Our fifth and final paddling excursion off the west coast of Greenland was kayaking Sermilínguaq Fjord (July 23, 2024). It could have been the sixth, be we opted for mountain biking around Sisimiut instead of kayaking one afternoon.

We feel we received good value for our kayaking add on – 5 outings over 10 days. That compares very well to 5 possible kayaking excursions over 23 days in Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands / Malvinas. We kayaked four times, because we were quarantined with COVID during the kayaking excursion at Elephant Island.

I spent a couple of hours trying to learn more about Sermilínguaq Fjord. Information is scarce. In fact ChatGPT summed up the total of what I learned like this:

“Sermilínguaq is a fjord located in the Qeqqata municipality of western Greenland. It is characterized by its long, narrow shape with steep walls, typical of fjords formed by glacial activity.”

ChatGPT went on to advise that “[f]or more precise information on the glacier at the head of Sermilínguaq Fjord and the specific bird species that nest there, consulting specialized scientific studies or local Greenlandic environmental agencies would be advisable.” 😀

The kayaking here was excellent. For the TLDR video alternative, watch Mr GeoK’s Relive here.

Launch

We were blessed with another sunny blue sky and relatively calm day. Again, we enjoyed a zodiac launch. That meant kayaks on the water less than 2 miles from the head of the fjord.

Waterfall

This launch position put the sun generally behind us, which was great for photographing the waterfalls and bird colonies along the north coastline. The first thing to catch our attention was a multi-step, slot waterfall.

The youngest member of our kayaking group spotted the little approach channel to the base of the falls, and soon we were lined up single file to take turns paddling up to the base of the waterfall and then back out again.

Birds

After that little diversion, we pointed our bows towards the head of the fjord, keeping close to the steep mountain faces along the north coast line where we spotted thousands of nesting birds. They were mostly Black-legged Kittiwakes, with much smaller numbers of Razorbills. Pretty much every Black-legged Kittiwake nest had at least one chick.

Floating Net Pen

As the bird cries faded behind us, we spotted something else – what turned out to be a floating net pen. This is not a fish farming pen, like we saw several times in Scotland. Rather, it’s a holding pen where a fisherman, or maybe a fishing family or a couple of fishing friends, store their catch until market days. This practice helps Greenlandic fishermen maintain the fish in prime condition, ensuring higher quality and potentially better prices.

A floating hold pen is a large, submerged net enclosure anchored in a fjord or near a village. They typically hold Atlantic cod, Greenland halibut, Arctic char or lumpfish until needed for market. Some fishermen use them to allow undersized fish to grow before selling them, reducing waste.

Being highly maneuverable, we made a close up visit to the floating hold pen, to take a look inside. For the first time on this trip, I pulled out my waterproof Olympus Tough and took a few blind photos of the fish swimming around in the pen.

Another Waterfall

The glacier at the head of Sermilínguaq Fjord beckoned. But some of us couldn’t resist paddling into the spray zone of yet another multi-stranded waterfall.

Head of Sermilínguaq Fjord

We really appreciated that our lead kayaking guide allowed us to approach pretty close to the head of Sermilínguaq Fjord. As we’d come to expect, yet another tongue glacier off Greenland’s Ice Sheet reached out to this fjord. This was the first time that ridges of glacial moraine allowed zodiac passengers to land. Mr GeoK had fun photographing all the yellow-jacketed passengers with his long lens.

Whitey, our lead kayaking guide, offered us the chance to board a zodiac and join our fellow passengers on the glacial moraine. We unanimously voted to stay on the water as long as possible! Fortunately, that created a chance to to “raft up,” for a final on-the-water group photo taken by kayaking guide/zodiac pilot, Travis.

Whitey, our lead kayaking guide, was understandably keen to get us moving again. There’s always a chance that a glacier will calve, and as the newly birthed iceberg plunges into the ocean, it can trigger a big wave. Fortunately this glacier reached all the way to the water’s edge, so any new icebergs would basically fall over into the water, rather than dropping from any height.

Regardless, as soon as Travis said “good,” we were off, paddling towards the southern coastline of the fjord for our return paddle.

Return Paddle

We kept pushing to paddle just a little further, and eventually we were within a very short zodiac ride to the ship before our Greenland paddling adventures came to an end.

Meanwhile, we passed more waterfalls. And a LOT of hanging glaciers. And even a rocky island in the middle of the fjord.

Return to Zodiac

Once we rounded the western end of the rocky island, Ultramarine was back in view. Shortly thereafter, Travis closed up on us and it was time to reboard our zodiac.

Sermilínguaq Fjord Fun Facts

• There isn’t much information on about Sermilínguaq Fjord on the world wide web. Even ChatGPT couldn’t come up with much!!
• If you decide to check my competency as an online researcher 😉 beware that most results to the search phrase “Sermilínguaq Fjord” surface results for a fjord on the EAST coast of Greenland. The accent over the “i” makes a big difference!
• There are a couple of passing references to the area on yachting / sailing blogs.
• Using MapCarta, I discovered that Sermilínguaq Fjord is just south of “The Fjord of Eternity,” described by one reviewer on TripAdvisor as “the most beautiful fjord in the world.” This is where many of those yachts / sailboats head when sailing along the southwest coast of Greenland.

SUMMARY

Kayaking Sermilínguaq Fjord was our final paddling excursion on the Gems of West Greenland itinerary with Quark Expeditions. We enjoyed ideal conditions: blue sky, sunshine, calm water. Highlights included a large Black-legged Kittiwake colony, multiple waterfalls and the chance to “raft up” just in front of the glacier that carved the fjord. We also deeply appreciated that Whitey let us keep paddling for as long as possible. Total paddling distance = 9.6 km (5.3 miles) in 2 hrs 40 minutes.