Spitsbergen & East Greenland on board the M/V Plancius MV Plancius was named after the Dutch astronomer, cartographer, geologist and minister Petrus Plancius (1552-1622). Plancius was built in 1976 as an oceanographic research vessel for the Royal Dutch Navy and was named Hr. Ms. Tydeman. She sailed for the Royal Dutch Navy until June 2004 when she was purchased by Oceanwide Expeditions and completely refitted in 2007. She was converted into a 114-passenger expedition vessel with an Ice Strength rating of 1D, top speed of 12+ knots and 3 diesel engines generating 1230 hp each. Plancius is 89 m (267 feet) long, 14.5 m (43 feet) wide and has a maximum draft of 5m. Captain Evgeny Levakov and his international crew of 44 including Chief Officer: Vladimir Plotnikov [Russia] Second Officer: Anika Albrecht [Germany] Third Officer: Luis Oroceo [Philippines] Chief Engineer: Sebastian Alexandru [Rumania] Hotel Manager: Robert McGillivray [Netherlands] Chief Steward: Thijs de Lint [Netherlands] Head Chef: Heinz Hacker [Austria] Sous Chef: Sean Steele [Canada] Ship’s Physician: Ninette van Es [Netherlands] and Expedition Team Leader: Rinie van Meurs [Netherlands] Assist. Expedition Leader: Katja Riedel [Germany/New Zealand] Expedition Guide: Tobias Brehm [Germany] Expedition Guide: Sandra Petrowitz [Germany] Expedition Guide: Irene Kastner [Germany] Expedition Guide: Michelle van Dijk [Netherlands] Expedition Guide: James Cresswell [United Kingdom] Expedition Guide: Victoria Salem [United Kingdom] welcome you on board! Day 1 – Thursday September 3, 2015 Longyearbyen, Svalbard: Embarkation 1600 GPS position: 78°13.7’N / 015°36.1’E Wind: NE 4. Sea: 3. Weather: cloudy. Temperature: +4°C Longyearbyen has been the starting point for many historic and pioneering expeditions since its foundation as a coal-mining settlement in 1906 by John Munro Longyear. It was to become the starting point for our voyage to the Arctic as well! Our journey began with boarding our comfortable floating home for the next 10 days – the M/V Plancius.. Once we had climbed the gangway, the first thing we did was check in with Hotel Manager Robert and Chief Steward Thijs; then we found the coffee machine on Deck 5 and thus fortified, started unpacking. Soon we were called to an Information session in the Lounge, followed by an important, mandatory safety briefing and lifeboat drill; wearing our bright orange life-jackets, we made our way out on deck to the lifeboats, briefed by Second Officer Anika. Let’s hope we don’t need to do this again! Meanwhile, Plancius had cast off and we had started on our journey, so a good time to be out on deck. At 7 pm we gathered together in the Lounge again, this time for a toast to the trip with our Captain Evgeny Levakov and a chance to meet all the Expedition Staff. This event was followed by a sumptuous dinner, a wonderful sunset and great views as we sailed north up the Spitsbergen coast. Day 2 – Friday September 4, 2015 Smeerenburgfjord/Smeerenburgbreen, NW Islands 0800 GPS position: 79°34.9’N / 010°31.8’E Wind: N 5. Sea: slight. Weather: snow/overcast. Temperature: +1°C ‘Good morning, good morning. It is 7.15 am, we are in the North-West of Spitsbergen and it is beautiful outside. We have a fresh breeze and the temperature is +1°C’. That was the wake-up call from our Expedition Leader Rinie. After a good breakfast we were invited out on deck, because the ship was sailing through the narrow passage of Sørgattet. Fresh snow sugared the surrounding mountains, and it was still snowing. - Welcome to the Arctic! To warm up again after standing outside, we got ourselves a cup of coffee or tea in the Lounge. But we had to be quick as the ship was now heading through the Smeerenburgfjord towards the impressive Smeerenburgbreen (or glacier). Rinie told us that the islands in front of this glacier appeared, due to glacial retreat, only ten years ago. Also the pale, fresh lateral moraines on each side show the same enormous retreat. When the ship had turned around and sailed out of the fjord again, it was time to get our Wellington boots. We were called, deck by deck to come to the boot room and collect a pair of boots. Half-way through this process, a call came from the bridge: ‘We have two bears at 3 o' clock (to the ship) walking along the shore. It is a mother and cub’. Wow!!! A bear sighting within 24 hours of departure. The captain did his very best to bring the ship as close to the shore as possible. The bears gave a full show: sitting, rolling, scratching, walking and swimming. We were impressed by the speed these