5.6 knots The sea is calm and bright today, the sky wide open with sunlight. Long rolling swells still shift the deck underfoot,…
North Atlantic – September 20 Date and time: 20.09.25, 12:00 Location: LAT 54.25°, LON 27.30° SOG (speed over ground): 11.5 knots Wind: 4.7 knots The day brought a small drama when the engine had to be shut down for a fuel change, the filters clogged,…
North Atlantic – September 19 Date and time: 19.09.25, 12:00 Location: LAT 55.22°, LON 32.12° SOG (speed over ground): 10.6 knots Wind: 4 knots The winds have dropped, and the day is bright and calm, though long swells still roll the ship enough to make…
North Atlantic – September 18 Date and time: 18.09.25, 11:00 Location: LAT 56.48°, LON 39.13° SOG (speed over ground): 10.6 knots Wind: 9 knots The sun is shining today after what was a rolly night. The winds have eased, the seas a little too, though…
North Atlantic – September 17 Date and time: 17.09.25, 00:30 (UTC -1) Location: LAT 58.37°, LON 44.19° SOG (speed over ground): 2.8 knots Wind: 39 knots The storm found us in the night. By half past midnight the wind was up to 39 knots, the…
North Atlantic – September 16 Date and time: 16.09.25, 14:00 (UTC -2) Location: LAT 59.51°, LON 49.30° SOG (speed over ground): 10.4 knots Wind: 25 knots The winds have risen and the sky shows what lies ahead: a storm gathering along the south of Greenland.
Greenland Waters – September 15 Date and time: 15.09.25, 00:45 Location: LAT 62.58°, LON 54.03° SOG (speed over ground): 11 knots Wind: 7 knots The seas have been calm through the night and into the morning, a welcome stretch of quiet. The day began with…
Labrador Sea – September 14 Date and time: 14.09.25, 14:00 Location: LAT 67.35°, LON 57.20° SOG (speed over ground): 11.5 knots Wind: 2 knots The day is grey, heavy with low clouds, though now and then the sun breaks through for a moment. The seas…
Baffin Bay – September 13 Date and time: 13.09.25, 12:35 Location: LAT 71.27°, LON 65.14° SOG (speed over ground): 11.4 knots Wind: 4 knots The night was swallowed by fog, a vast grey bank that lingered until morning. Then, as though on cue, the air…
Greenland Waters – September 8 Date and time: 08.09.25, 14:00 (UTC -6) Location: LAT 70.36°, LON 62.30° SOG (speed over ground): 13 knots Wind: 20 knots The winds rose again this morning, and though they have eased a little, the skies remain grey and low…
Greenland Waters – September 7 Date and time: 07.09.25, 09:30 Location: LAT 65.22°, LON 55.40° SOG (speed over ground): 12.4 knots Wind: 16–18 knots The day began early for me, on the bridge at 04:30 just as the sun was rising. To starboard lay a…
Greenland Waters – September 5 Date and time: 05.09.25, 11:00 (UTC -4) Location: LAT 58.24°, LON 45.32° SOG (speed over ground): 7.5 knots Wind: 33 knots The storm has finally begun to ease. Yesterday was relentless, with winds above 50 knots and seas that were…
Greenland Waters – September 3 Date and time: 03.09.25, 11:00 (GMT -2) Location: LAT 59.14°, LON 35.37° SOG (speed over ground): 12.1 knots Wind: 32 knots We are close to the southern tip of Greenland and are now making our way north, parallel to the…
Greenland Seas – September 2 Date and time: 02.09.25, 11:00 (GMT -2) Location: LAT 59.26°, LON 26.3° SOG (speed over ground): 8.0 knots Wind: 8.0 knots We are moving slowly through calm seas, the pace deliberate as the crew works on deck, in the holds,…
Greenland Seas – September 1 Date and time: 01.09.25, 13:00 Location: LAT 59.50°, LON 19.48° SOG (speed over ground): 8.8 knots Wind: 14 knots We are off the southeast coast of Greenland after a bumpy night that left me short on sleep, though nothing serious.
North Atlantic – August 31 Date and time: 31.08.25, 13:00 Location: LAT 59.23°, LON 10.25° SOG (speed over ground): 13.5 knots Wind: 22 knots We set the clocks back two hours last night and are making steady progress north, though the seas have grown rolly…
Off the English Coast – August 30 Date and time: 30.08.25, 12:30 Location: LAT 57.31°, LON 00.35° SOG (speed over ground): 13.8 knots Wind: 12.3 knots Since leaving Hamburg we have covered 340 nautical miles (630 km), carried along by steady winds and favourable currents.