Autumn in the Arctic – during this time of year, we are hoping for beautiful light. Low sun during daytime and endless sunsets. Of course, the sun doesn’t shine at all in Svalbard in November, as the polar night begins at the end of October. The Spitsbergen picture for the November page was taken on a beautiful day at the end of August 2022, on the first ever circumnavigation of Spitsbergen with sailing ship Meander. The weather was really on our side, and then you can go to crazy places where you wouldn’t normally go. Because they are very exposed, because the waters close to the shore are uncharted and shallow.
This is exactly the case in the extensive Diskobukt on Edgeøya. Here, every wave quickly turns into a breaker even before it reaches the shore, and at low tide the propeller whirls in the mud well before you get anywhere near the coast. It is sensible to stay away from such places in everyday life. But not every day is everyday life, and we are not always sensible, are we 😄 otherwise where would we end up … certainly not in this part of Diskobukta! (This is not about the relatively well known kittiwake colony in the northern part of Diskobukta.) Where we were ashore in the evening of this unforgettable day and went for a little hike to and up a low hill. I had seen this hill so many times from a distance as we sailed past and always thought that one day I would have to go there … and this was just the right opportunity! It just has to happen, you can’t force things like that.
Diskobukta on Edgeøya (not the one in west Greenland) is aptly described as ‘vast’ or ‘wide open’. Barren, high arctic, a vast, darkly coloured alluvial plain. Numerous whale bones add variety to the otherwise monotonous landscape impression, and the great light of a beautiful evening at the end of August at around 78 degrees north did its part.
The November-Spitsbergen-image shows Diskobukta on Edgeøya.
I had been there years before. On that occasion: horizontal snow – and a polar bear on the shore. That was great too. But that evening at the end of August, when we were able to go ashore … unforgettable! That’s the stuff my Spitsbergen dreams are made of. It was so beautiful that I realised on the spot that one of the pictures would be in the calendar as soon as possible. ‘Calendar potential’ is the highest photographic standard here 🙂
The other stories are told relatively quickly. In Scoresbysund in East Greenland, the musk ox is roughly what the polar bear is to Spitsbergen: tourists usually want to see them.
Now they usually stand somewhere far away on a mountain slope. It takes a bit of luck to see them up close. And too close is also potentially unhealthy, of course, especially when you are hiking.
One fine day with early winter mood in September in Rypefjord, deep in Scoresbysund, everything was just right: the musk oxen were quite close to the shore and we could see them perfectly well from the boat – the lovely Ópal from Iceland. And very helpful to secure not only some nice views, but actually good photos: I had my 600 millimetre lens with me, the really big one that usually stays in Spitsbergen and lives on the ship rather than being dragged around on land. Just for the polar bears. Or in Greenland for the musk oxen. The effort was worth it here.
The November-picture for Greenland: Musk oxen in Rypefjord.
Of course, I wouldn’t miss the northern lights at the end of the year. December is the deepest polar night, and of course, you just can’t get to the most remote corners of Spitsbergen at this time of year. But why should you, you can see the northern lights wonderfully in Adventdalen, not far from Longyearbyen.
The December-image, Spitsbergen: Northern light above Adventdalen.
Large parts of Greenland, including Scoresbysund, are actually even better for observing the northern lights than Svalbard, where you are already north of the hot aurora zone, the Aurora Oval. Scoresbysund is the right place to be, as there is a lot of action when it only gets dark at night. And due to the more southerly location, this is the case earlier in the year than in Svalbard, September is a pretty reliable month. In this picture we see the northern lights over Bjørneøerne, with the magnificent Øfjord and the striking Grundtvigskirke mountain in the background.
The December-picture, Greenland: northern light over Bjørneøerne.
Now, Longyearbyen is located in Adventfjord, isn’t it 🤪😵💫 this is actually not only one of my infamous puns, but actually a not so rare misunderstanding. The name Adventfjord has nothing to do with the Advent season, but with an English whaling ship, the Adventure, which was there in the 17th century.
But that’s not what this is all about, it’s about the start of the Advent season in Longyearbyen. There is also a Christmas market here, or rather two, even. However, they are a little different to what most of us may be used to. On two weekends, in mid-November and last weekend, the hard-working and creative artists, craftspeople and everyone in between set up their stalls, first in the cultural centre (Kulturhuset) in the town centre and on the first weekend of Advent in the artists’ centre (kunstnersentrum) in Nybyen higher up in the valley, where the gallery used to be some years ago. Unfortunately no roasted almonds and no mulled wine, but lots of great handicrafts made in Longyearbyen, including Eva Grøndal from the local photographer dynasty of the same name (first picture) and Wolfgang Hübner-Zach from the carpentry workshop Alt i 3 (that’s where the beautiful kitchen boards and driftwood picture frames come from 😉). And lots of other great things. Lena’s deceptively real chocolate fossils, awesome! To name just one more example.
