Arctic Adventure - 9

Monday 9th August 2010

My Arctic pictures are here.

We cruised overnight to reach Liefdefjord which is part of the North West Spitsbergen National Park. Shortly after 6.0 a.m. I was on the bridge observing as we manoevred towards the glaciers at Monacobreen. Robin and other members of the Expedition Team were also on the bridge, planning the day's activities. Robin spotted a Polar Bear on a small ice floe ahead of us and made an announcement to the passengers to give them a chance to observe. I moved onto the foredeck for a closer view. The floating ice held a large, healthy polar bear aqnd the remains of a seal. The bear and the ice floe showed patches of blood. The bear had clearly had his fill (it's the fat bears prefer) and a number of birds were attacking what the bear had left. After a while, the bear pushed the remains into the water and then slipped into the water himself. The bear's head could be seen for a short while as he swam away from the ice but we soon lost sight of him. An astonishing experience.

At 8.0 a.m. the first Groups boarded Zodiacs for a tour along the Monacobreen Glacier edge. I had a later departure with the second Groups at about 10.0 a.m. As you'd expect, the water in front of the glacier edge is heavily loaded with pieces of ice produced by the 'calving' process as the ice melts and sections of the ice front crash into the fjord. The zodiac made progress by a series of bumps and bangs over the larger lumps. We couldn't approach the ice front too closely because of the possibility of a section of ice detaching but, whilst we were cruising, we saw a number of 'calvings'.

The collapses are preceded by a rumble like thunder combined with a tearing noise. The amount of ice released each time varies from dissappointingly small to impressively large. The larger amounts produce a noticeable 'tsunami wave' and the crashing ice stirs up nutrients making it a bird paradise.

There were thousands of Kittiwakes and plenty of the more common Arctic species but we spotted a small number of the rare Ivory Gulls. The 'birders' were particularly pleased that we had a very good sighting of the extremely rare Sabine Gull (the entire world population is thought to be no more than 20,000). I watched a spectacular 'dog-fight' between a Kittiwake carrying a fairly large fish and an Auk who was trying to steal the food. The Kittiwake wheeled and turned across the sky above my Zodiac, both birds demonstrating 'high rate' turns. Eventually, the Auk decided to find an easier target and flew off, allowing the Kittiwake to alight on a piece of floating ice near the Zodiac and start to devour the fish.

A little later, another Zodiac approached, driven by the Captain and carrying the Executive Chef, David, and members of the restaurant staff. To our surprise, we were offered a glass of champagne and a tray of chocolate and fruit snacks. After this delightful interlude, we had time for a little more bird-watching before making our way back through the floating ice to the ship. As soon as everyone was back on board, we set sail for the island of Andoye.

After the accustomed excellent lunch, we were to go on a second Zodiac tour. Originally, this was to be a landing but, after a mother and cub Polar Bear were spotted on the island, our plan was changed. The weather had also deteriorated and we set off across a fairly choppy sea with wind, rain and sea-spray combining to discourage even hardy travellers. In addition, earlier the mother and cub had been observed walking about and playing but, by the time we got there, mother and cub were both hunkered down. We made a few circuits of the bay to give mutliple photographic opportunities but the only movement was the mother periodically raising her head and then lowering it. Before our allowed time had expired, some of the passengers in my Zodiac had had enough and elected to return to the ship.

Before cocktails and dinner, we trooped to the theatre for a re-cap and briefing for the foll0owing day. After cocktails (in my case a Coca-Cola) I took dinner with my new friends from Texas. We were now heading south down the west coast of Svalbard in the Greenland Sea and the wind was producing quite a list which resulted in one or two accidents where crockery slid from tables onto the floor with a crash. After dinner, I spent some time on the bridge noticing that the list was indicated as up to seven degrees.

Arctic Adventure - 8

Sunday 8th August 2010

My Arctic pictures are here.

Well, I was wrong about there being no Midnight Sun because at midnight Saturday, it was a clear night with a bright sun. Very odd.

Overnight, we'd sailed around the top of Svalbard to find the sea ice and when I went on the foredeck around 7.0 a.m. we were slowly moving through the broken sea ice at a position of 80 degrees 43 minutes 45 seconds north and 19 degrees 51 minutes 15 seconds East.

Later in the morning, we stopped at a suitable site for a 'Polar Plunge' where 32 passengers and a number of staff jumped into the sea at about 1 degree centigrade from a Zodiac moored to the boarding platform. Two other Zodiacs with safety rings were on hand and each swimmer was equipped with a safety rope. I didn't participate in this activity which took place at 80 degrees 49 minutes 35 seconds north and 19 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds East!

The ship then set off south. After lunch, we were invited to the Theatre for a very informative lecture on Ice and Glaciers given by Franz. Robin gave a 'Recap and Briefing' and at 3.30 p.m. Victoria gave a fascinating lecture about Arctic and Antarctic exploration including the successful Amundsen/Nobile journey over the pole by airship.

