ocean voyaging

Under power in the frozen North A one-month circumnavigation of the archipelago Story and photos by Steve D’Antonio

igration’s stainless ing fate amid this much winter it never rises. The steel-clad stem ice. Shortly after turning archipelago carries a host of came to rest gen- about and pointing our bow “the northernmost” superla- tlyM against the polar ice pack, southward, however, our tives: continuously inhab- a mere 520 miles from the jubilation turned to dread as ited civilian settlement, post North Pole. To memorialize it became obvious that our office, railroad, chain hotel the moment, I photographed plan was flawed: The path (a Radisson with excellent Above, the the GPS display’s latitude we took through the ice was Wi-Fi, thanks to an undersea Nordhavn readout: 81° 27.7’ N. The no longer there. The leads, as fiber optic cable used to relay 68 Migration crew shared a round of con- they are wont at the edge gratulations and posed for a to do, had of the polar photo on the bow, it being closed. ice pack as that much closer to the pole. The Sval- far north While there were leads that bard archi- as possible. would allow us to venture pelago is a land Right, Steve further north, the vessel’s of extremes — D’Antonio master and crew agreed that extreme cold, in the once- we would go no further; we extreme light booming were confident we had set a and extreme Soviet mining record for the highest north- darkness. colony of Bar- ern latitude achieved by a During our entsburg, now fiberglass power vessel, and month-long a ghost town. would ask no more. With passage, the a fiberglass hull, regardless sun never set, of its heft, we were tempt- while in mid-

26 OCEAN NAVIGATOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 www.oceannavigator.com satellite data to the mainland; vessels and especially those Svalbard boasts outstanding of the power variety. Other Internet connectivity), super- than tourist charters, we market, phone booth, coal encountered no others during mine, etc. our sojourn. Under special Svalbard, Norwegian for and seemingly peculiar trea- “cold coast,” is also known ties established in 1920 and by its former Dutch name 1925, Svalbard belongs to Spitzbergen (also an apt title, and is administered by Nor- it means “sharp mountains”). way, although other countries The islands are located are permitted to, and have, roughly midway between established settlements and and the North Pole commercial concerns here. and are well off the beaten No visa is needed to visit, path, particularly for cruising and anyone can come here to

10° E 15° 20° 25° work without the usual per- SEA ICE EDGE mits. Technically, while part Above, the of Norway, it’s not part of crew of ARCTIC OCEAN Northernmost the European Union. Migration latitude 81°27.7’ N celebrate Built for high latitudes their furthest Migration’s route Our vessel, the late model north mile- Nordhavn 68 Migration, is stone. Below 80° N owned and operated by cli- left, pas- ents and longtime friends, sage began

O G a couple from Georgia. at Tromsø, A L E Experienced cruisers, they, Norway, then P I H along with their golden- continued to C R doodle Gulliver, took deliv- , A

ery of the vessel in Florida the West

in 2010 and then cruised Coast of

EDGEOYA D to the Bahamas twice. Later Spitsbergen, R A they voyaged from Florida north to the B L to Newfoundland (where I ice edge and A

V

S cruised with them in 2011), then south circumnavigating the island along the East as a shakedown in prepara- Coast. tion for a subsequent trans- N o r w e g i a n S e a Atlantic crossing. Their route 75° included Newfoundland, Bear Island Labrador, Greenland (where I also cruised with them in 2014), Iceland, the Faroe www.oceannavigator.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 27 ocean voyaging