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
And then, of course, there is the traditional torchlight procession on the afternoon of the first Sunday in Advent – it is dark, even the street lights are switched off in the area during the event – from the Huset to Santa’s letterbox below the old pit 2b, the ‘julenissegruve’ (Santa’s pit). Father Christmas is working hard up there now, so this old coal mine, abandoned since 1964, is now lit up again until Christmas. And down by the road is the letterbox where the children (including the older ones, if they want to) post their letters to Father Christmas with all their wishes.
The route continues to the centre, where the Christmas tree is lit. Of course, there are warm words, cheerful singing and good cheer and, last but not least, Father Christmas arrives with his assistants and distributes a small advance to the many children.
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
This marks the start of the Advent season in Longyearbyen, and everywhere else too, of course. I wish everyone a happy and joyful Advent season!
Tromsø! There is always something to discover, something that you haven’t seen before. The most interesting bookshop in town, for example, well hidden in Sjøgata 20. Recommended!
“Tromsø frimerke og mynt” in Sjøgata 20: Tromsø’s most exciting bookshop.
So, here we go again! One more time, as far as I am concerned. One more time “Arctic under sail”. With good ol’ Antigua, looking for northern lights and whales.
Northern lights we found directly on the first evening 🙂 and as for the whales, we will have to wait a little bit. The weather is simply incredible. One storm after the other. Better to hide somewhere in the fjords for a while before we head towards Kvænangen. But no worries, we will get there.
As I mentioned before, the last night was long. Or short, depending on how you look at it. Northern lights were the thing, there had been quite a show on the sky. Amazing!
After a little walk in and near Hamnes with great views of the stunning Lyngenalps we set sails in Lyngenfjord. Sailing there – and I mean real sailing – was a fantastic was to round this voyage off!
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Then we went back to Tromsø, and this is the last blog entry of this voyage. It was indeed a special one, with a lot of weather that can aptly be described as awful. Yet, it was a great trip, we saw a lot and the spirits were good. Thanks to all of you who were part of it!
During the morning we were still in Skjervøy and went on a little tour up to one of the mountains near the town. There we had a nice view over the bay and surroundings.
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
In the early afternoon the wind weakened and we set off towards Hamnes, a little fishing village on the island Uløy. Another kind of wind picked up but this time it was the solar wind and soon we could enjoy the northern lights. Awesome after days only with clouds, storm and rain. The sky was not really clear and clouds came and went but this made the scenery even more magical.
Never before have temperatures as high as today’s been measured in north Norway: stations of the Norwegian meteorological service between Vesterålen and Finnmark recorded up to 16 degrees today (8 November), as NRK reports.
A heavy storm is raging over the whole area with winds up to force 11, and there are reports about damage.
Yesterday it had not yet been so crazy, so we sailed out into Kvænangen, in beautiful style under sails, and saw some whales here and some more there. But the wind just kept increasing and I guess there might well have been more than just a few on board who were quite happy when the ship was alongside in Skjervøy again in the later afternoon.
Today we stayed in port. Good thing, considering the conditions with howling gusts which can literally blow one’s socks off. Walking outside is very unpleasant, with sand and small stones being blown into your face. There is the occasional hole in the clouds, but no northern lights so far and now it is raining again.
But we are having a good time. Now I understand why I put quite a lot of time into preparing some new presentations 🙂 and this morning, when it was just a little bit less crazy, we went to one of the hills of Skjervøy.
We had spent the night in Skjervøy, the little metropolis (well, almost 2000 inhabitants) of Kvænangen. The port where the famous Fram reached civilisation again after the legendary ice drift across the Arctic Ocean in 1893-96.
We don’t travel on that level 🙂 but nevertheless it was adventurous here and today, with wind and weather and plenty of orcas and other whales!
And off we went. On the first evening we went to Lenangen, a very small port (“port” is a big word …) on the west side of the Lyngen Alps. We didn’t spend too much time there, though; we were on the move again already during breakfast time – and found our first Orcas soon after departure. Amazing!
Luck remained on our side with a lovely sighting of Fin whales as soon as we had reached the Kvænangen area.
North Norway under sail! We have got a full week ahead of us on good ol’ Antigua, focussing on the Kvænangen area around Skjervøy, hoping for whales and northern lights.
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Tromsø is always worth a visit, with its interesting museums and this – for north Norwegian standards – big city is generally charming. As long as you don’t mind a pizza to be more expensive than 20 Euro, that is.
And maybe we should have spent some more money on weather. The forecast is mixed, to put it mildly. North Norway in November …
Yes, it is mid October and the summer has left Spitsbergen weeks ago already. Most migrating birds have gone their way, and so did SV Meander on Monday. Safe sailing! See you again, up here next year at the latest, possible already in November in Norway.
SV Meander leaving Longyearbyen on Monday.
At the time of writing (Wednesay), it was 3 degrees above freezing, far warmer than it usually is in October. Nevertheless: the arctic winter is just around the corner. The polar night will start in just 11 days (last sunrise in Longyearbyen: 25 October). There is no water running in the rivers anymore. Cold and snow will come soon.
