Expedition log M/S Nordstjernen

Transcription

1 Expedition log M/S Nordstjernen Svalbard September 12 th September 15 th 2017

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3 Tuesday, September 12 th 13: N Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is a Norwegian settlement and the capital of Svalbard. It was originally a mining community, but now science and tourism are slowly taking over. It is named after the american John Munroe Longyear who started the first coal production in the Longyear valley in It was bought by a Norwegian mine company in Today Longyearbyen is a modern town with almost every facility you can imagine. The population is approx and increasing. After breakfast at the hotel we went sightseeing around town, and visited the museum and the gallery. In the afternoon we embarked the M/S Nordstjernen and our Arctic Adventure started. The ship sailed out of Adventfjorden and west towards Barentsburg, passing the former coal mining settlements Grumant and Coles Bay. Grumant was started by a Russian-British company in 1919 and later taken over by Russias Trust Arktikugol. Tuesday, September 12 th, 16:00, N Barentsburg Barentsburg is a mining settlement found on the east side of Grønfjorden. It is currently the only Russian settlement on Svalbard there used to be two more: Grumant which closed down in the 1960 s, and Pyramiden which closed down in At their peak of production in the 1950 s these three settlements had a total population of 2500 people. The first house in Barentsburg was built in 1912 by a Norwegian company and then sold to the Dutch N.V. Nederlandsche Spitsbergen Compagnie. It was bought by the Russians in In Barentsburg there are currently approx. 400 inhabitants. We went on a guided tour with a Russian guide, and we joined a genuine and entertaining modern russian folklore show, which the mine workers perform in their spare time. Some of the women singing in the show work as coordinators in the mine, others are working hands-on with the coal. We also visited the hotel, and some of us tried the Russian vodka and beer and we got to say hello to the local cat named Kesha. As cats are forbidden on Svalbard, Kesha is living on mercy but is a star and Big in Japan as Japanese television made a documentary about him in 2015.

4 Barentsburg, located along the eastern shore of Grønfjorden 60 km west of Longyearbyen. Wednesday, September 13 th 09:00, N Magdalenefjorden Today we woke up on the way into Magdalenefjorden which is one of the best known and beautiful fjords on Spitsbergen with its jagged mountains. These are said to be the mountains Wilhelm Barentzs first saw when he discovered Svalbard in 1596 and named the biggest island Spitsbergen after them (Spitsbergen = pointy mountains). Trinity Harbour, the bay we visited, was one of many 17 th century whaling stations on the west coast of Spitsbergen and Magdalenefjorden was the border between the Dutch and the English whalers areas. Maria Magdalena is the protecting saint of the Basques and the Basques was in the early 1600s teaching the Englishmen and Dutchmen how to catch whales and produce oil on Spitsbergen. The Basques had already been catching whales outside the coast of Labrador. Entering the fjord a small peninsula reaches out from the southern shore. The outer part of this peninsula has a small hill. This is Gravneset where Dutch, Basque, English and German whalers came to bury their dead in the 17th and 18th century. Today stone gatherings and wooden coffins remain from the around 130 graves. This is the 3 rd biggest whaler graveyard on Svalbard. The graves has been a unique witness of 17 th and 18 th century lifestyle due to the permafrost. Now, warmer conditions are making the rotting process speed up. The Governor on Svalbard Sysselmannen has two park rangers on duty here during the summer to take care of this cultural heritage, and the environment in the area. They live in the cabin close to the beach.

5 Magdalenafjorden where whalers buried their dead during the 17 th and 18 th century On our walk along the beach we could see remains from three blubber ovens. This is where the whale blubber was melted and distilled into oil. The guides told us the history of the whaling period on Svalbard, and we had a walk to the other side of the peninsula with great views towards Gullybreen. The weather was magic - some sun and some clouds sneaking around the steep mountain peaks. Some crazy and brave people took a short bath in the icy cold Arctic water! Wednesday, September 13 th 18:00, N Sørgattet, Amsterdamøya On our way northwards we sailed through Sørgattet, a narrow strait connected to Smeerenburg Fjord. We sailed by Amsterdamøya, where we spotted a walrus haul out. Several walruses were lying on the beach of Smeerenburg, most of them sleeping, some a bit more activ. Smeerenburg has several blubber ovens, just as the ones we saw in Magdalenefjord, and was during the 17 th century the biggest whaling station that existed on Spitsbergen. The ovens were on the left side of the Walruses, and there has also been several houses here. The Walruses on Svalbard live happy days now these 1500 kg sausages were almost extinct in 1952 after centuries of heavy hunting. Now the scientists say

