02nd May 2022 – Bear Island
Mon
2 May
2022
Bear Island! It took us a while to get here, considering the constant northern winds that we have had in quite a while now.
But on Sunday evening we could see the island from a distance of more than 40 nautical miles!
During the night we found out that large parts of the island are actually surrounded by ice, which is a pretty rare event these days. The bay of Sørhamna where we originally intended to anchor was blocked by ice, so this was not an option and we ended up anchoring at the opposite and of Bear Island, near the northwestern corner.
There, we were able to get out with the dinghy. It was the only place around the whole island where the rather difficult combination of swell, wind and ice allowed small boat operations at all. It turned out to be a little cruise that included a short landing on a beach – for sure not the longest excursion ever on this island, but without any doubt sweet, with the impressive rocky coastline partly covered in ice, glittering in the sun! Stunning!
Later we continued towards Spitsbergen, but the drift ice is further west than expected and it keeps forcing extra miles on us.
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last modification: 2022-05-04 ·
copyright: Rolf Stange