The ship engtered Sorgfjord where we were promised a landing and a hike. This time, there were no bears to cause us to amend the programme but since my Group was in the later departure, it was 6.30 p.m. before we left the ship for a 'wet' landing on the shingle beach. During the early part of the hike, we were looking at the geology of the island and the sparse Arctic vegetation. Later, we found reindeer droppings and three old, bleached antlers. Then we passed a single grave with a wooden grave marker - a vertical post which was probably once part of a cross. Finally, on the way to the shore, we walked near a 'modern' wooden hut which was fairly derelict and the remains of an earlier hut, flattened by the action of the wind and with many of the planks distributed many yards away. There were aqlso some loose bricks and a small rectangular brick foundation for another building. I was on the last Zodiac back to the ship - just two passengers and the balance of the expedition staff.

In the evening, we enjoyed a 'Venetian Dinner', to celebrate the presence of members of the Venetian Society on board. All returning Silversea passengers become members of the Venetian Society. For this type of dinner, the dress code becomes 'Casually Elegant' rather than the usual 'Casual'.

Arctic Adventure - 7

Saturday 7th August 2010

My Arctic pictures are here.

At Robin's recommendation, I was up just before six and on the foredeck with most of the guides and a few passeners. All night, we'd sailed along the glacial edge and we still had some distance to go as we headed more-or-less north up the east of the Svalbard archipelago. Periodically, we passed melt water streams gushing from the ice face. At once point, we witnessed the 'calving' process, as a large chunk of the ice face broke way and crashed into the sea with a rumble, producing a small wave which propagated out from the glacial edge. The sea surface was littered with chunks of glacial ice. The largest were mini-icebergs up to maybe sixty feet across. We avoided these but the smaller pieces of ice were no problem for our ice-strengthened double-hull and, from time-to-time, a loud thump would announce a chunk being thrust aside. This was a very effective wake-up call and the number of passengers on the foredeck or the upper observation decks started to increase.

After breakfast, we had a couple of lectures in the Theatre and a briefing by Robin on our planned landing on island of Storoya, in the north-east of the Svalbard chain of islands.

As we approached Isispynten, a number of the expedition team were on the bridge with binoculars, looking for signs of wildlife. Once polar bears were spotted, the plan to make a landing had to be changed into a Zodiac trip to watch the bears from the boats.

I was in the earlier Groups this time and our driver took us to the most likely spot and we could see a polar bear, but some way off. We tried another spot with a similar result - a sighting but not too close. We did see a number of species of birds and a single seal bobbed up and disappeared (we thought it was a seal rather than a walrus, but it was hard to be sure with a brief sighting). We'd added to our tally of polar bears so we returned to the ship quite happily, allowing passengers in the other Groups to start their tour. Of course, the polar bears move around and by the time the Zodiacs had got near the shore, one bear had moved much nearer and the other Groups had very good sightings. In a very even-handed way, Robin announced to Groups 1 and 2 that since viewing conditions had improved so much since our Zodiac Tour we could, if we wished, go back on a special second trip. This offer was much appreciated and I think more or less everyone 'suited up' quickly for the extra trip. Our sighting was, as promised, much better. A polar bear was on the beach, more concerned with the food he appeared to be devouring than the little boats offshore. Then he shambled off to the rocks at the back of the beach and settled down for a snooze.

Once all the passengers were safely back on the ship and the Zodiacs had been craned aboard, we set sail north for Storoya.

After lunch, we anchored off Storoya Island. Once again, polar bears were sighted so our proposed landing was converted into a Zodiac tour to observe the bears from the sea. The weather suddenly worsened and, by the time we boarded the zodiacs, there was a fair amount of swell, it was windy, misty and raining. We had a rather lively and damp journey to the shore but as we approached the beach, conditions became much better. There were large numbers of walrus' lying in various 'haul-outs' and two polar bears were prowling near the water's edge. Perhaps more remarkable was the way the sea around the zodiacs appeared to be boiling from the splashing of dozens of walrus' divided into a number of 'convoys'. They didn't appear aggressive and were probably just curious but it's an odd feeling to have so many creatures with long, curvingttusks only a few yards away in all directions.

On the landward side of the beach on higher ground there was a massive collection of at least twenty walrus'. The larger of the two polar bears lumbered across to this 'haul-out' and started threatening the walrus' by extending his neck towards the group. Some of the larger walrus reared up and made threatening movements in response. The smaller polar bear watched this for a while and then moved to the position initially occupied by the first bear, who moved to the other side of the group of walrus' in what appeared to be a pincer movement. About seven of the walrus' decided that discretion was the better part of valour and left the group for the sea moving in their undulating rather inelegant manner down the beach. But their was still a fairly massive 'rump' of walrus' who seemed to have no intention of moving and tension seemed to mount. The larger polar bear made a number of lunges into the group but each time the walrus' reared up and made the polar bear step back hastily. The smaller polar bear just seemed to stand there, discouraging the walrus' from moving that way. Eventually, the one polar bear lumbered off across the beach and, as we moved away still accompanied by flotillas of walrus', the other polar bear was a few yards away from the walrus', in an apparent 'stand-off'. We set of back to the ship, getting fairly wet once we regained more open sea. I think the cold was forgotten by most people who were marvelling at what we'd witnessed - as Robin described it later 'like watching a National Geographic Nature documentary'.

