Expedition log MS Nordstjernen Svalbard August 25 th August 28 th 2015 side 1
Map of Svalbard and the journey of MS Nordstjernen. side 2
Tuesday, August 25 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 25 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 26 th, 09:45, 79 20 N Liefdefjorden & Monaco glacier The evening before, as we left Barentsburg, some of us had the chance to see dolphins (white-beaked dolphin). We woke up by the beautiful Monaco glacier in Liefdefjorden. Liefde is Dutch for love, so Liefdefjorden means The Fjord of Love. And then we saw it! Our first Polar Bears of the trip!! They were sleeping close to the beach. Watching the spectacular mountains and glaciers around us we put the tender boats in the water and started our cruise along the glacier front. We were lucky to see some glacier calving activity. During lunch we set course towards Worsleyhamna, where we shoud make our afternoon landing. But we had to cancel it because we saw our third polar bear and it was by the Worsleyhamna (next landing place). Wednesday, August 26 th, 15:00, 79 10 N Woodfjorden Instead of Worsleyhamna, we sailed south inside Woodfjorden and we got to see a minke whale playing and feeding on. It feeds on capelin, mackerel, sprat and herrings, as well as smaller food items such as copepods and larger fishes including salmon, cod and haddock. Wednesday, August 26 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 side 4 Moffen is a peculiar-looking island that is commonly habitated by walrus.
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. Thursday, August 27 th, 09:45, 79 23 N Lilliehöökfjord & Signehamna We woke up by the Lilliehöökglacier, and enjoyed the view of the impressive 8 km. long glacier front during breakfast. Later we sailed to Signehamna, where we made a landing. We went for a walk up to the remains of an german weather station from World War II. We came up to a small lake where the kittywake was bathing in the fresh water. After the landing we sailed close to the bird cliff Cadiopynten, where the Brünnich s Giullemot and the Kittywakes breed. Thursday, August 27 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. side 5
Thursday, August 27 th 20:00, 78 56 N Ny-Å lesund Kongsfjorden. Ny Ålesund is located to the northern side of Brøggerhalvøya We arrived at Ny-Ålesund where we had a guided tour and were able to post our letters from the northermost post office! 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 side 6
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. Friday, August 28 th, 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 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, Magne, Heiko and Stéphane side 7