Islands, Scotland, Ireland, the fog alternately descended intensified, making the shore- U.K. and Portugal. Migration and lifted, while light rain line — which was no more was built specifically for high- sprinkled the windshield. Yet, than 75 yards away — for latitude and cold-weather in spite of the late hour, it the most part invisible. Still, cruising, and has served her remained bright — albeit in determined to get some fresh owners well. ethereal shades of gray. air and stretch our weary Our voyage north started limbs, Migration’s master and at Tromsø in Norway. We Tough run to Bear Island I launched the smaller of her slipped our lines at 2330 and After 43 hours and 256 nm, two tenders and cruised the moved into the Tromsø ship we made landfall at Bjørnøya, cove. We motored along cliffs channel. Located well above or Bear Island. The passage festooned with nesting ful- qualified as one of the mars and puffins; the water most miserable I’ve around us was filled with ever undertaken: 8- to bobbing birds. Most weren’t 12-foot short-period shy — some swam within waves on the bow and, a foot or two of Migration’s contrary to the fore- swim platform, a portent cast, a steady 25 knots of things to come. We were of wind. Although her careful, though, not to lose bow periodically disap- sight of the mothership for peared in a pearlescent fear of not being able to find the Arctic Circle on Norway’s explosion of seawater, Migra- our way back — or worse, One of far northern coast, Tromsø tion took it in stride. All drifting out to sea. nature’s own is a center for the Norwegian systems performed well and We were afforded little ice sculptures. fishing fleet and the last rest- there were no failures — her time to lick our wounds, as Due to numer- ing place of the German bat- crew on the other hand was we had a weather window ous calving tleship Tirpitz, sunk nearby laid low for much of the jour- that called for our departure glaciers, float- by RAF bombers in 1944. ney. There was one saving in just a few hours. And so, ing ice is com- We departed at that late grace: Because of our high with deep regret, we departed mon around hour in order to make a per- latitude it never got dark, without going ashore. We the Svalbard ceived but somewhat tenuous which meant while we could took hot showers — never archipelago. weather window; winds were do little to avoid them, we underestimate the restorative forecast to be light, however could see and prepare for power of a steamy shower wave heights at times could every oncoming wave. — ate for the first time in be significant — as much as Upon our arrival at two days, and caught up 9 feet. The forecast thereaf- Bjørnøya we sought shelter on chores before weighing ter only deteriorated and we in Sørhamna, located on the anchor and getting underway opted to proceed, a decision southeast tip of the island. It once again. we’d soon regret. would be generous to call it a Migration raised Sørkap- Migration was soon in the cove; it’s more an indentation pøya, the southernmost tip of Langsundkjeften channel, an in the lee of northerly winds. Svalbard, 24 hours and 174 inshore passage between the It was foggy and a cool 37° nm after departing Bjørnøya. mainland and outlying islands F, compared to 53°F when Mercifully, the conditions that leads to the . departing Tromsø. Shortly were far better than the first During the five-hour trek, after we arrived, the fog leg. Waves were just 4 to 5

28 OCEAN NAVIGATOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 www.oceannavigator.com feet with winds a scant 5 to ing off snow-capped peaks cast off by the glacier. During 15 knots. and a trio of nearby coastal the night we felt Migration Above, the Neptune got the last word glaciers, which represent a rock periodically, the result lower section on this leg, however. The small sampling of Svalbard’s of calving ice falling into the of a growler, final few hours had winds up 2,200 rivers of ice, including bay. an iridescent to 47 knots, the sea boiled the world’s third largest. After two nights there, blue through and visibility dropped to a we departed Hornsund. The the clear few hundred yards in mist Protection from the ice vistas grew more enchant- Arctic waters, and spume. Waves broke After entering Hornsund ing with each passing mile exemplifies over Migration’s bow, the fjord, the wind finally abated. as Migration plied her way how much spray pelting the windscreen We completed a slow cruise further north. Swirling mist ice remains relentlessly, until we were at along the face of the Hans- enveloped moss-covered hill- below the sur- last in the lee of Svalbard’s bukta glacier, at the end of sides and an impossibly rug- face. Below, Vesle Svartkuven peninsula. which we opted for a diminu- ged and unforgiving coastline the cold, com- In spite of making the lee tive anchorage called Kamavi- as sprawling glaciers, one paratively dry, of the mainland and moun- ka. It was barely large enough after the other, filled our low-bacteria tains, Migration encountered to allow Migration adequate starboard-side bridge win- environment katabatic gusts in excess of 55 swinging room but it afford- dows. Clutches of black guil- preserves knots. Thankfully, the wind ed us protection from both lemots and the occasional wooden struc- did offer some respite, blow- waves and a sea of growlers eider duck dotted the glassy tures. ing out the fog and cloud and bergy bits — plus SUV- calm surface as we slipped by. cover to reveal an azure sky and truck-sized chunks of The air had a scrubbed crisp and brilliant sunshine reflect- ice — that were continuously scent, a mixture of cold sea salt and pristine land far from the effects of civilization. The cycle of three or four days of heavy winds, rain and fog — the price to be paid for one or two days of magnificently clear weather and placid seas — would repeat over the next 25 days. Because they repre- sented a minority, we came to savor the calm blue-sky days. Migration’s circum- navigation of the archi- pelago included more than 20 anchorages, each one of which afforded her crew www.oceannavigator.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 29 ocean voyaging

