Thursday, August 11, 2022 The ship arrived at Ny London in Kongfjorden on schedule and Patrick was one of the kayakers who practiced paddling through brash ice coming off the nearby glacier. Ny London was the site of a failed marb…
Tag Archives | trawler
Joshua Tree National Park Day 2
Joshua Tree National Park straddles the boundary of the higher-altitude Mojave Desert and the lower-altitude Colorado Desert. We’d spent the previous day in the Mojave Desert portion and on our second day drove south into the Colorado Desert to a less-visited area of the park at Cottonwood. The plant life there is quite different, with…
Islas Coronados to Puerto Escondido — And Alternator
On Friday morning (August 5), the water was again calm and clear when we awoke. We got Kosmos ready for sea first thing in the morning. This included bringing up and securing the dinghy, bringing in and securing the flopper stopper … Continue reading →
Return to the polar ice pack
Svalbard – second edition
Monday, August 8, 2022
After the late departure from Longyearbyen, we sailed for Gravnesodden, Svalbard near the northwestern tip of Spitzbergen Island. The distance is not large, about 173 NM, but we have a partial day at sea before we arrive. As we sailed north, the weather turned gray and rainy. The morning was taken up with the mandatory AECO briefings and a bio-security inspection of all our outerwear going ashore. There was also a repeat of the kayak operational and safety briefing. There are a lot more people on this voyage, very noticeable in the Discovery Center and all the restaurants.
Internet service once again was non-existant deep in the fjords.
Gravnesodden is on Magdalenefjordet and was the site for whaling operations beginning in the 1600’s. There are the remains of blubber furnaces and also 134 graves, hence the name Gravnes. There is also a hunter’s hut we can visit. Patrick will be kayaking once again, but the temperature is predicted to be only 35 degrees, so much colder than two days ago.
The kayaking turned out to be warmer than expected, with sightings of barnacle geese, arctic terns, fulmars, glaucous gulls, and guillamots, and even a pin tail duck. Ashore we visited the remains of blubber ovens from the early whaling era and could view the cemetery where 134 men died during the early years. Many of the remains are now gone due to the permafrost floating the remains to the surface where either weather or polar bears destroyed them. The area where the graves were located is fenced off and protected from visitors, but photos can still be taken.
It was a busy evening, with the Captain’s welcome reception, the first formal night of this voyage, and then dinner. We found out there are only 192 revenue passengers on board, compared to 148 on the first voyage. The USA has the largest complement accounting for 134 guests. The crew numbers 249, from 45 countries. In addition, there are a number of contractors still on board to address technical issues should they arise.
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Seabourn Venture cruised overnight in calm sea conditions to Texas Bar and Monocobreen. The final approach was in dense fog. We passed a Hurtigruten expedition ship anchored further out in the fjord, as well as a sailboat, which eventually anchored at Texas Bar in front of our ship. Landings were delayed due to the dense fog.
After about one hour, the fog cleared enough to go ashore and do Kayaking. Today Patrick kayaked with a crew member and departed from the beach for the first time. Weather was calm, but still a little foggy, so the excursion to Monacobreen was cancelled and the ship headed for the far north. We arrived at 81 degrees north about 2130 but did not immediately enter the pack ice.
At midnight we were at 81 degrees 45 minutes north and then headed back southwest looking for the edge of the pack ice.
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Patrick was up at 0530 and in the bow lounge as Seabourn Venture entered the pack ice. At 0600 we were out on the bow when a polar bear was spotted having just freshly killed a bearded seal. The ship stopped and we were able to view the gory aftermath as the polar bear first stripped the blubber from the carcass and started to work on the flesh.
Proceeding further into the pack ice, we all searched for more polar bears, but none showed up. At noon the ship stopped for the “polar plunge” where a number of brave souls jumped into the 29 degree water north of 81 degrees. Patrick passed up the opportunity once again.
Continuing south, the ship stopped once again as another polar bear was on the ice and then, unbelievably, a third polar bear was on the ice with a fresh kill, so once again the ship stopped and we all got the opportunity to observe the rather bloody feeding scene.
The ship is now out of the pack ice and headed south for an encounter at Ny London in the morning and 14 July glacier in the afternoon.