The river in Longyearbyen, 15 Oktober.
For many in Longyearbyen (including this author), there is a calm time coming up right now. The Dark Season Bluesfestival will happen in late October as usual, and there are always some smaller events like public presentations and others. For me, there is a lot of office work after a long summer of sailing the coasts of Svalbard. Besides the rather boring stuff including bookkeeping and so on, there are a lot of photos to be sorted – and used, for editing triplogs which are in the making together with their associated pages on this website with plenty of photo galleries. They are well worth having a look (start here for the overview), it was a great season. Recently I finished and published the triplogs of the trips with Arctica II in August and Meander in late August/early September. Antigua in September will be coming up soon.
The last day of the voyage, the last day “Spitsbergen under sail” in 2024. In Ekmanfjord and Dicksonfjord. We started at Flintholmen, a perl of arctic nature and scenery.
Then we cruised Dicksonfjord. There was this gut feeling … and yes, we did see polar bears, during the very last miles of the trip! What a luck, everybody was so happy. They were pretty far away, no frame-filling photos, but that didn’t matter, it was really about the experience of having seen them in the wild. The real thing. The distance was a good 500 m, and this is, by the way, the distance required by law from 2025 during spring (until end of June; from July it’s 300 m and all this is valid within Svalbard’s 12 mile zone).
A few hours later we were back in Longyearbyen, and thus this beautiful trip came to an end. It was farewell and goodbye, on various levels. This was my very last trip with good old Antigua in Spitsbergen, after more than 30 since 2010. We went many miles together and the part of this voyage that happens in Spitsbergen waters is over now. But we’ll meet again, quite soon actually, in a few weeks in north Norway 🙂
And it was my very last Spitsbergen voyage under the current legal regime. A lot will change next year (more information here). Beyond the required distances from polar bears (see above), we won’t be able to go ashore anymore as freely as we can so far. We will still be able to do good and interesting voyages from 2025, but they will be different. Maybe even better in certain ways. Less pressure to sail to remote areas, less miles, more time to go hiking etc. Not a bad thing in itself. I would very much prefer it to be a matter of my own choice, though (and not – sorry – the choice of some idiots far away, there is simply no expertise in these new laws, just office table bullshit. Sorry, I get carried away, but it is tuff stuff).
So Svalbard life will continue also next year and beyond as far as we can tell now, but it will be different. A lot will be lost especially for those who have been around for a while, those who know the place. We have done well on this trip, visiting places like Fjerdebreen on the west coast, Idunneset in Wahlenbergfjord, Zeipelodden in Palanderbukta and Moffen. All of them will not be accessible anymore from 2025 – unless you come on a private trip. Which is ridiculous, of course; who comes to such remote places on a private trip?
I am privileged to have been around here, and I am grateful for that.
Thank you, Antigua! Thank you for being such a great, such an enjoyable part of this journey! The ship, the crew that made it all possible, everybody who was part of it and made it so enjoyable. Thank you for now, all the best and see you again, anywhere between the poles!
Back in Isfjord! Good thing, we still had plans here. Starting with the tundra paradise at Alkhornet with plenty of good looking reindeer, an arctic fox, two ptarmigans and a curiously parked Sysselmester boat.
We spent the afternoon at Borebreen, a mightily impressive glacier due to its current advance. The turning iceberg was just as impressive.
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Turning iceberg at Borebreen. Video by Burkhard Heller – thank you! 🙂
And Piet and the service crew showed what they are really capable of in the evening. Yet another highlight on this day which was not poor in highlights at all. Now we were just curious if we would manage to see a polar bear tomorrow, on the very last full day of this trip …
After a long passage during the night we reached St. Jonsfjord exactly in time after breakfast to enjoy a lovely morning mountain hike with stunning glacier views.
In the afternoon we made a tundra walk at Gjertsenodden, enjoying the sun.
Photo gallery St. Jonsfjord: Valentinsryggen, Gjertsenodden – 20th September 2024
Wednesday ended with landing on Moffen (for anything before that, see previous blog). Cool! Moffen is a very special place and certainly one that you don’t get to too often.
It turned out to be good to continue to Holmiabukta in northwest Spitsbergen for anchoring. The wind picked up quite considerably at the north coast. Time to move on. But we were in the right place and we got a lovely morning at Sallyhamna and Sabineodden.
The afternoon was quite windy, but we finished it in a rather spontaneous and very cool way at Smeerenburgbreen.
Again, it is foggy in Hinlopen Strait. It was just enough to visit the walruses on Wahlbergøya. And they were in pretty good mood 🙂
Then – fog, fog. We didn’t see the sky again until we reached Murchisonfjord in the evening. Full moon above the mountains. The nights are getting darker and darker now.
A night at anchor in Weaselbukta is something quite special in itself. And so is a hike on Nordaustland, namely Roaldtoppen in this case.
Now we have set course for moffen. In thick fog …