08/08/2009, S/Y Best Explorer - Svalbard tour 2009
Yesterday, leaving Vulkanhamna we had to spend time cleaning the anchor chain from the reddish mud that formed a uniform coating hiding even the shape of the links! We used the motor pump and sea water and a good deal of muscle power and at the end we managed to take away most of it. All the way out of Woodfjord the sea was a mirror and in spite of the overcast day presented the complete panorama of the area. Reinsdyrflya on the northeast, flat and uniform, the straight east coast with its mighty mountains, the reddish peaks around Bockfjord and the islands at the mouth of Liefdefjord. Noorderlicht was at anchor by Andoeyane, Nordsyssel was coming in from the north. There were bearded and ringed seals, minke and fin whales all around (we even saw a small minke that could very well have been the same one from the previous day). It was all in all a very appropriate goodbye to this area now that we unfortunately have to head south again. Again in calm weather we had to motor all the way to Hamburgbukta, but the 1 to 1.5kn of current this time were in our favour and we made good speed. At Sallyhamna we spotted Southern Star at anchor by the western branch of Holmiabreen. The dead minke whale that we had seen in Magdalenefjord was now aground in the bay even more bloated than last week. Olivier told us that they had observed a polar bear by the carcass and that the bear had run away when a black zodiac from one of the expedition cruisers had zipped by at full speed trying to spot it. While still chatting with Olivier the two small Norwegian motor cruisers that had spent the night with us at Mushamna arrived and anchored 30m from the dead whale. We wondered if they had actually noticed the cadaver! Olivier commented that he had never seen so many private boats as this year and that these were the first small motor boats that he had ever seen in this part of the world. Thick drizzle dominated the rest of the way to Hamburgbukta where we cast anchor in the early hours of today. At the moment we have just left the bay and the harbour seals and we are motoring south in the same drizzle and headwind as earlier. It looks like this tour would have been just as noisy if made in a motor boat!
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06/08/2009, S/Y Best Explorer - Svalbard tour 2009
Thursday 6 August. Left Holbaekpollen after a lazy morning and a hearty lunch. Heading east along the red-rock coast of Germaniahalvoeya. We saw two beardes seals, one of which an adult with its characteristic red face by Maakeoeyane. Shortly later, just around Roosneset into Woodfjord a "white stone" turned out to be a sleeping polar bear, our fourth this tour. Nanni brought the boat as close as reasonable to the coastline and we watched as the animal lazily looked at us, rolled over, scratched its back on the ground got up and walked a few steps over to another spot a few meters away from where it watched us as much as we watched him. It actually looked like he had a larger than normal belly. In any case it was another great observation of this species. But the observations were not finished for the day as Nanni spotted a very small minke whale on relatively shallow water shortly after. We were lucky and the whale surfaced twice quite close to the bow from which we can confirm it was a very young animal of probably 5-6 meters. We approached Bockfjord in a fantastic light that set the mountains on the East on fire and ehnanced the contrast between these and the ones on the opposite shore. Sverrefjell, the ancient volcano with its warm water sources, was very visible in the middle and now is just across from Vulkanhamna, the gulf where we cast anchor and will spend the night.
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06/08/2009, S/Y Best Explorer - Svalbard tour 2009
Sorry Guys, this is a brief account of some very, very intense days sent very late. You'll have to wait to meet us in person to get more details. I suppose you have been able to check our position update which we have sent daily. Unfortunately we cannot "see" any web page from this SW radio connection so we have not seen if you have left any comments or even if our Blog looks all-right.
