Northern Svalbard
During the night we sailed north and the very most northern latitude we reached was N80.45, now only less than 600 nautical miles from the very top! Through the night we did also cruise along ice flows, rich with harp seals and sea birds. Little auks and even puffins were sighted in numbers.
Right after breakfast we approached a small group of islands, Sjuøarna, the very most northern land of Svalbard. Beyond these it is only a frozen sea until you reach Alaska, about 1680 n.m away.
We decided to make a landing and choose the island Phippsøya. Two scouting boats got dropped to investigate several sites. We picked a small beach on the western side. Already at the beach we were met by loads of timber, all brought here from the rivers and later Siberian current. We divided into different groups of, long, medium and short hikers. Those who decided to stroll along on the beach did make some interesting findings like a piece of wood, a ship railing originally from and old sailing vessel and dated by the hand-made nails. Why and how did this ship sink? Crusted by the ice somewhere? The beach was full of small and large things all with their own story to tell. Unfortunately we also saw how the modern world has come in. Lots of plastic material, fishing markers, helmets... also have found their way even to this remote place. Before we departed the beach we did an attempt to at least clean up some of the plastic, to be part of the campaign KEEP SVALBARD CLEAN. At recap everyone was rewarded with a pin!
For our British travelers, this area we now have been sailing in was an important episode of the Empire's history. The year 1773 two Royal Navy ships were sent north in an attempt to sail to the North Pole, the Phipp's expedition and of course as many others they got stuck in the ice. Onboard one of the ships a young man named Nelson was a midshipman and he went out on the ice and was attacked by a polar bear but rescued by the crew. This man was better known later in his life as Admiral Lord Nelson. After the battle of Trafalgar, the Britain's Royal Navy would rule the world for almost 100 years. That is quite a thought that a polar bear here in the Arctic would have been able to change the history of the world! One of the islands in the group Sjuøyarna is also named Nelsonøya.
During the morning outing we did experience how cold these high latitudes can be, as we had snow fall and wind from the north east. As the afternoon went on, we steamed towards the body of water, which divided the main island Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet, called Hinlopen. On our sail we did encounter a large polar bear on an ice-flow, several fin whales and a few lucky guests also recorded minke whales. During recap huge applauds arose as we suddenly had the sun break through the grey, dark sky and during the evening we had an all blue sky. Now a complete new setting and scenery, Artic at its best and with the midnight sun!
During the night we sailed north and the very most northern latitude we reached was N80.45, now only less than 600 nautical miles from the very top! Through the night we did also cruise along ice flows, rich with harp seals and sea birds. Little auks and even puffins were sighted in numbers.
Right after breakfast we approached a small group of islands, Sjuøarna, the very most northern land of Svalbard. Beyond these it is only a frozen sea until you reach Alaska, about 1680 n.m away.
We decided to make a landing and choose the island Phippsøya. Two scouting boats got dropped to investigate several sites. We picked a small beach on the western side. Already at the beach we were met by loads of timber, all brought here from the rivers and later Siberian current. We divided into different groups of, long, medium and short hikers. Those who decided to stroll along on the beach did make some interesting findings like a piece of wood, a ship railing originally from and old sailing vessel and dated by the hand-made nails. Why and how did this ship sink? Crusted by the ice somewhere? The beach was full of small and large things all with their own story to tell. Unfortunately we also saw how the modern world has come in. Lots of plastic material, fishing markers, helmets... also have found their way even to this remote place. Before we departed the beach we did an attempt to at least clean up some of the plastic, to be part of the campaign KEEP SVALBARD CLEAN. At recap everyone was rewarded with a pin!
For our British travelers, this area we now have been sailing in was an important episode of the Empire's history. The year 1773 two Royal Navy ships were sent north in an attempt to sail to the North Pole, the Phipp's expedition and of course as many others they got stuck in the ice. Onboard one of the ships a young man named Nelson was a midshipman and he went out on the ice and was attacked by a polar bear but rescued by the crew. This man was better known later in his life as Admiral Lord Nelson. After the battle of Trafalgar, the Britain's Royal Navy would rule the world for almost 100 years. That is quite a thought that a polar bear here in the Arctic would have been able to change the history of the world! One of the islands in the group Sjuøyarna is also named Nelsonøya.
During the morning outing we did experience how cold these high latitudes can be, as we had snow fall and wind from the north east. As the afternoon went on, we steamed towards the body of water, which divided the main island Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet, called Hinlopen. On our sail we did encounter a large polar bear on an ice-flow, several fin whales and a few lucky guests also recorded minke whales. During recap huge applauds arose as we suddenly had the sun break through the grey, dark sky and during the evening we had an all blue sky. Now a complete new setting and scenery, Artic at its best and with the midnight sun!
