Miriam and Pinnaluk have traveled from the Azores to Nuuk on a sailing ship
August 1, 2025|Written by Christine Hyldal
Written by Christine Hyldal
Four Greenlandic bachelor students have crossed the Atlantic on a Norwegian sailing ship. They have made new friendships and gained insight into how research and community can cross borders.
We are sitting in the stern of Statsraad Lehmkuhl, docked next to the Royal Arctic Line headquarters in Nuuk. The sun is shining, and locals are streaming up the gangway and onto the beautiful old sailing ship, which is open to the public for the next three hours. In an attempt to get some peace and quiet, we’re straddling a rope with a sign that reads “Crew Only”.
Pinnaluk Brask Olsen and Miriam Tarrak squint their eyes in the sunlight. They are holding on to their disposable coffee cups because it got a little late yesterday. Statsraad Lehmkuhl docked the day before, and after three weeks at sea plus a few other things in the Azores, they’ve been away from home for a month, and the homecoming had to be celebrated.
The two study together on the SILA program at Ilisimatusarfik. Together with two other fellow students, they have sailed across the Atlantic in 21 days. Along the way, they have set ropes, climbed the dizzyingly tall masts, set sails, and whatever else you do on a big sailing ship – and they have participated in group work on co-creation of knowledge and seawater studies with the 42 other students on board.
As students at SILA, they had been invited to participate in this particular voyage.
The welcome committee was ready at the harbor in Nuuk on Tuesday, 29 July. Photo Malin Kvamme
Completely confused by the language
“It sounded like a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Pinnaluk Brask Olsen, 28 years old and from Sisimiut.
She sailed a lot as a child, but Miriam Tarrak has a little more experience. She is also 28 years old and from Sisimiut and has sailed with the Danish training ship Georg Stage in 2018.
“I love sailing and I’ve sailed a lot here in Greenland. Also with Kisaq,” she says, referring to the old ferry that now sails with tourists.
What was it like sailing from the Azores to Nuuk?
Pinnaluk Brask Olsen: “We were exhausted, but we still had fun. It’s gone really fast. When we were out there, it felt really slow. But all of a sudden we had already arrived. It’s been really cool.”
Miriam Tarrak: “We had to speak three different languages: Greenlandic, English, Danish and trying to understand Norwegian, because it’s a Norwegian ship. We were completely confused about the language.”
Photo: Malin Kvamme
Up at seven and pack away the hammock
Every day life on board is disciplined. Wake up at seven in the morning and pack away the hammocks to make room for breakfast. Muster on deck at 07:50.
The students on board are divided into three different teams, all of which have shifts on the ship around the clock. During their shifts, the students have, for example, set sail and kept an eye out for icebergs – and some have made presentations. Many of the students on the trip were master’s students or in the process of writing a PhD.
“We’re only undergraduates and we’ve just started our studies. So it’s been a bit difficult with some of the presentations in English with concepts we don’t fully understand. But we have observed and contributed what we can,” says Miriam Tarrak.
Halumi Daorana from Qaannaaq has been in a group that recorded the sound of dolphins in the ocean. Photo: Christine Hyldal.
Miriam Tarrak and Pinaluk Brask Olsen giving a presentation to the others on board. Photo: Malin Kvamme
None of the Greenlandic crew suffered from seasickness during the voyage, but many of the others did. Photo: Malin Kvamme
Photo: Malin Kvamme Hold on to the rope - otherwise you'll fall. Photo: Malin Kvamme
When the ship is rocking, the hammock is stable and straight so you don't roll back and forth with the ship. Photo: Malin Kvamme
Photo: Malin Kvamme
The funnel on deck here is for the seasick. And it smells a bit like it if you put your nose down to it. Photo: Christine Hyldal
Total geeks….
She was in a group of students investigating things that drift in the ocean, such as plastic. She helped investigate the currents that things floated in, took pictures, and assisted with the investigation.
“I love my group, they’re so sweet. They’re such total… nerds,” she laughs as a plane takes off from the airport and flies low overhead.
What has been the coolest thing for you on this trip?
We are interrupted as a group of fellow students suddenly appears and is now waving a few meters away. Pinnaluk and Miriam wave back, smiling all over their faces.
Pinnaluk Brask Olsen: “I’ve found that you can use your education very widely…”
We are interrupted again. One of the Norwegian crew members wants to get on Lille Malene. Miriam immediately helps with advice for the trip and shows how to get there with a finger on the map on her phone. Pinnaluk continues:
“It was also a digital detox. It was so nice. Even though we were super busy every day, it was completely relaxing.”
The facts:
One Ocean Expedition is an international research and communication project that focuses on the importance of the world ocean for climate, biodiversity, and human living conditions.
The project takes place on board the Norwegian sailing ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, which from 2021 to 2025 has sailed around the world with students, researchers, and experts, visiting more than 30 countries along the way.
The ship is more than 100 years old. It collects data from the ocean and it also has engine power, although it primarily functions as a sailing ship.On board for the trip from the Azores to Nuuk were around 40 students from different countries, including four from Greenland.
From Nuuk, Statsraad Lehmkuhl sails on towards the Northwest Passage, Alaska, and down the American west coast to South America. The mission is to promote sustainability in the ocean, which is struggling with pollution and climate change.
Onboard, research is conducted into ocean currents and microplastics and climate effects in the Arctic and Southern Ocean.
Several of the trips are chartered, for example, by the European Space Agency and UiT, the Arctic University of Norway.
Photo: Malin Kvamme
Only peace and quiet for siesta
Miriam Tarrak: “I feel so privileged. It’s a huge opportunity we’ve been given, and I’m so grateful. We have met so many other young people and have become close with them. We met someone in the Azores who told us that they also suffer from research fatigue there, just like we do in Greenland. I hadn’t thought that it could be like that in other parts of the world.”
What has been the worst part?
Pinnaluk Brask Olsen: “I really like spending time alone. I mean, people are so nice, but it’s hard to be with people 24/7. Especially when you don’t get enough sleep. So I put on headphones. Luckily, we’ve had a siesta and we had to be quiet.”
Miriam Tarrak: “I don’t know what I would have done without the siesta.”
So the best thing about the expedition has also been the worst: noise and people all the time. But it has also given the students insight into how to work together across cultures, languages, and educational levels.