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Home → July, 2022
Monthly Archives: July 2022 − News & Stories
The (almost) everyday madness continues
It is nice to be somewhere remote, far away from civilization and offline, as we were on board SV Antigua until Wednesday (27th July). Without any connection to the outside world other than satellite-based communication, far from fit for real internet.
Back in Longyearbyen, this all changes. The world news are mostly depressing, but obviously not what this page is about. Compared to much of what is going on in the world, Spitsbergen is and remains a peaceful place without major troubles. But still, things happen here and many of them are not great at all.
One can only wonder what was got into some people who are working within tourism in Spitsbergen, steering ships or boats or being in responsible positions on them. Two French expedition ships (or small cruise ships, whatever you prefer) got their guns removed recently because they did not have the required papers. About 50 weapons in total! That can indeed raise an eyebrow or two. At least, mistakes made in this case were made on paper and not during navigation on the bridge or in the field, where major mistakes can have entirely different consequences.
As will become clear in this case, in case anyone may wonder. After the grounding of the Virgo in Fuglefjord a couple of weeks ago, the Ocean Atlantic, a major expedition ship (or: see above) operated by Albatross Expeditions, touched the ground (or ice?) somewhere. The incident was serious enough to have caused damage to the hull, involving ingression of water. And as if that had not yet been enough, the crew did not deem it necessary to inform the Norwegian maritime authority, who could have dispatched rescue forces to be on stand-by in the vicinity of the Ocean Explorer in case of an escalation. It is probably needless to say that such a report to the maritime authority would have been required by law, and talk of luck that the situation did not deteriorate. The crew on board was able to control the situation. Nevertheless, someone on board felt uncomfortable enough to make a phone call at some stage, and soon the Ocean Atlantic was escorted to Longyearbyen by a Norwegian coastguard vessel. Now the ship is anchored in Adventfjord, awaiting inspection. Earlier controls this year had already revealed more than 20 serious security flaws.
Comment: incredulous shaking of the head.
Ocean Atlantic in the port of Longyearbyen.
Less dramatic, but nevertheless serious and making one wonder, is the incident where a Zodiac fleet belonging to Hondius went to a small island in Kongsfjord to give their passengers an opportunity to see a polar bear. Witnesses claim that the boats were close enough to cause disturbance of the animal or even put people or the bear at risk, but this may be a matter of controversial debate; it is said that the boats were “at one time within 50 meters”, a distance that does not at all necessarily (but may) involve disturbance or even risk to life and limb of man or beast. It is not possible to say more about this aspect of the incident without further knowledge of relevant details.
But one thing is clear, unfortunately: the island in question is part of a bird sanctuary. From 15th May to 15th August, a minimum distance of 300 metres from the island’s (and neighbouring islands) shores are required for all traffic, including boats. This regulation has been in force for decades.
Comment: also here, one can only wonder how this could happen. The only explanation this author can think of is an astonishing lack of knowledge regarding relevant regulations. This should not have happened to the expedition staff of a ship operated by a comapany with decades of regional experience, an opinion shared by the chief operating officer of the company in question as reported by Svalbardposten. The incident is likely the debate about a certification scheme for guides, something which in itself is not necessary a bad thing at all, although this debate is not necessarily going a fruitful way either, but that is another issue.
The final days from Raudfjord to Isfjord
Thu
28 Jul
2022
The last days of this voyage were just going so quickly, full of beauty and excitement as they were. I just didn’t manage to write any blog entries during this time, so here is the update including a slightly more extensive photo gallery, as I am able to use proper internet again. This chapter of the voyage started in a slightly Raudfjord and then took us to the magnificent St. Jonsfjord and the tundra on the west coast. It brought us the luck of a polar bear sighting (the only one other than the bears that we saw in the distance from Ny-Ålesund) as well as the beauty of doing some miles under sails again in Isfjord before we rounded the whole thing off in Colesbukta.
Gallery – From Raudfjord to Isfjord – 24th to 26th july 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2333
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Woodfjord & Bockfjord – 23rd July 2022
Sat
23 Jul
2022
We covered some good distance to the west – we must not forget that we will need to get back to Longyearbyen at some stage. The early morning saw us all the way down in innermost Woodfjord. Scenery of stunning beauty all around us, with amazing colours. And amazing amounts of plastic garbage on the coast. A good bit less when we left, at least.
Bockfjord has Spitsbergen’s only volcano, or volcanic ruin, that is. And a great variety of flowers, including some pretty rare ones.
Gallery – Woodfjord & Bockfjord – 23rd July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2327
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Hinlopen – 22nd July 2022
Fri
22 Jul
2022
Great that we made it as far as this – nothing we could take for granted considering the time we had left at this stage. But we made it into Hinlopen and could enjoy a little hike to and even onto the inland ice of northwestern Spitsbergen as well as tenthousands of Brünich’s guillemots at Alkefjellet. And later, even a Blue whale! What a day!
Gallery – Hinlopen – 22nd July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2330
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Murchisonfjord – 21st July 2022
Thu
21 Jul
2022
Murchisonfjord – So we made it to northern Hinlopen Strait, to Nordaustland. The barren, mostly ice-covered second largest island of Svalbard. A very strong scenic contrast to all that we had seen so far on this trip. Go to the Panos Murchisonfjord.
