An Abandoned Airstrip

After we left Sermiligaaq on July 22nd, we sailed into the fjord of Ikateq heading for the next settlement Kuumiuut. Midway down this fjord we noticed something strange. We saw an old dock along the shore, with an old crane sitting on it. This we had to check out.

We started by trying to pull up along the dock, but it was way to shallow for us there. Instead we choose to drop the anchor and put our dinghy in the water. When ashore we met this old man and his grandson, who had transported the luggage for a group of tourists walking from one fjord to another.

The place we had arrived at was an old airstrip. To be correct an American WWII airstrip in use between 1942 to 1947 called “Bluie East Two”. After the operations there were terminated in 1947, the Americans just left, leaving all their equipment behind. This make for a fantastic exploration for those who stop by now.

This is the same crane as you see in the previous picture

Only one of many piles of empty barrels. We would estimate that it’s close to one million barrels in the area.

The old airplane hangar in the background

It’s incredible how much money and effort that had to be put down to build and operate an airfield in such a remote place. The strip remained useful for ad hoc air operations and served in a supply role for the construction of the early warning radar station DYE-4 at Kulusuk farther south in 1958. Kulusuk is now Angmagssalik's main airport, although its distance requires further helicopter flights to the village and other nearby settlements. In 2017 the VintageAirRally started using the base to raise awareness of the historical significance of the location, and to also highlight the environmental issues.

After our tour on land we pulled up our anchor and sailed south to our next stop Kuumiuut. When we arrived, we pulled up along the dock at the fish processing plant just outside the town.