Spitsbergen Cruises - Arrival in Longyearbyen

Spitsbergen Cruises Log: North Spitsbergen

IWA Directors Randy and Susie Green joined one of our North Spitsbergen cruises. What follows is re-post of a log of their journey through this stunningly beautiful Arctic archipelago, historic launching place of many attempts on reaching the North Pole.

With Captain Yury Gorodnik and his Russian Crew
Expedition Leader – Ian Stone (Isle of Man)
Guide/lecturer – Olle Carlson (Sweden)
Guide/lecturer – Dan Zwartz (New Zealand)
Purser – Jan de Ceuster (Belgium)
Chef – Ger Coesel (The Netherlands)
Sous Chef – Beverly Howlett (England)
Physician – Dr Karin Schulz (Germany)

June 16, 2005 noon GPS: 78º13.9′N, 15 º37.1 ‘E Longyearbyen, Trygghamna

After arriving in Oslo from many different countries, we flew far North, over the polar circle and much ocean, descending over ice-filled water and snow-covered mountains to land at last in Svalbard. While our bags were brought on board the ship, we had a couple of hours to look around the small town of Longyearbyen, before coming on board the Grigoriy Mikheev at 4 pm.

We settled into our cabins and had time for a quick look around the ship, and then we gathered in the bar, where our expedition leader, Ian Stone, introduced us to the ship and the staff. Immediately afterwards we had a safety briefing from the chief mate, which was followed by a lifeboat drill, and then it was time to leave! The weather had been cloudy all day, but the sun began to shine as we left the wharf and sailed into the fjord. The sea was calm, and snowy mountains stood on either side as we headed down Isfjorden towards the open sea.

After dinner, we arrived at Trygghamna, a bay near the mouth of the fjord. The sea was perfectly calm, and there was no wind, so we took the chance to become accustomed to the zodiacs -the ship’s inflatable boats, which we would use for landings and excursions.

Cruising slowly along the coast, we saw some of the wildlife and wilderness that Svalbard is famous for . Below the steep cliff of Alkhornet and a small glacier there was a grassy coastal plain where we saw reindeer and several bird species: Glaucous gulls, barnacle geese, eider ducks and Brunich’s guillemots among them. On the south side of the fjord we could see smoke from the chimneys of Barentsburg, Svalbard’s Russian coal mining settlement. After following the rocky coast for about an hour, we returned to the ship and started sailing north.

Next: Ny Alesund and Encounters with Walrus