6 that their numbers are growing as a perfect colony with perfect living conditions theoretically would do and they are at least Very good While looking at the Walruses, we could also see Virgohamna on Danskøya on the south side of the sound between the islands. This was the spot from where swedish Andrèe tried to reach the North Pole with a hydrogen balloon, and where english Wellman tried to reach the same pole with an airship. The balloon crashed north of Kvitøya and the airship exploded above Danskøya. Wednesday, September 13 th 15:00, N Svenskegattet and Sallyhamna After lunch, we did a landing at Svenskegattet, where you can still find the remains of a trapper-cabin built in From there, we walked the 2.5 km distance to Sallyhamna-bay where there is a newer cabin, built in This one is renovated and in good condition, being used in summertime by the Sysselmannen s field inspectors. The weather was beautiful and we saw an old trapp for Polar foxes, as well as some blubber ovens from the whaling period at the shoreline. We even managed to fill a garbage bag with plastic, ropes, and many more items that don t belong into the nature. Some crazy and brave people took a short bath in the icy cold Arctic water! Wednesday, September 13 th 21:00, N 80 Degrees North and Moffen Island After dinner we crossed the 80 th parallel and this was celebrated on the aft deck with a champagne toast. The North Atlantic is in fact the only place on the planet where you can be almost certain to pass the 80 th parallel with a ship the southern hemisphere is mostly ice-covered and at 80 S you will hit a continent. We were lucky to observe some walruses lying at the beach on Moffen Island, which is a nature reserve, protecting the many birds nesting there.

7 Thursday, September 14 th 09:45, 79 N Lilliehøk Glacier This morning we woke up in front of the mighty Lilliehøkbreen, a tidewater glacier with a front measuring more than 6 kilometers across. Here we did a tender boat cruise where we could witness the activity of this ice-mass, we could observe several smaller and bigger calvings. During the cruise we drove through hundreds of meters of surface ice-slush as the sea just started to freeze again. Winter is coming! Thursday, September 14 th 15:00, N Camp Zoë Our afternoon landing today was at a place called Camp Zoë. Close to the beach where we went ashore we could see an old trapper hut. This hut was built in 1911 by the trapper Henri Rudi, a famous trapper also known as The Polar Bear King. The hut itself is named after the daughter of Ernest Mansfield, the owner of the British Northern Exploration Company, that operated in the area at that time. Here most of us went for a hike or a shorter walk while some decided to stay on the beach to enjoy the stunning views of the fjords and mountains around. Thursday, September 14 th, 20:00, N Ny-Ålesund The guides took us on a guided tour through the settlement. We were able to visit the museum and the local shop Kongsfjordbutikken. Ny-Ålesund is the world s northernmost civilian community. It is a former mining village which has become an important international research centre - mainly on the atmosphere and ozone layer but also geological, biological and glaciological research. There is even a small shop, a post-office and a very interesting and newly restored museum.

8 Ny-Ålesund was the focal point for the world s attention several times during the 1920 s. In 1925 Roald Amundsen attempted to reach the North Pole from Ny-Ålesund with the seaplanes N24 and N25. In 1926 Amundsen returned to Ny-Ålesund, accompanied by the American Lincoln Elsworth and the Italian Umberto Nobile, to set out on a joint expedition with the airship Norge. This expedition was a success. The airship flew over the North Pole as planned and landed in Teller, Alaska. In 1945 until 1962 we experienced the second mining period. But the problem with the coal layers in Ny-Ålesund is that they are almost vertical and methane gases develop in the mines. 86 miners have lost their life in the mines of Ny-Ålesund and the worst accident of them all happened November 5 th Late at night that day there was a big explosion in the Esther Mine and 21 miners lost their life. A committee made an investigation and they concluded that the Norwegian state should have been more concerned about the safety in Ny-Ålesund. Since Kings Bay was a state enterprice the public blamed the government. In August 1963, Prime Minister Gerhardsen and his government resigned as a result of this tragedy. Research started in Ny-Ålesund in 1964 and during the 1990 s research increased from 4,100 man-days in 1990 to 10,031 in Each year scientists from at least fifteen nations run more than 120 research projects. About 35 people winter here, in the summers the numbers can be over 150 people. Friday, September 15 th 09:00 Farewell gathering We gathered with the ship s crew and the guides for a farewell ceremony. Certificates were handed out to the true heroes among us that took a swim in the chilly arctic water and to everyone who passed the 80 th parallel. And that was the end of the Svalbard summer adventure for this time. Are you sad to leave Svalbard? Are you curious about what it is like in the winter? Grab a copy of our catalogue or visit We hope to see you back again for another arctic adventure. Best regards from your cruise guides: Rémi, Vera, Heiko, Ingunn, Veronika.