Svalbard Adventure Part two
August 6, 2022
Today we had two landings, once in the morning at Gnalodden, Hornsund and the second at Burgerbukta, Hornsund. These two locations are in the southernmost fjords in Svalbard and are characterized by high cliffs, seabirds and tidewater glaciers.
Gnalodden was our first stop and Patrick kayaked in the morning. The kayak tour started out windy and choppy, with winds to 25 knots. We headed down the coast, going with the wind, dodging the occasional iceberg and a number of submerged rocks where the waves were breaking. Fortunately we did not have to paddle back upwind since our escort boat picked us up in the lee of the last point before the open ocean.
Returning to the landing site we were able to go ashore where there was another hunter’s hut and a massive seabird colony on the cliffs above us. Some people were attacked by skuas protecting their territory, but Patrick’s bright orange drysuit was apparently not a good target. There was a overhang with unique acoustic properties, when entering, all noise stopped and you could not hear the birds at all. Leaving the overhang, the sounds of the seabirds returned. The vegetation was the usual moss and lichens.
Returning to the ship we had lunch as the ship traveled the short distance to Burgerbukta and a large tidewater glacier that was calving. Patrick headed back out on a kayak tour, one of only 6 people that showed up. We paddled under partly sunny skies and glassy calm seas among the iceberg debris from the glacier. Near the end of the tour we came upon a bearded seal sleeping on an ice floe and were able to just sit quietly only a couple of kayak lengths away. We also just sat in our kayaks with our eyes closed and listened to the sound of the air bubbles escaping from the bergs all around us.
Returning to the ship, most guests hurried with their packing before the final briefing and crew farewell, as well as watching the video the ship produced for each guest. The video is on Onedrive in the cloud, and we will have to wait until we return to download it.
The Seabourn Venture set sail for Longyearbyen where we will be alongside the pier for disembarkation and embarkation. The 28 in-transit passengers will be going on a bus tour in the afternoon, staying out of the way of the new guests. We will be masked up for everything once again since we have been in a relatively safe bubble for the last 10 days.
The tour was short, but the museum was worth the visit. Since it was Sunday, the stores were closed until 3PM, so no shopping. We drove by the entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Bank, but were not allowed to approach.
The ship departed 1 ½ hours late due to lost luggage, but we finally left at 1830. Our destination tomorrow is Gravenesodden, where we hope to see more wildlife.
Keith’s Perspective on Puerto Escondido and Isla Carmen/Le point de vue de Keith sur Puerto Escondido et Isla Carmen
I liked Puerto Escondido. On Friday, Dan and Drake came over and swam with me. Dad ordered pizza from the marina restaurant. J’ai aimé Puerto Escondido. Vendredi Dan et Drake sont venus et ont nagé avec moi. Papa a commandé … Continue reading →
July Updates
“Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” -Terry Pratchett
Besides the trips we took to Clayton and Niagara on the Lake we spent a lot of time in July listening to music around the area.
One place we seem to always go each year is Six Mile Creek Vineyard. It’s a small place, but the wine is good and the bands are always entertaining. We took a picnic dinner with us, bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed the music.CONTINUE READING HERE…»
Crossing Cape Caution 2022
We would like to stay longer at Khutze Bay, but we still have many miles to travel so must push on. Continuing south on the Princess Royal Channel, we enjoy a beautiful day with 70 degree temperatures and bright sunshine. Our anchorage for the next two days is Bottleneck Inlet. We rendezvous here with our […]
Isla Coronados Days 2 – 3
On Wednesday morning, Eric was woken up at 0400 by some noise. He went up to check to see if all was okay, and found that we were in the middle of a quite a bit of wind and the … Continue reading →
To the Far North
Svalbard Experience
After a very good dinner in the main restaurant and a long day of activities, we decided to forgo the post dinner program and get some much needed rest as Seabourn Venture continued the journey to Svalbard
Sunday July 31, 2022
Under overcast skies we approached the Svalbard Archipelago. The seas were relatively calm, nearly flat as we detoured to pick up a pilot near Longyearbyen. Our destination today is Poolepynten, on Prins Karls Forland where we hope to go ashore near a walrus colony for photos. Patrick is also going to do some kayaking in addition to seeing the walrus colony.
It is possible to track the ship on AIS at sites like marinetraffic.com, since the protected Svalbard archipelago is highly regulated and patrolled, with numerous AIS base stations. Similar to the southern polar regions, group size ashore is limited to 50 people at a time, so we will go ashore in color groups that were assigned on embarkation day. The first color group changes each day so every group has a chance to be first.
