Svalbard
An early August passage south across the Barents Sea
A WELL SET ANCHOR The next morning, none too bright and early, we weighed anchor to start our passage south. Or rather, we tried to [...]
The vagaries of the wind
LIGHT WINDS We awoke after a deep sleep, the previous 36 hours on the Barentsburg pontoon having left us exhausted. The sun was shining [...]
One very sneaky arctic fox
HIGH ON THE BUCKET LIST One of the animals that I (David) had been very keen to see in Svalbard, perhaps even more keen [...]
A small taste of Russia
Having done all we needed to do in Longyearbyen, it was time to start heading south to get into position for the jump back [...]
Stretching our legs
BJONAHAMNA Bjonahamna is a small harbour, beautifully protected from swell from all directions but the south by the old moraines of the Von Postbreen. [...]
Finally, a glacier close-up!
A GOOD DAY FOR A GLACIER Technically speaking, the next morning didn’t dawn bright and blue as there was no dawn and the nighttime [...]
Belugas!
MORE SVALBARD Big storms all through the North Sea and along the Norwegian coast right up to the Barents Sea meant that a departure [...]
Sailing between mountains and glaciers
MORE WALRUS? Today we made the long haul down through the Forlandsundet, that beautiful mountain and glacier lined channel between Kongsfjorden and Isfjorden. On [...]
Continuing south
ANOTHER WHALING SITE Another whaling site, Hamburgbukta ended up being a delightful, keyhole bay, named after the city of Hamburg. The Germans, or their [...]
A fjord named after a saint
MAGDALENEFJORDEN – A POPULAR DESTINATION Our destination for the night was Trinityhamna in the Magdalenefjorden, just a short hop down the outside of Spitsbergen [...]