Arctic Adventure - 6

Friday 6th August 2010

My Arctic pictures are here.

Around 6.00 a.m. we anchored off Palanderbukta and a couple of Zodiacs went ashore with the Expedition Team to check-out the landing site. It had been a bright morning with mist on the tops of the surrounding hills but, as we took breakfast, the mist came down leaving very poor visibility and so it was no surprise when the proposed landing was cancelled and the ship moved away to give us a close view of a glacier front.

The foredeck was opened to passengers. On the way to the glacier front, we'd spotted a bearded seal just resting on an ice floe so, when we'd finished taking pictures of the glacier, the Captain re-traced his route and very gently brought the bow of the ship within a few dozen yards of the seal and stopped. The image of the seal in a 'face-off' with a relatively-huge ship crammed with humans in red parkas was irresistible but the seal was quite unfazed and remained on the ice as the ship backed away, turned and continued to Alkefjellet.

While the ship was positioning, there was time for lunch in the restaurant, today sitting with with a young couple from England I'd met earlier in the cruise and the couple from Sydney who'd been on the Captain's Table the other night. Equipped with warm clothing, binoculars and camera I then went on deck.

The ship cruised past the cliffs which are home to a large colony of Brunichs Gillemots. The Captain pointed the bow at the almost-vertical cliff and gently brought the ship to within a few dozen yards of the cliff face, making full use of the bow thrusters. Using occasional power, the Captain 'drifted' the ship across the cliff face, keeping the bow pointed at the cliff - a most impressive piece of seamanship. The cliff face was split by a number of vertical fissures, some quite deep and with waterfalls cascading into the sea and a series of very narrow generally-horizontal 'shelves'.

There were thousands of breeding pairs clinging precariously to the cliff, with hundreds flying in an out continuously and some bobbing on the surface of the sea. They made quite a racket and, once we got downwind, the smell of guano was obvious. My camera hasn't got the lens for wildlife photography, but many of the passengers were sporting cameras with massive lenses I'm sure I'd have had trouble carrying, let alone using.

The ship then carried on, working its way around the coastline until we came to our Anchorage at Augustabukta. The survey Zodiacs went ashore to make sure we could make a landing. Having set things up, groups 4 and 1 were landed whilst groups 2 (mine) and 3 waited on the ship.

Eventually, it was time for my group to go ashore and we made a 'wet' landing in a few inches of water on the shingle beach. We dumped our lifejackets in a large blue plastic bin. Colleen briefed us on the need for silence and the avoidance of sudden movement. We were to walk along the shingle a few hundred yards to a position where we could take photographs of an occupied walrus 'haul-out' near the sea. When we got there, there were a few tons of Altantic Walrus lying in the sun, occasionally raising a tusked head, slight altering their position or using a flipper for a scratch. There was one juvenile in the group, easily identified by the much shorter tusks. We stood there in wonder until Expedition Staff hustled us back to the Zodiacs with an air of urgency. At the time, we thought that this was because a sea mist was quickly rolling in and our ship, although only a few hundred yards away, was becoming hard to distinguish. We donned lifejackets and clambered aboard the remaining Zodiacs in record time then stood offshore a few yards whilst the Expedition Staff distributed themselves amongst the Zodiacs. The last person off the beach was one of the armed Bear Guards who had had to run back from their observation position a little way inshore.

It was only when we were safely back on the ship that we discovered that the real reason for our hasty retreat was the spotting of a Polar Bear just a mile away - the mist was only a secondary concern.

After this little adventure, I decided to have Afternoon Tea in the Panorama Lounge. I had tea with excellent raisin scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam. Whilst I was enjoying this, I was joined by a number ofr my American friends and discovered that it was Pauline's birthday. Her husband immediately invited us all to dinner with them and we decided to invite Chris Srigley and Victoria from the Expedition Staff as well. For some reason, I was delegated to make the invitations and confirm the arrangements with Marcello, the Maitre'd.

We enjoyed a very special meal but it did finish a little abruptly. We had started to cruise along the glacial edge - the longest in the Northern Hemisphere - and the sun was shining on the wall of ice. Robin came on the Public Address and, in excited tones, said "You REALLY ought to be out on deck", so we dutifully trooped outside to watch the passing scene. It was 11.0 p.m. before I returned to my cabin.