Day 2 and 3 - At sea, sailing north through the Berents Sea.

Day 4 - We make a landing on Bell Island near Eira Lodge, which served as the station of the British polar explorer Benjamin Leigh Smith in the late 1800's. Then we sail to Cape Flora on Northbrook Island, where Smith was shipwrecked when his custom built steamship S/V Eira was pierced by ice and sank.

On the cliffs behind Cape Flora we will find large colonies of Brünnich's Guillemots and will observe the young birds attempting to glide from the ledges to the sea without being eaten by the Glacous Gulls! In Günther Bay at Northbrook Island we will cruise by zodiac around a major walrus haul-out spot.

Day 5 - We visit Rubini Rock in Tichaia Bay on Hooker Island, where we will see colonies of cliff-nesting seabirds like Brünnich's Guillemots, Black Guillemots, Little Auks, Fulmars and Kittiwakes. We should also see bearded and harp seals, and we may see polar bears and Greenland whales. We will also take advantage of our landing to explore the abandoned Russian Sedov Research Station.

Day 6 - If sea ice conditions allow in the British Channel, we will sail to Cape Norvegia on Jackson Island, where Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen spent the winter after they had left their ship, Fram.

Day 7 - If sea ice conditions are very light we will sail to Rudolf Island, the northernmost island of the archipelago or Apollonia Island, another haul-out for walruses. Alternatively we may land at Alexandra Land at an Ivory Gull colony.

Day 8 - At Camp Ziegler on Alger Island  we will explore the the historic remnants of polar expeditions from a century ago. The island, in a beautiful setting, is surrounded by mountainous islands with impressive glacier fronts. On Champ Island we find an unusual geological phenomenon: perfectly round stone geodes, some of which are more than one meter in diameter.

Day 9 - If weather conditions for the home voyage allow, we will attempt a landing in the early morning at Cape Tegethoff or Wilchzek Island in the south, where we find more remains of the stations of early polar explorers.

Day 10 and 11 - At sea

Day 12 - In the morning, we disembark the ship in Murmansk and take the bus back to Kirkenes

Images from historic Arctic Adventures 

2012 Dates:  Aug 9 to Aug 21

Aug 21 to Sept 1

Registration
To confirm your space on these tours, please contact our office.  1.800.808.4492 or 206.463.1943

Deposit is 25% of trip cost.

Cancellation Policy
In the event you must cancel your reservation, refunds will be made according to the following schedule: Deposit is nonrefundable. 90 to 61 days prior to departure, 50% of total is nonrefundable; less than 60 days prior to departure, 100% nonrefundable.

Fuel surcharge: If world fuel prices reach or exceed US Dollar 90 per Barrel Brent 90 days prior to departure then the boat operator reserves the right to levy a fuel surcharge of $25 USD per night per passenger to be paid prior to travel.

Insurance
Because many advance logistical arrangements have been made prior to the running of this trip, we must adhere to the above policy. In light of this, we strongly recommend trip cancellation insurance. An application form will be sent to you upon request, or you may purchase it on your own. Because of the remote location, emergency medical evacuation insurance is required. Please check your personal insurance coverage and make sure it is applicable in foreign countries. Emergency medical evacuation insurance is a component of the insurance program IWA offers.

"Ortelius" was built in Gdynia, Poland in 1989, was named "Marina Svetaeva", and served as a special purpose vessel for the Russian Academy of Science. The vessel is re-flagged and renamed "Ortelius". As Plancius, Ortelius was a Dutch / Flemish cartographer. Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598) published the first modern world atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum or Theatre of the World in 1570. At that time, the atlas was the most expensive book ever printed.

The vessel has the highest ice-class notation (UL1 equivalent to 1A) and is therefore very suitable to navigate in solid one-year sea ice and loose multi-year pack ice. "Ortelius" is a great expedition vessel for 100 passengers with lots of open-deck spaces and a very large bridge which is accessible to the passengers. The vessel is manned by 34 highly experienced Russian nautical crew, 15 international catering staff, including stewardesses, 6 expedition staff (1 expedition leader and 5 guides/lecturers) and 1 doctor.

"Ortelius" offers a comfortable hotel standard, with two restaurants, a bar/lecture room and a sauna. Our voyages are primarily developed to offer our passengers a quality exploratory wildlife program, trying to spend as much time ashore as possible. As the number of passengers is limited to approximately 100 on the "Ortelius", flexibility assures maximum wildlife opportunities.

Length: 91.25 meters
Breadth: 17.61 meters
Draft: 5.8 meters
Ice class: UL1 (equivalent to 1A)
Displacement: 4575 tonnes
Engines: 6 ZL 40/48 SULZER
Speed: 12 knots (14.3 knots max)
Passengers: 100