Steve Bradley Link to the Facebook Group Viking Route Sailing
Essential Reading
Jon Amtrup & Bob Shepton have written an excellent book High Latitude Sailing that I recommend anyone planning to sail the higher latitudes should read and have aboard, Its available on Kindle or Paper.
The Cruising Club of America have published the ultimate and essential guide for anyone planning to cruise all or part of the Viking Route along with guides to Newfoundland, Labrador and a digital guide to Maine
The Cruising Association has a very comprehensive cruising guide that is available to purchase. (free to download as PDFs for members)
The Danish Hydrographic Office Publish Several Pilot books for Greenland
The Arctic and Northern Waters Pilot from the RCC Pilotage Foundation, covers the Northwest and Northeast Passages through the Arctic Ocean as well as Faroe, Iceland and Greenland
Charts
Everyone has a personal view and a preference when it comes to charting but after a lot of research and comparing paper and electronic charts we decided to exclusively use electronic charts for cruising these waters.
We have Raymarine Axiom displays on the boat and use Raymarine Lighthouse Charts and Navionics as our primary navigation system and we have IPads running TImeZero Iboat as our backup with TimeZeros offline Vector charts. (Importantly the Iboat is using NMEA data over our boats wireless network for GPS position, you should not rely on the IPads internal GPS which will typically be delayed a few seconds, accuracy of GPS positions and of your compass readings will be less reliable the further north you go)
For Iceland and Greenland we have both Navionics and Lighthouse charts loaded on our Axiom Displays and can view these in dual screen. So far we have seen minimal difference between the two, and nothing that would constitute a navigational risk.
Regulations, Ice Charts, Tides, Currents, Information by Country
Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands Immigration and Customs
Visiting boats should call 24 hours ahead of arrival into Faroese Waters. Numbers for the Police and Customs can be found on the Port of Torshavn website:
On arrival report via the harbourmaster at your port of entry who will advise the police and customs, you will be visited by the police who will scan your passport, and you may get a visit from customs.
Permits:
No cruising permit is required.
Departure
You should notify the police and customs of your departure.
Contacts
Faroe Islands Customs: customs@taks.fo +298 44 73 05
Faroe Islands immigration: politi@politi.fo or +298 35 14 48
Faroe Islands MRCC SAR: 00 298 351 300
Torshavn Port: https://www.portoftorshavn.com/en/leisure/leisure-info
Tides and other Information
There are also some useful contact details for the JRCC and RCC on the websites contact page
The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) publish Greenland Ice Charts and Tide tables for Greenland & Faroe Islands
You can set up a daily email subscription with DMI by sending an email to iskort@dmi.dk specifying the ice chart areas you are interested in
There are several sources of Satellite images that are good sources of Ice information
The sentinel satellites offer high resolution imaging and are accessible via Copernicus.
Flying fish have written an excellent article on navigating in Greenland with a description of how to use the Copernicus service.
There are significant and complex currents around the Islands and for visualisation of the currents you need the Ràk app for iPad & iPhone.
And a copy of – STREYMKORT fyri FØROYAR
Navigation warnings and Notices for Mariners for Greenland and Faroe Islands can be found here.
Iceland
Iceland Immigration and Customs
All vessels are required to give notice to Customs 24 hrs before arrival by contacting Phone: +354 442 1754 E-mail: skipavakt@skatturinn.is.
All vessels are required to give notice to the Coastguard 24 hrs before arrival by emailing the All Vessels Report to: sar@lhg.is
All vessels upon arrival in Icelandic waters must communicate with the Iceland Coast Guard via VHF radio.
Customs will want various documents filled out with information regarding the vessel and the people on board as below and You must inform Customs of the yacht’s arrival and submit the following forms.
- Form T01: Captain’s report on arrival and departure
- Form T03: Ship Reserve List
- Form T05: Crew List
- Form T06: Passenger Log (if applicable)
- Form T09: Declaration of Health
All customs forms are available from Skatturinn website: Iceland Revenue and Customs – scroll down to the bottom of the page for the links.
The forms can be either handed to the customs upon arrival/departure or sent in by email, they will be stamped/approved by Customs either on site or sent back via email.
Customs clear in vessels within 24 hrs.
Immigration:
The local Border Police should also be contacted on arrival as they are responsible for border control, passport checks etc.
Contacts
Department of Customs Enforcement
Open 24/7 all year round
Phone: +354 442 1754
E-mail: skipavakt@skatturinn.is.
Web: www.skatturinn.is
The Iceland Coastguard SAR: +354 511 333 or sar@lhg.is
Permits: No cruising permit is required.
Departure:
When departing Iceland it is best to be in contact with Customs as soon as possible so that outwards clearance can be done at the requested time. A time frame of 6 hrs before departure is the minimum requirement.
T01 Masters Report, T03 Ships Stores and T05 Crew List must be completed and sent to Customs prior to departure.