(named after a Boston, took note of a sailing vessel a Mass., coal-mining magnate), half-mile away; as it departed along with a handful of sci- a nearby inlet, it abruptly entific outposts, two active altered course. We spied a coal mines (one Russian white object in the water just and one Norwegian), two ahead of it, and speculated large abandoned mines and it might be a beluga whale. a handful of smaller mines, We quickly realized, to our now defunct, nearly all of delight, that it was in fact a which we sampled. Most swimming travers- guidebooks consider this ing the mouth of the fjord. the “interesting” coast, and Two crewmembers and I indeed it’s where most of the jumped in the tender and (numbering between three smaller Longyearbyen-based headed out for a closer look. and five, as two flew in to tour charter vessels travel. We chose what we consid- Polar bears join us after our arrival) The eastern coastline is, in ered a safe distance and one are Sval- unforgettable land and sea- my opinion however, equally that we were certain would bard’s apex scapes, and a wide range of if not more enticing. While not stress the animal. As we predators wildlife encounters, includ- it lacks the picturesque fjords neared this majestic beast, and extreme ing magnificent tusked wal- and high peaks of the western we gaped in wonder. He caution must ruses, whales, reindeer and shore, it is truly deserted. looked and swam much like a be used tens of thousands of birds, There are no active settle- gargantuan snow-white Lab- whenever all of which were migratory ments or scientific outposts; rador retriever. We loitered going ashore save for one, the Svalbard days go by without so much several hundred yards away to avoid and . And, of as a sighting of another ves- and watched as he reached deter bear course, there was the archi- sel or even an AIS target. shore. He casually looked encounters. pelago’s star attraction: polar It is also virtually bereft of back at us before majestically bears. If other regions of the protected anchorages, which and nimbly climbing over world, places that are easily calls for careful cruise plan- the rock-strewn shoreline. He accessed, are likened to alloys ning. We paid the price for shook off, once again as a dog — meaning they represent experiencing this magnificent would, and then lumbered up an amalgamation of civiliza- desolation once again, spend- to a nearby glacier where he tion — Svalbard and locales ing several nights in dam- rubbed his face in the snow. of this ilk are elemental, the nable open roadsteads, which Then he rolled onto his back, most basic, and the Earth’s induce incessant rolling. sticking all four paws sky- few remaining wild places. In addition to our trek ward, arching and scratching. north to the polar ice pack, He was roughly 8 feet long Named for a Bostonian two of the voyage’s most and, based on his generous Though mostly deserted, unforgettable days unfolded belly, I guessed him to weigh Svalbard’s western shoreline as follows: 1,500 pounds. It was a truly does include grand fjords, We were at Sallyhamna awe-inspiring moment. towering snow-wreathed anchorage at 79° 48’ N mountains and the few ves- latitude on Svalbard’s West Sea bird cliffs tiges of population including Coast. Over lunch in the We detoured from our south- the capital of Longyearbyen pilothouse, Migration’s crew bound route through the East

30 OCEAN NAVIGATOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 www.oceannavigator.com Coast’s spectacular Hinlopen seen and heard, their plain- Brünnich’s guillemots. Strait to stop at a series of tive high-pitched cries a stark Thinking back to when we cliffs called Alkefjellet. These contrast from the adult bird’s were at the edge of the Arctic tower above the sea on the raucous squawks. While most ice pack north of Svalbard, west side of the strait and are birds were busy feeding or searching in vain for a south- The bird cliffs home to thousands of nest- tending young, some fought, bound lead, I got the tiniest of Alkefjellet ing Brünnich’s guillemots occasionally to the death as inkling of what Shackleton’s are home to and a smaller contingent of evidenced by the handful men aboard Endurance felt thousands of kittiwakes. We maneuvered of loser’s carcasses floating when beset in the Brünnich’s adjacent to the sun-splashed on the glassy surface. In a ice. There is a visual phenom- guillemots. vertical face and loitered there wildlife photographer’s life enon of the sea ice called “ice for nearly two hours, tak- there are moments seared blink.” It’s an iridescent white ing in the mass of avian life. into his or her memory. I viv- haze that hangs over the ice The sky and the sea, both idly recall each one of these, field. Ice blink is brighter on the surface and beneath such as capturing images of where the pack ice is denser as the guillemots dive and Galapagos giant turtles, of or where it completely cov- swim underwater, were so Antarctica’s great wandering ers the dark waters on which crowded with birds it was a albatrosses and of Heligo- it floats. The absence of ice wonder there weren’t regular land’s Atlantic gannets. To blink denotes open water. collisions. Chicks could be these I add Alkefjellet and the We used this feature, much like Shackleton and countless other polar seafarers have, to look for ice-free water. After what seemed an eternity but was, in fact, no more than 45 minutes of probing the pack, we at last found a promis- ing lead parallel to but east of our route. With this exit strategy established, the ten- sion level in the pilothouse dropped perceptibly. Looking back, like a ray of sunshine, the brilliant white line of the pack’s margin was visible in all its glory. With it in our wake, it is resplendent. n

Steve D’Antonio is a writer, photographer and marine systems expert who after work- ing for Zimmerman Marine, started his own consulting busi- ness in 2007.

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