Monday morning 3 August we left our anchor place by Alicehamna was windstill, overcast, with a very low ceiling. We were very surprised to see a group of people on the beach, obviously a guided group that had come through the Morenelaguna-Richardvatnet system from Breibogen's side in the East as there was no ship in sight in Raudfjord. We kept careful lookout as we cruised out of Raudfjord and saw a wealth of little auks and guillemots of all three species (common, Brünnich's and black) cruising in and out of the fjord, some alone and most in goups of 30-40, but no marine mammals. Out of Raudfjord we kept well clear of Idrottneset and headed towards Moffen still in mirror-flat sea and overcast weather at times foggy. We spent out time taking turns out in the cockpit and inside with Léo who has now learned to climb the companiionway's ladder like a pro and cannot be left alone. Then suddenly all happened at the same time: walrus in sight, Moffen at the horizon, the fog cleared, we crossed 80=B0N... the result was one hour spent drifting along the southern tip of Moffen, keeping well clear of the 300m from shore no-access protection zone (measured on our radar) and thoroughly enjoyed the many walruses around us. There was a large group all in a bunch on the beach of which we could hear the grunts and see the breath clouds. There were several groups in the sea, apparently diving and playing while at the surface. One group in particular came very close and was composed of 6 animals which went from very old to very young judging from the many tubercules on the throat and neck of the veteran and on the middle to minute size of the tusks of the others. Too bad it was late and we had to leave the place! On our way to Woodfjord we met two very calm fin whales. We could not resist and followed them from a close hold for a while. It was Marie- Anne's first time so close to fin whales and she was very, very happy of the possibility to hear the blows and enjoy the sight of the elegant movement of the huge bodies in the water. If this was not enough as we entered Woodfjord the sightings rate increased. We passed within 10 minutes a walrus, a ringed seal and a minke whale. Shortly after another sighting of a group of 15 harp seals on land Mario spotted our first polar bear walking north along the beach by Mullerneset on Reinsdyrflya. As we could not get too close to the beach due to the shallow water we only had long distance shots of it. In spite of this one could clearly appreciate the size of the animal and the effect it would make to meet such a beast face-to-face on land. We were still playing the images of the polar bear in our minds when we resumed the sightings series with another minke whale, a bearded seal and then yet a minke whale. This one was particularly interesting as it was feeding by the surface and there were a couple of kittiwakes, terns and fulmars which indicated quite well where the whale was and thus made it relatively easy to keep track of where it would surface. This does not mean that we got great pictures as the mirror-like water and the sky were of a uniform grey and the light level was very low, but the sight of this whale turning and dashing and rolling belly-up and breaching and poking the tip of it's rostrum out of the water were a truely unique experience! Of course the "normal" sighting of the last minke whale of the day as we approached Mushamna inspired little excitement, but was equally pleasant and duely recorded. Mushamna is a very deep lagoon or a bay protected by an extensive bar and a very little opening which makes it a well-protected anchorage for boats our size. We spent a calm and well earned but short night as it was already 2 a.m. by the time we went to our bunks.
Tuesday 4 August the wind had picked up a little but while making our way west towards Liefdefjord we managed to register 2 minke whales, 10 harp seals and finally Mario spotted 2 polar bears by Stasjons=F8yane. One was probably a large male by the proportions of the body and the relatively little head and it was on land, by the shore, wondering about and rolling itself on the ground like a dog that has found something very smelling. The other was swimming close by the first and later, when it went on land, we noticed it had a collar. In this case wondered if it might be a female, as the males do not usually lend themselves to wearing a satellite transmitter like this because of the conical neck and little head which lets the expensive collar slip out too easily. We enjoyed this sighting in a very appropriate mist for a good while and then we stopped for lunch casting anchor at Worsleyhamna just on the west of Stasjons=F8yane. After the meal and a rest we headed further into Liefdefjord dodging ice blocks and continuing our tradition recording 2 minke whales, a group of 10 harp seals and 1 young bearded seal before we carefully wedged ourselves in between Lerneroeyane (thanks again to our forward-looking sonar because there are only very general maps of the place) and reached a small bay in Germaniahavoeya where we anchored in a setting that could have been tropical were it not for the sight of mightly glaciers in the vicinity, snow along the shores and ice blocks drifting in the fjord!
Wednesday 5 August, Mariele's birthday, the sun was out and revealed an even more beautiful scenery and the air temperature felt almost warm. After a lazy birthday breakfast we took a 2 hour long zodiac cruise. Léo was probably very happy to be taken out of this "box" in which he is mostly spending his days! We went towards Monacobreen and got our first glimpse of it, not to speak of Emmabreen and Idabreen which are the next two by its side not counting Seligerbreen which which it shares a 5 km long common front. (BTW I suppose that by this time you all know that -breen means glacier in Norwegian!) After lunch we went for a walk and too a look from up the nearest hilltop a the fantastic scenery of our little boat like a pearl in an oyster and the rest of the mighty nature around. We continued the celebration of Mariele's birthday with a cruise to the front of Monacobreen where we spent long minutes enjoying the grand sight, the hundreds of birds feeding in the upwelling areas close to the ice and listening to the loud bangs and cracks of the advancing glacier. As Mariele pointed out watching this glacier is like looking at the fire in a fireplace: one would never get tired of it! There was also a Polish ketch in sight, very close to the front of the glacier by Stortingspresidenten, the mountain that separates Monacobreen from Seligerbreen. Professor Molchanov, a russian ship on which Mario had worked as guide in 2006, had also visited the front previously and was now by Idabukta waiting for its passengers who were visible onshore in a couple of large groups. After a welcome aperitif very kindly arranged by Marie-Anne, by the time it was 9p.m., we tore ourselves from the glacier and covered quickly, dodging even bigger growlers and small icebergs, the short distance to Hornbaekpollen. This is another lagoon-like bay on the western coast of inner Liefdefjord, very well protected and just under a bird-cliff where mostly kittiwakes make a continuous but not disturbing noise. A small fox apparently also enjoyed the presence of the birds and roamed under the nests late at night. Apart from another Norwegian sailing boat this place is pleasantly all for ouselves!
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