The Iceland Coastguard should also be advised of your intended departure
Tides and other Information
Iceland Tides are available at M&T ehf
Icelandic Coast Guard
Greenland
Greenland Immigration and Customs
Two ship reporting systems have been established with the purpose of monitoring navigation in Greenland waters and, if necessary, to cause search and rescue operations to be launched. Both are free of charge:
- The GREENPOS system is mandatory for all vessels (including yachts) sailing to or from Greenland waters. Vessels must report their position, course, speed and actual weather information every 6th hour.
- KYSTKONTROL (coastal control) is mandatory for vessles moving between Greenland ports and places of call that are over 20GT.
Details of the GREENPOS reporting system are set out in the below Welcome Package document
The GREENPOS Self-Service is the new Primary system for small craft reporting and can be accessed HERE following the quick guide below
More details of the legal requirement pdf by the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA)
SAR Greenland worked with the DMA to develop a program that suits small sailors and boats with a limited internet connection. Find out more at https://www.barentswatch.no/arcticinfo/. The program provides ice reports, AIS, safety info., weather, forecasts etc.
Contact Details
SAR Greenland, JRCC Greenland
Telephone: +299 364 000 or +299 364012
Email: jrcc@jrcc.gl
Greenpos@jrcc.gl
+299 364024
Danish Maritime Authority: https://dma.dk/
Ports of Entry:
All arriving boats – even yachts coming direct from EU countries – must follow the usual clearance procedures and make their first stop at a port of entry. You should contact the port authorities in advance of arrival for special permission to enter the ports, if possible 24 hours beforehand on VHF Channels 12 or 16.
On Arrival you will be visited by a Customs officer who will give you a few forms to fill in and sign. Passports may be taken away for inspection
Remember to also submit a Final Report to GREENPOS
Permits
Greenland regulations and Permits are detailed on the Government of Greenlands website here
Departure
Reporting departure is advisable for safety reasons.
Danish Harbour Guide for Greenland can be found here
Canada
Immigration and Customs
Reporting requirements for private cruiser can be found on the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) web at https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/pb-pp-eng.html.
Private boats entering Canadian waters should report to the CBSA either by telephone or directly in-person at one of 7 marine reporting site locations.
See the CBSA website for full details, or contact the Border Information Service (BIS) at 1-800-461-9999.
Customs will want to know:
- Vessel’s name
- Registration number
- Last port of call
- List of ports intending to visit
- Crew List
- All personal goods being imported (see Customs for details)
After reporting, you will either be cleared to enter or required to remain for further examination. Once Customs have cleared you, you will receive a “report number” which should be displayed in a visible position for inspectors.
Cruising
You must maintain a continuous listening watch on 2182 kHz for safe navigation, especially during bad weather conditions, and VHF Ch16 (156.800 MHz) when possible.
Fundy Traffic can be contacted on VHF Channels 12, 14, and 71 on the way to St John, and will help when visibility is bad.
Halifax Traffic on VHF Channels 12 and 14 offers similar assistance to yachtsmen.
The Canadian Coast Guard monitors VHF Channel 16.
Useful link:
Full details of arriving by yacht can be found at Reporting Requirements for Private Boaters.
Tides and Currents
Coastguard & Long Range Search & Rescue Contacts:
Find SAR contact details worldwide: https://sarcontacts.info
ITU Ships Station Search https://www.itu.int/mmsapp/ShipStation/list
United Kingdom & International Coastguard Long Range Search and Rescue (LORSAR) SAR UKJRCC: 00 44 344 382 0025 Email: ukmrcc@hmcg.gov.uk
Medical Advice: 00 44 344 382 0026
Iceland Coastguard SAR: 00 354 511 333. Email: sar@icg.is
Faroe Islands MRCC SAR: 00 298 351 300 Email: mrcc@mrcc.fo
Greenland SAR JRCC Greenland 00 299 364 000 Email: jrcc@jrcc.gl
St Johns MRSC 00 1 709 772 5151 Email: mrscsj@sarnet.dnd.ca
Garmin Search and Rescue (IERCC): 001 936 582 3190 or 001 855 444 2937
THANK YOU – this is a great collection of resources for sailing in the north-sea / Atlantic
Thank you for your comments, makes writing these worth while. We will continue to update the resources pages as we go🤗
Hi Steve, great site and full of resources. Makes sailing these regions much easier.
Greetings from Polish flaged sailing vessel Patagonia. We had a talk about customs before our departure to scoresby sund – greenland. Thank You again for help and for a nice snowbearsailing sticker 😊 Hope You are having great time on Your way west.
Thank you.. I’m always happy to help and it’s nice to be appreciated.
We down in Aappilattoq, after a few changes to our passage across to Greenland, no issues, just a few days of challenging weather. Enjoy Greenland, looks like you are further north.
Steve