side 1 Expedition log MS Nordstjernen Svalbard August 18 th August 21 st 2015
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Tuesday, August 18 th, 13:00, 78 10 N Longyearbyen This is a Norwegian settlement and the capital of Svalbard. It is named after the american John Munroe Longyear who started the first coal production in the Longyear valley in 1906. It was bought by a Norwegian mine company in 1916. Today the town is a modern town with almost every civilised facility you can imagine. The population is app. 2000 and increasing. Longyearbyen was originally a mining community, but now science and tourism are slowly taking over. After breakfast at the hotel we went sightseeing in town. We visited the museum and the gallery. At 13:00 we embarked the MS Nordstjernen and our Arctic Adventure continued. The ship sailed out of Adventfjorden and west towards Barentsburg, passing the former coalmining settlements Grumant and Colesbay. Tuesday, August 18 th 16:00, 78 14 N Barentsburg Barentsburg is currently the only Russian settlement on Svalbard there used to be two more: Grumant which closed down in the 1960 s, and Pyramiden which closed down in 1998. Barentsburg is a mining settlement on the east side of Grønfjorden. The first house was built in 1912 by a Norwegian company and then sold to the Dutch N.V. Nederlandsche Spitsbergen Compagnie. It was bought by the Russians in 1932. In Barentsburg there are currently app. 400 inhabitants. We went on a guided tour with a Russian guide, and some joined a genuine and entertaining modern russian folklore show, which the mine workers perform in their spare time. We also visited the hotel, and some of us tried the Russian Vodka. Barentsburg, located along the eastern shore of Grønfjorden 60 km to the west of Longyearbyen. side 3
Wednesday, August 19 th, 09:45, 79 40 N Worselyhamna As we set off the previous evening on our journey up North, we encountered some rough seas. Many of us went to bed early, but in the morning most of the strong winds died off and we were able to make a landing at Worsleyhamna which was also more protected from the wind. At Worsleyhamna, also known as Worsely harbour, there is a small cabin called Villa Oxford. This was on the satelitte stations belonging to the famous Norwegian trapper Hilmar Nøis built in 1924. What is very special with this cabin is that it was contructed from a wooden crate which was used to transport a small aeroplane, during an expedition led by George Binney in 1924 to make the first aerial photographs of the Spitsbergen. The natural harbour itself was named by Frank Worsley during an expedition to Spitsbergen in 1925. Frank Worsley was also the captain of the famous Endurance ship (1914-1916) in Antarctica, led by Sir Ernest Shackleton! During our time at Worsleyhamna, we were able to have a lovely walk on the moss dominated tundra landscape. Plenty of flowers could be found and we were spoilt with some incredible views of the surrounding glaciers. We even found an interesting erratic boulder left a few thousand years ago by a glacier which has now retreated. Some of us even had a swim in the clear waters on the red sandy beach! Wednesday, August 19 th, 15:00, 79 20 N Bockfjorden Just after lunch we arrived at Bockfjorden. Unfortunately the winds started picking up again, with spontaneous strong winds heading down the mountain slopes. This made it very difficult to get our tender boats onto the water, and for safety reasons we decided to cancel the landing. But not all was lost! We decided instead to cruise along the fjord, on the lookout for incredible scenery and wildlife. And our luck paid of, much more than we could have wished for. As the sun was shining on the incredible Old Red Devonian mountains, two blows of air were spotted far out into the fjord. We were all so excited but had to wait a little until we could get closely. Which species could this be? and would it come back to the surface again? Eventually the announcement was made: we had two blue whales swimming in front of us! We watched them come up the breathe at the surface for a while. It was incredible to think that such a rare species, and two of them, were gracefully feeding in the waters in front of us. The blue whale is the largest animal to have ever existed on the planet. The global population side 4
today is estimated at around 6000 individuals, although there is still so much we do not know about them. Little after our incredible encounter with the blue whales, we made some waffles on the aft deck and enjoyed the surrounding views. And then, to make the afternoon even more incredible, we spotted two polar bears laying on some islands. We were able to get a closer look at these wonderful creatures to everybody s delight. We were certainly very lucky this afternoon! Wednesday, August 19 th, 21:15, 80 00 N 80 N & Moffen After dinner, we passed the 80 N parallel and this was celebrated on the aft deck with a toast. The North Atlantic is in fact the only place on the planet where you can be almost certain to pass the 80 th parallel with a ship the sourthern hemisphere is mostly