82°N, strong cold winds & glimpse of a polar bear
We were the northern-most ship on 6 June! With not many animal sightings, it was a very quiet day, following the edge of the sea-ice at 82°N. I’d gone out onto the bow early following an announcement of a possible Polar bear way off in the distance. Unfortunately it didn’t eventuate - sometimes yellow algae on ice looks like a Polar bear way off in the distance.
The day started very cold at around zero degrees, with the strong wind blowing out of the North Pole making it feel much, much colder. With the sea-ice on our port side, we had views over this beautiful white sea-scape to the horizon, and to starboard, flat ocean to the horizon. Skies were light grey.
Fulmars and kittiwakes continued to follow us, flying around the ship, gliding down towards the water and using the uplift from the shift to soar at eye-level along the Bridge deck. The smaller black Brunnich’s guillemots sat on the water near the edge of the sea-ice, and occasionally we saw the rarer Ivory gulls – a very pretty all white bird with a red tipped beak. There was a brief sighting of a whale blow, possibly from a bowhead whale. Other than that, nothing further was seen.
It was a good day to stay inside, catch up with photo processing and enjoy two good photo workshops.
This morning, 7 June, was also very cold. Now we were sailing east away from the sea ice (at 80°N) and then south east towards the northern-most islands of the Svalbard archipelago.
The swell had increased, the dampening effects of the sea-ice far behind us. From my cabin I saw reasonably “angry” waves – white caps, water splashing onto my window. Not a nice day at all, and certainly not looking welcoming for a zodiac rides.
I’m 3 levels below the Bridge, and still love going up there on mornings like this. Going up the stairs, I c hose to take the outside stairs. We were passing the first islands of the Seven Islands group, known as Phippsoya – in fact there are way more than 7 – at least 10 appear on the chart.
Stunning scenery! I took at advantage of the height at the Bridge to take some photos of these snowy islands that jut out of the sea. Lots of black & white photos will come from these.
The wind remained strong, and although we’d hoped to find a sheltered area on the southern side of one of the islands, this was not going to be possible. Those strong northerlies were flying over and around the peaks creating very lumpy seas.
On to Murchison Fjord, an area that has research huts still visible. When we have days like this, the crew are great ensuring workshops and lectures are available. Today we discussed “composition” with Cindy Hopkins, and later in the day, Sue Flood spoke about “planning” – both very valuable and interesting. Our ornithologist, Manda, spoke about the birds in this region.
It was early afternoon when we started to see land. The weather was not being kind at all. I ventured out to the starboard side and stern as we came towards the area of the huts. My “dress” for this type of weather includes two hats (as well as the hood from the parka when necessary), multiple layers under the parka, and when we’re not going into zodiacs, long-johns under my jeans. Tomorrow I’ll be adding my waterproof pants over these to provide a windbreak!
There were a few hardy people out the back and the views were worth it. Off in the distance we could see the huts on the shore. Then a weather front would fly through, obliterating the view for some minutes. It would clear, and we could see patches of blue in the sky and sun glistening off snowy caps and small icebergs. Then another front would come through.
The bow area was opened as we sailed towards some sea-ice – great viewing from there. And even better when I walked back to the stern. The Captain placed us with our starboard-side to the ice where we could “nestle” with the wind blowing us against it from the port side.
Around 5pm, we were in the Lounge, our general gathering area where we have workshops, tea/coffee always available and the daily recap, we were starting to consider the evening’s activities when we saw the crew (they tend to sit in one area of the Lounge) pick up their radios in unison, and say “bear.”
Now we were all up, heading to our cabins to get the outer layers on and cameras/binoculars/videos. Woody announced that it was (very conveniently) off to our starboard side, across the ice.
And there it was, hiding behind a lump of ice, perhaps 200-400m away, just its face peeking out, clearly interested in who and what we are. It might well have been there for some hours quietly watching us.
It was on a fairly solid area of fast-ice (attached to the land). Between it and us was sea-ice that was recently formed, so not very solid and easily broken by a large Polar bear. If it was really interested in coming closer, it would have had to come a long way around, and at this time of year when bears are conserving their energy, it had other, far better opportunities for food.
We watched it watching us, while we also took photos. And then it came out of its hiding place and headed off across the fast-ice. It’s always wonderful to see a Polar bear!
The wind continued to beat down on us, and we stayed for several hours, leaving during dinner. Once out of the fjord, the gentle roll of the ship was quite comforting. At one point a wave hit us that was less gentle – plates and glasses slid across the table, and dramatic sounds of breaking plates and glasses came from the kitchen. No-one was hurt by this one nasty wave, and I’m guessing we then changed our heading. It was a good reminder that we were at sea and needed to keep “one hand for the ship.”
As I write (early morning, 8/6), we are heading towards Faksevagen. It’s been a very comfortable night, but the sky remains covered in cloud, mountains along the fjord are dotted with snow and the seas remain very lumpy. It is the Arctic after all!