We arrived at our destination, but alas there were NO walruses, so the ship headed east to Spitzbergen Island to a large tidewater glacier in St Johnsfjordern where will have zodiac tours and a kayaking session. Patrick elected to do a kayak tour, and when arriving at the site, proceeded
to enter the kayak. Patrick was immediately requested to exit since a polar bear was sighted on the beach headed for the kayaks.
We followed the bear and the rest of the ship’s zodiacs followed in behind when they heard we had sighted the bear. We had a lot of time watching the bear before we finally headed back to where the kayaks were anchored and the bear reappeared behind us.
Monday, August 1, 2022
Texas Bar and Monacobreen
Satellite cover is poor especially deep in the fjords, so we have little coverage except at night while we are moving from place to place.
Going all the way to the northernmost tip of Spitzbergen, at about 80 degrees north, we then headed back South and anchored in front of Texas Bar at 79 degrees 36 Minutes North. We are now about 650 miles from the North Pole. The weather was overcast, calm winds and a temperature of 45 degrees. Patrick kayaked in the morning and then went ashore at Texas Bar, named after a hut with a row of bottles. The hut was originally built as a hunters hut and has bunks, etc. The tradition is to bring two bottles and only take one drink, so the bar continues to grow. It is really isolated. There was actually a sailboat anchored in the next bay, which left partway through the morning.
Just a few miles further south is a large glacier named after Prince Albert 1 of Monaco. This afternoon’s activities include zodiac tours and another kayak excursion.
When we arrived at Monacobreen there were actually 5 glaciers in a ring around the ship and the kayaks toured around the eastern portion of the bay.
Tuesday, August 6
When we awoke, Seabourn Venture was steaming north towards the edge of the pack ice. It was very foggy and the the ship carefully approached the pack ice, with visibility only a few hundred yards. This was at a latitude of 80 degrees 45 minutes north. Altering course, Seabourn Venture skirted the edge of the pack ice and finally penetrated a band of ice at 81 degrees north. We continued north and after breaking through pack ice for a few miles, stopped at 82 degrees north, further than any other Carnival Corporation ship. We had signed up for wine tasting at 1430 and it was a unique experience to be tasting wines as the ship crunched through the ice.
Captain Alex opened up the bow platforms, normally reserved for crew docking and anchoring, to passengers and crew as we moved through the pack ice at 2-3 knots, shoving the ice flows aside or splitting them apart.
At a little before 1700, Captain Alex stopped the ship and we drifted for the night in the pack ice at 82 degrees North Latitude, only 480 NM from the North Pole. Celebrating with our second formal night of the cruise. Spectacular!!! We will spend the night in the pack ice and start looking for polar bears.
At this latitude we have no satellite coverage, so no internet.
At midnight a female polar bear approached the ship. A quiet announcement was made and many guests and crew heard it and got great photos and videos of the bear, until it was spooked by some kind of noise from the ship. Miriam and I slept through the announcement, along with the ship’s photographer. We were fortunate to have another guest airdrop their iPhone video to us so we have some record of the encounter. We will have another chance later in the voyage.
About 0815 we headed through the pack ice back to Svalbard for the rest of our trip. We had drifted 3 NM further north during the night, so we were 477 NM from the North Pole. The sound of the ship pushing through the ice floes was like a constant roll of thunder. When we hit larger floes the ship would shudder. Seabourn Venture was able to make 3-4 knots through ice 2-4 feet thick with floes up to 150 feet in diameter.
At noon the ship stopped and launched 2 zodiacs for the polar plunge event. Any guests and contractor were able to participate. It was not our event!
Continuing SE, we are headed for 2 smaller islands to the east of the main Spitzbergen Archipelago. The first island is Storoya, where we finally spotted walruses and more polar bears.
The second island is Kvitoya Island (or White Island), since it almost entirely covered by a glacier. There is a monument there to the ill-fated Solomon Andree Balloon expedition to the North Pole. Their remains were not discovered until 1931 since this island is seldom visited. The balloon expedition only made it to 83 degrees 50 minutes North before the design flaws became evident that forced the team to land on sea ice and make their way to Kvitoya where they perished.