ice-covered and at 80 S you will hit a continent. An interesting thought is that there were hardly any other people between M/S Nordstjernen and the North Pole at this time! Moffen is a lagoon slightly north of 80ºN latitude. It is a very flat and peculiar ring shaped island and its maximum altitude is about five meters. This small island is mostly known for heaps of male walrus chilling out on the beach. The island is classified as a protected birds reserve and no ships are allowed closer than 300 metres. Walrus is the largest seal species in the Arctic being as heavy as two metric tons characteristics are impressive tusks, a charming animal but with a rather unpleasant smell. Moffen is a peculiar-looking island that is commonly habitated by walrus. Thursday, August 20 th, 09:45, 79 23 N Lilliehöökfjorden This morning we sailed into the staggering Krossfjord. There was a little fog, but this slowly lifted. We then reached the beautiful Lilliehöökfjord, where we then put the tender boats in the water and started our cruise along the front of the Lilliehöök glacier. We were lucky to see some glacier calving activity, and side 5
thousands of stunning blue and white icebergs along the glacier front. Lilliehöök glacier is surounded by spectacular mountains and the front is more than 10 km long. The sun started to shine and there was no wind at all. Overall perfect conditions. As we came back onto the ship for lunch, we cruised by the Cadiopynten bird cliff. Thousands of kittiwakes were nesting on these cliffs, and it was incredible to hear the sound of so many birds. Among the birds, we could see 3 arctic foxes scavenging along the steep cliffs in search of eggs and chicks. Their fur was almost entirely white : an indication that winter is already on its way. Thursday, August 20 th, 15:00, 79 14 N Møllerfjorden & Lloyds Hotel After lunch we went ashore at the Lloyds Hotel. This is a small cabin, built by «Hamburg Amerikalinje / Norddeutscher Lloyd». The bright painted cabin was built for travelers in need of a shelter. We walked around the beach and enjoyed the view of the glacier and the mountains. Thursday, August 20 th 20:00, 78 56 N Ny-Å lesund Just as we were arriving to Ny-Ålesund, we once again had a Polar Bear sighting! This time it was a mother with a cub sleeping. Later in the evening, we arrive at Ny-Ålesund where we had a guided tour and were able to post our letters from the northermost post office! Kongsfjorden. Ny Ålesund is located to the northern side of Brøggerhalvøya side 6
Ny-Ålesund is the world s northernmost community and as we came onshore we went on a guided tour in town. Ny-Ålesund is a former mining village which has become an important international research centre - mainly on the atmosphere and ozone layer but also geological, biological and glacial research are carried out here. Downtown Ny-Ålesund you will find a small centre with a shop, a post-office and a museum. Ny-Ålesund was the focal point for the world s attention several times during the 1920 s. In 1925 Roald Amundsen attempted to reach the North Pole from Ny-Ålesund with the seaplanes N24 and N25. In 1926 Amundsen returned to Ny-Ålesund, accompanied by the American Lincoln Elsworth and the Italian Umberto Nobile, to set out on a joint expedition with the airship Norge. This expedition was a success. The airship flew over the North Pole as planned and landed in Teller, Alaska. Some of us also visited the mast, which was used to lounch Norge. In 1945 until 1962 we experienced the second mining period. But the problem with the coal layers in Ny-Ålesund is that they are almost vertical and gases develop in the mines. 70 miners have lost their life in the mines of Ny-Ålesund and the worst accident of them all happened November 5 th 1962. Late at night that day there was a big explosion in the Esther Mine and 21 miners lost their life. A committee made an investigation and they concluded that the Norwegian state should have been more concerned about the safety in Ny- Ålesund. Since Kings Bay was a state enterprice the public blamed the government. In August 1963, Prime Minister Gerhardsen and his government resigned as a result of this tragedy. Research started in Ny-Ålesund in 1964 and during the 1990 s research increased from 4,100 man-days in 1990 to 10,031 in 2000. Each year scientists from at least fifteen nations run more than 120 research projects. At 11pm, we left Ny-Ålesund and headed southward towards Longyearbyen. side 7
Friday, August 21 st, 09:00, 78 20 N Farewell gathering We gathered with the ships crew and the guides for a farewell ceremony. Certificates were handed out to cross the 80 th parallel and to the true heroes among us that took a swim in the chilly arctic water! And that was the end of the Svalbard summer adventure for this time. Are you sad to leave Svalbard? Are you curious about what it is like in the winter? Grab a copy of our catalogue or visit www.spitsbergentravel.com. We hope to see you back again for another arctic adventure. Best regards, Your Cruise guides: Anne-Marthe, Helga, Ingunn, Yann, Timon, Alex and Stéphane side 8