Expedition log MS Nordstjernen Svalbard August 14 th August 18 th 2015 side 1
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Friday, August 14 th, 17:00, 78 10 N Longyearbyen This is a Norwegian settlement and the capital of Svalbard. It is named after the american John Munroe Longyear who started the first coal production in the Longyear valley in 1906. It was bought by a Norwegian mine company in 1916. Today the town is a modern town with almost every civilised facility you can imagine. The population is app. 2000 and increasing. Longyearbyen was originally a mining community, but now science and tourism are slowly taking over. After breakfast at the hotel we went sightseeing in town. We visited the museum and the gallery. At 17:00 we embarked the MS Nordstjernen and our Arctic Adventure started. The ship sailed out of Adventfjorden and west towards Barentsburg, passing the former coalmining settlements Grumant and Coles Bay. Friday, August 14 th, 20:00, 78 14 N Barentsburg Barentsburg 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 1998. Barentsburg is a mining settlement on the east side of Grønfjorden. The first house 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 1932. In Barentsburg there are currently app. 400 inhabitants. We went on a guided tour with a Russian guide, and some joined a genuine and entertaining modern russian folklore show, which the mine workers perform in their spare time. We also visited the hotel, and some of us tried the Russian Vodka. Barentsburg, located along the eastern shore of Grønfjorden 60 km to the west of Longyearbyen. side 3
Saturday, August 15 th,09:45, 79 33 N Magdalenefjorden Today we woke up on the way into Magdalenefjorden which is one of the best known fjords on Spitsbergen it is a beautiful fjord with jagged mountains. These are said to be the mountains Wilhelm Barents first saw when he discovered Svalbard in 1596 and named the biggest island Spitzbergen (Pointed Mountains) after them. Entering the fjord a peninsula reaches out on the south side. The outer part of the peninsula is a small hill. This is Gravneset where Dutch whalers came to bury their dead in the 17th and 18th century. Today stone gatherings and wooden coffins remain from the around 130 graves. The Governor on Svalbard Sysselmannen has two park rangers on duty here during the summer to take care of the cultural heritage, and the environment in the area. We made our landing at the beach, and the guides showed us the remains of the blubber ovens. We walked over to Gullybukta, and got a nice view over the bay. On our way back to the tender boats, some of the bravest of us took a swim in the ice cold arctic water. Magdalenafjorden where whalers buried their dead during the 17 th and 18 th century at Gravneset. side 4
Saturday, August 15 th, 79 40 N Smeerenburg On our way northwards we sailed past Sørgattet a narrow strait connected to Smeerenburgfjorden and further north throughout Smeerenburgfjorden. We had a nice landing at Smeerenburg (Blubbertown) and got a glims to walrus, sleeping on the beach. We watched the spectacular mountains and glaciers around us while cruising up the fjord. And suddently someone shouted Whale!. And there it was; a small humpback whale playing around and eating. Saturday, August 15 th, late evening, 79 40 N Raudfjorden During the evening we took a detour in to Raudfjorden. Raudfjorden is the westernmost fjord on the north coast of Spitsbergen. Several glaciers calve into this fjord and it s often filled with ice from the glaciers. Raudfjorden means Red Fjord and is named so due to abundant red rocks in the region. Those are sandstone from Devonian (app. 300-400 mill years ago) when Svalbard was a desert at 30ºN. And then we saw it! Our first Polar Bear of the trip!! It was wandering along the beach and we got to see it quite close as Nordstjernen navigated as close to land as it could. And then a second and a third bear in less than 3 hours. Cheers!! Sunday, August 16 th, 09:45, 79 35 N Liefdefjorden & Monaco glacier We woke up by the beautiful Monaco glacier in Liefdefjorden. Liefde is Dutch for love, so Liefdefjorden means The Fjord of Love. Watching the spectacular mountains and glaciers around us we put the tender boats in the water and started our cruise along the front. We were lucky to see some glacier calving activity. During lunch we set course towards Worsleyhamna, where we made our landing. side 5
II I Woodfjorden and Liefdefjorden. The spectacular glacier front of Monacofjorden is located in the lower left corner (I). II. Worsleyhamna. After the landing, we set course for Moffen. Sunday, August 16 th, 21:30, 80 00 N 80 N & Moffen After dinner, we passed the 80 N parallel and this was celebrated on the aft deck with a 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 sourthern hemisphere is mostly ice-covered and at 80 S you will hit a continent. An interesting thought is that there were hardly any other people between M/S Nordstjernen and the North Pole at this time! side 6
Moffen is a lagoon slightly north of 80ºN latitude. It is a very flat and peculiar ring shaped island and its maximum altitude is about five meters. This small island is mostly known for heaps of male walrus chilling out on the beach. The island is classified as a protected walrus reserve and no ships are allowed closer than 300 metres. Walrus is the largest seal species in the Arctic being as heavy as two metric tons characteristics are impressive tusks, a charming animal but with a rather unpleasant smell. Moffen is a peculiar-looking island that is commonly habitated by walrus. Monday, August 17 th, 06:50, 79 16 N Lilliehöökfjorden Vi seiled the longuest glacier front on Spitsbergen. Monday, August 17 th, 10:00, 78 56 N Ny-Å lesund Ny-Ålesund is the world s northernmost community. As we came onshore we went on a guided tour in town. Ny-Ålesund 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 glacial research are carried out here. Downtown Ny-Ålesund you will find a small centre with a shop, a post-office and a museum. 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- side 7
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. Some of us also visited the mast, which was used to lounch the airship Norge. 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 gases develop in the mines. 70 miners have lost their life in the mines of Ny-Ålesund and the worst accident of them all happened November 5 th 1962. 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 2000. Each year scientists from at least fifteen nations run more than 120 research projects. Monday, August 17 th, 13:30, 78 58 N Ny-London At the north side of Blomstrandhalvøya you can see The Blomstrand Glacier. In fact, halvøya means peninsula and actually people used to think it was but as the glacier retreated, it revealed sea between the glacier and the Blomstrandhalvøya, indicating that it was an island! After a lunch, we went ashore in Ny-London on the island, where remains after british mining activity is to be seen. We took a walk to have a look on all the cultural heritage on the site, and enjoyed the view of Kongfjorden, before we went down to the beach. The rain came and nobody took a swim again. side 8
Kongsfjorden. Ny Ålesund is located to the south with Ny London located on Blomstrandhalvøya just to the north. Monday, August 17 th, 21:00, at sea Farewell gathering We gathered with the ships 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! During the afternoon we sailed out of the Kongsfjord and headed southwards towards Longyearbyen, 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 www.spitsbergentravel.com. We hope to see you back again for another arctic adventure. Best regards from your cruise guides, Anne Marte, Helga, Ingunn, Timon, Yann, Alex and Stéphane side 9