Gallery – Murchisonfjord – 21st July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2324
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Woodfjord – 20th July 2022
Wed
20 Jul
2022
And again, we are lucky with wind and waves. In the sense that both of them are absent, making it possible to visit the famous hut at Gråhuken (Christiane Ritter: A woman in the polar night).
After small waterfalls falling over red rocks, surrounded by an amazing carpet of tundra and flowers, we rounded the day off at Monacobreen. Which, by the way, has recently advanced by several hundred meters. Almost hard to believe, but such things still happen occasionally, even in times of global warming.
Gallery – Woodfjord – 20th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2321
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Northwest Spitsbergen – 19th July 2022
Tue
19 Jul
2022
A rare beautiful day on the northwest corner of Spitsbergen, where it usually tends to be grey, windy and cold. Nothing of that sort today. Instead, stunning views over Danskøya and later, more stunning views, walruses and whaling history at Smeerenburg.
West coast – 18th July 2022
Mon
18 Jul
2022
We were blown out of Kongsfjord, but the sails made it easily possible to turn it into a situation of great fun.
Another kind of great fun came later in the afternoon when we were unexpectedly able to make one of those rare landings on the exposed outer coast. Fantastic weather, stunning scenery … what else could you ask for?
And even more of it in the evening in Magdalenefjord. Weather, scenery, calving activity at the glacier … all at a maximum!
Gallery – West coast – 18th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2318
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Kongsfjord – 17th July 2022
Sun
17 Jul
2022
Wind and the presence of other ships made things a bit uncertain in Ny-Ålesund to begin with, but then we could spend a brilliant morning there, in Spitsbergen’s northernmost settlement, currently also frequently visited by polar bears. We could see at least 3 of them on islands near town.
Later we explored inner Kongsfjord. One of the most beautiful parts of Spitsbergen, if you get there on a day like this.
Gallery – Kongsfjord – 17th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2315
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Forlandsund
Sun
17 Jul
2022
Since last night, we have got not only as many as 19 passengers on board, but also a new Captain (Jonathan should have left a week ago – thank you for staying that long!). Amazing! Full ahead, northwards!
So we could enjoy the first day outside Isfjord today 🙂 in Forlandsund. Stunning landscape, stunning weather, stunning wildlife! Just have a look at the photos.
Gallery Forlandsund, 16th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2312
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Sveabreen & Longyearbyen
Fri
15 Jul
2022
Everybody was happy to see some sun again finally, at Sveabreen.
And everybody was even more happy to welcome some more people on board in Longyearbyen. Especially those who came on board. They should have come almost a week ago! Well, better late than never – welcome onboard!
It took some more time until everything and everybody were in place. We made good use of the time with a choice of hikes in the vicinity of Longyearbyen. Below some impressions from our excursion into Adventdalen.
Gallery Sveabreen & Adventdalen, 14th/15th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2309
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Ekmanfjord
Thu
14 Jul
2022
Coraholmen is a perl of nature in Ekmanfjord. A part of the island is a moraine landscape, kind of what I imagine it would look like on Mars. Not that I have been there. Just my fantasy. But anyway, Coraholmen is a fascinating island, even on a grey day like this. Stunning atmosphere!
The same applied to Blomesletta later. It was actually so foggy that we waited some time before we went out again, strengthened by some good cheese cake. A great walk, great views!
Gallery Ekmanfjord: Coraholmen & Blomesletta, 13th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2306
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Gipsdalen & Diabasodden
Tue
12 Jul
2022
As mentioned before, Isfjorden has more than enough place for a week or ten days. Today we were in Sassenfjord (a part of Isfjord, obviously). The weather remained grey, but that didn’t kept us from getting out. We went for a lovely hike in the beautiful, large Gipsdalen, where William S. Bruce looked for coal in his days a long time ago, and later we paid a visit to the Brünich’s guillemots at Diabasodden.
Gallery Gipsdalen & Diabasodden, 12th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2303
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Ebbadalen & Pyramiden
Tue
12 Jul
2022
A slightly grey day in northern Billefjord, in the beautiful Ebbadalen and in Pyramiden. Fascinating places, beautiful scenery, friendly reindeer.
Gallery Ebbadalen & Pyramiden, 11th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2300
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Longyearbyen, Skansbukta
Tue
12 Jul
2022
So Antigua is setting sail again in Spitsbergen in July – our first long trip (18 days!) with good old Antigua in 3 years (because of Covid). Amazing …
But, alas, not everybody could make it to Longyearbyen, because of the SAS pilot strike. We still maintain hope to pick some more people up in a couple of days time, but for now, we sail with 10 passengers instead of a good 30 …
But in any case, we sailed! And we set course for Skansbukta, to start with. We will stay in Isfjorden for a couple of days, making sure that we can pick people up at any time. No problem at all, Isfjorden is more than big enough to spend a week or even more.
Gallery Longyearbyen-Skansbukta, 09th/10th July 2022
- gallery anchor link: #gallery_2297
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
News-Listing live generated at 2024/October/15 at 15:37:31 Uhr (GMT+1)
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