animals can make. After the rest of the boots were handed out, we received the mandatory AECO & Zodiac briefing, essential to know how to operate correctly and safely in the Arctic. In the afternoon we made a landing at Smeerenburg on Amsterdamøya. Smeerenburg was an old whaling station, in use between 1614 and 1654 approximately, and its name means ‘blubber town’. Blubber is the fat from a whale. It was boiled down to oil (‘rendered’) and shipped to Europe, because of lack of vegetable oil to supply a growing population. We could still see the remains of these blubber ovens. But it was not the only reason to visit Smeerenburg. There were also walruses hauled out on the beach. We saw big bulls with large tusks, lying lazily on the pebbly sand, occasionally scratching somnolently with a flipper, sometimes raising a sleepy head and gazing around. They were not bothered by the falling snow and fresh breeze. But we were getting cold standing around, so Rinie gave us the choice between going back to the ship or joining a short walk around the lagoon. Some people went back, but most of us stayed, knowing that we would be on the ship for the next two days. All of a sudden Rinie saw an Arctic fox and called everyone to come nearer. But then it went out of sight - until Michelle saw it again, with a freshly-caught Barnacle goose in its jaws, flapping its wings and trying to escape. But the fox held on and pulled the goose away from the shore. Luckily for us, the fox started straight in on this fresh feast, still standing near the lagoon and it was so preoccupied that it did not bother about us. So we could all take pictures of this 'blue' fox (no white, winter coat yet). Back on board we were invited into the Lounge for a Recap & Briefing, in which Barbara explained a few things about the Atlantic walrus and Rinie prepared us mentally for two days at sea by promising a late get-up in the morning. What a great day it was. What a perfect start to our polar adventure. Day 3 – Saturday September 5, 2015 En route to East Greenland 0800 GPS position: 77°51.5’N / 000°51.3’E Wind: SW 3. Sea: slight. Weather: partly cloudy. Temperature: +4°C Today was the first of two sea days and we made good progress in the night. We were able to have a lie-in, with breakfast being served from 8.15 – 9.15 am. This gave many of us a chance to catch up on the sleep we lost whilst travelling to Longyearbyen from the four corners of the Earth! After a stroll out on deck to enjoy the sea views, we headed up to the Lounge on Deck 5, got a coffee from the machine and settled down to listen to a much- anticipated talk (since our bear sighting yesterday). Expedition Leader Rinie was there to charm us with his images and pass on his knowledge about ‘Polar Bears, their reproduction, denning, cub-raising and survival’. These marine mammals are amazingly well-adapted to their lives in the pack ice and we were fascinated to hear how they coped with the harsh environment and (in the case of the long-suffering female) reared the next generation. There was a bit more photo-editing time, or chance to chat to fellow-passengers before lunch at 12.30 pm, which was a tasty chicken dish. In mid- afternoon Victoria was in the Lounge to tell us about ‘The History of Svalbard’. She covered from the initial discovery of Spitsbergen by the Dutch in 1596, through the whaling, hunting and trapping eras, on into the age of exploration and science, to the 1920 Svalbard Treaty (by which Norway gained sovereignty over Svalbard) and right up to the mining and tourist industries of today. It turns out that Svalbard is an isolated archipelago of islands with a surprisingly varied and significant history. By this stage most passengers had discovered the bridge on Deck 6 – the best place on the whole ship for watching Plancius’ progress. Today’s weather changed throughout the day, from cloudy, to sunny, to wet and back again. And we were outside to enjoy it whatever the conditions, knowing that we had a warm ship to step back into at any time. To help us capture these magic moments along the way, James was in the Lounge at 5 pm to give us some photographic tips, so that we can take the most impressive pictures possible to remind us of this voyage for a very long time to come. Now we know who to ask if we have technical questions too! Just before dinner we had our daily Recap & Briefing, during which Rinie gave us the weather forecast for tomorrow (possibly a little more movement in the night and early morning) and reported on our future plans upon arrival in East Greenland.