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Category Archives: Svalbard
Wind, waves and Walruses
It feels very arctic up here in Ny Ålesund. We arrived after a very long arduous voyage into a hellish headwind and a sharp swell early this morning. On the way, we did manage to stop off for a fantastic few hours with walruses hauled out on the sandy beach of Poolepynten. These leviathans were hauled out in a steamy heap with tarnished tusks all akimbo, and bloated bodies bunched into a wallow with a smell that would turn back the most ardent adventurer … but we held our nose to get some close-up quality time with these wondrous malodourous monsters. But other-wise, it has been a bit of a rough slog. The journey saw us confront some serious issues. We managed to get a rope wrapped around the propeller – the normal course of events for yachties is to blame those damn crab pots at this point. However, since we haven’t seen a single pot in the arctic we have to acknowledge that yes, it was our own rope that fell in the water and got wrapped around the prop and caused us to grind to an very abrupt stop in the middle of a sound known by the English whalers as “Foul Sound” – very appropriate as it turns out to be a very windy exposed stretch of water with dangerous shoals on all sides.
Thus began a slow tack into the wind before we finally managed to gain shelter at Selvågen where we settled in under sail and tried to get some sleep. The next morning saw me don the drysuit and dive under the yacht to untangle the offending line from the propeller, before the engine grudgingly kicked into gear and we made our exit for the north.
Again we were faced with poor weather and a long slog into the wind… also some problems due to a broken rope allowing the anchor to fly free in the fray. With a resounding series of bangs and clangs we ended up with a series of dents on our starboard side. I also happened to lose a fairly series amount of flesh from my left hand while trying to retrieve the violently thrashing anchor while waves crashed around my knees, but I guess I’m getting used to that. Not a single finger without a gash or scrape of some sort right now.
But that’s all behind now as we lie at alongside in the splendid anchorage of Ny Ålesund, with glaciers to the north and rolling green field populated by geese on all sides. The wind has dropped – not a leaf stirred, not a dog stirred …. Well actually our dog did stir for an unplanned 4:00am solo outing into the bird reserves, with me in tow screaming for him to come, come, COME! …we will put it down to puppy enthusiasm I guess, but sheesh … bloody dog!
Dropping in for a cuppa
After a dash north we anchored the yacht in Eidembukta last night and rocked and rolled ourselves to sleep in a moderate swell. Thankfully however, the wind that has been plaguing us lately could not reach us in this scenic anchorage. A long sandy beach stretches before us, opening into the lagoon that is the final resting place for the Eidembreen glacier. Landing on the beach we quickly caught the curiosity of one of the many beach-prowliong arctic foxes who gave us a cursory sniff before making for the hills. We had planned to walk along the beach to visit the trappers hut in the next bay (Farmbukta) however our passage was blocked by the roiling water pouring out of the lagoon, complete with the occasional chunk of ice. While the dog seemed keen to cross we decided that this was not really the time and place for a swim and retreated to Brad (our tender)to motor over to the hut and meet Bjørn Henningsen and his family. Here we enjoyed a cup of coffee, cake and some marvellous hospitality at the end of the earth – the cold remote regions of the world are heated with a human warmth that is often lacking in our crowded centres.
Another beaut day
After a lumpy night’s anchorage in Van Muydenbukta, Bellsund, we awoke to a grey morning with the sinister black scree slopes of Ingeborgfjellet looming out of the mist and a cold wind gusting from the west. Not enough to deter these adventurers though! Soon we were forcing Shy (our dog – who had rather different ideas of what one should be doing first thing in the morning) into our trusty tender and heading for the beach of Vårsolbukta. Here little auks nest in profusion, foxes frolic on the beach, and the remains of the Northern Exploration Company gold mining attempt (they found none) add a dash of history to the stark Arctic scenery. Soon we were sitting by a scree slope watching birds flit back and forth from their nests and enjoying the gawky approach of reindeer with a curiosity in constant conflict with their urge to flee. Then, a quick cruise through a maze of twisted rock canyons and arches (a huge grin on my face as I ride the surge) and then back to Widdershins for a cup of hot soup. Another beaut day.
Arctic Foxes at Trygghamna, Svalbard
So, as you know “two in the blue” might better be called “three on the sea” as we try to accommodate an alarmingly large husky pup on our little yacht. The sail from Lonyearbyen to Trygghamna yesterday however, went without a hitch and our new crew member seemed to handle the slight swell well. As mentioned previously, this dog (named monster by the dog farm) was not having a great time with his fellow animals and is all-over a little shy. In fact we have decided that the original name “Monster” just didn’t hit the mark and we have now dubbed him “Shy Monster” or just “Shy” for short. While Shy is still taking some time to get used to the sea, he is starting to break out of his shell. Each time we take him for a walk ashore he is just a little more curious and engaged with what is happening, and today during a long walk he began to relish stomping his huge paws through the puddles and mud.
Whilst Shy was busy accumulating a healthy layer of mud for later disposal in the yacht, Leonie and I were wandering around Trygghamna enjoying splendid scenery (and in my case also collecting mud for later disposal). Above us, birds wheeled in huge mixed flocks around the cliffs looming overhead, and threw a cacophony of sound into the grey sky. Reindeers ambled over the rolling green moss that carpeted the ground below the cliffs, and the occasional young animal would wander up to within five meters of our party to give us a long sideways stare before returning to the more important matter of ingesting more moss. 
But for us, the highlight was without a doubt the Arctic foxes we found at-play in the foothills. The family of Mum, Dad and five pups were running about playing a game of tag and we got a chance to watch them for quite a while before they caught our scent and dissolved into the rocky surrounds. There was a particular moment when the mum gazed up at us as we struggled to contain our enthusiastic puppy – at the time her own pup was busy trying to crawl onto her head – and I’m pretty sure that we shared a moment of parental empathy.
Longyearbyen
After an amazing first day at Hornsund with Polar bears, ringed and bearded seals we explored the depths of the fjord, where four big glaciers tumble down to the sea from various valleys. Steering through the maze of smaller and larger bits of ice in front of the glaciers was quite a challenge, and I ended up bent over the bow of the ship trying to push away larger bergy bits. Luckily Widdershins is a tough steel yacht, so fortunately the pieces I missed didn’t do any damage.
After an over-“night” trip we arrived in Longyearbyen, where showers, toilets and laundry almost seemed like luxury to us. Finally we were also able to go ashore – as long as you’re in a village you don’t need a gun in Svalbard. Luckily our papers were all in order, so registering and renting a big rifle was no problem. Longyearbyen has developed in the last few decades from being a small mining town to a more touristy center with cruise ships arriving regularly (then the population explosively doubles or triples), a large range of shopping opportunities, and there were even some pubs with nice arctic beer.
Now we’re almost ready to set off into the wild again – except we got ourselves a little additional challenge. We’ve been thinking about getting a dog for the journey for a while, and as it so happens we came across this puppy husky from a big dog-sledging farm, which was extremely shy and did not mix with the other dogs at all. So we decided to give it a try and provide him with a new home on Widdershins. So far this is a trial period, we will be back in Longyearbyen in four weeks, and if “monster” (that’s the name given him by his owner) does not like us, the yacht or the sea we’ll have to give him back. But we surely hope that he’ll open up and be our companion for the adventures to come!
Bear Island behind, bears beside
After a long passage from Bjørnøya in stormy seas we approached the grey coastline of Sørkapp in Southern Svalbard accompanied by a pod of white-beaked dolphins. These beautiful beasts kept pace with us for a while before leaping out of the water and disappearing and leaving us with the majesty of the rocky shore on the horizon. Ahead of us was a bank of grey cloud pierced by the occasional jagged peak and a sloping plateau of rock and ice merging with the mist to the east. As we slowly drew near the grey pall dissolved revealing a stark landscape of ice and rock – glaciers clung to the valleys and the black rock seemed crushed and crumbling beneath the weight of ice and weather.
Sørkapp however, is a long way from the nearest safe anchorage. Thus these weary sailors gritted their teeth and sailed on looking forward to a respite from the constant round of four hour watches which is the lot of short-handed sailors on ocean passages. Eventually we dropped the anchor in Isbjørnbukta on the north of Hornsund and prepared to drop ourselves into bed for some slumber … except for the special problems of anchoring in the Arctic. A glacier tumbled to the sea just around the corner, and in the process of that tumble, various bergy bits and ice were released into the fjord and were attempting to make an escape to the open ocean. The only thing standing in the way: Widdershins, our yacht. Thus our planned nights repose was somewhat broken by hourly anchor watches and the occasional jaunt up to the deck to poke at the jagged ice to push it from our hull.
When we finally raised our weary heads from the bed we prepared to follow our plans of getting straight to Lonyearbyen (a 26 hour sail away) to get all the bureaucratic necessities out of the way. Except, that as we were preparing to set sail a crackle came across the radio and amidst the static we heard a few snippets about a polar bear and Hornsund. Following a couple of radio calls from our end to get further details we scrapped the plans for Svalbard’s version of civilisation and headed into the heart of the fjord to seek the bears.
Within a few hours of starting our first day in Svalbard we were sitting aboard our trusty tender Brad and powering off towards a small drift of fast-ice which apparently harbored the apex of the local food-chain, that apex being rather above the occasional grubby adventurer. Teetering upon our little inflatable boat we rounded the corner of a small bay to find ourselves face to face with not one, but two polar bears.
The bears were sitting on either end of the last patch of ice in the fjord and were hungrily watching the bearded seals and ringed seals lounging on the ice … I have an inkling that the seals are rather hard to catch and it did occur to me that a couple of soft white explorers might be an easy catch – especially since we currently had no rifle, this being the major reason for our planned first stop in Lonyearbyen. Thus we were a little nervous as we looked into the eyes of these powerful predators. However, it seemed that several days at sea had left a rather unappealing odor around us and the bears seemed content to watch us with an occasional yawn and perhaps a slight wrinkling of the nose. Jokes aside, this was the first polar bear either of us had ever seen in the wild and there is something awe inspiring, slightly scary and magic about sitting amidst the wilderness of the ice and watching these bears.