Just before my first Elbrus summit, I managed to sail to Svalbard from Northern Norway. It was a tough trip through snow and freezing cold. Here are a few notes from the trip.
I had a bit of time to spare, and was looking for a boat. Sailing yacht Mae West (Holland) was to be sailed to Svalbard for picking up guests. The crew/guests on the leg from Norway could not come because of sickness, so the boat needed delivery crew. I'm lucky I made it to Tromsø just in time to briefly meet the owner of the boat, and to set off.
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| S/y Mae West, in harbour of Tromsø |
The last hours before the sail-off were spent doing preparations and mending jobs on the boat. The passage could take anything from several days to a couple of weeks depending on weather, and there was risk for furious Arctic storms at those latitudes.
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| A workshop for building ships in Tromsø harbour, a very colorful place |
Not all preparations can be made on shore. On the second day, the Code 0 halyard was to be retrieved from the mast. I climbed the 18 meter mast at sea, while swinging back and forth, absolutely done when came down. Just 2 people onboard, we interchanged watches with sleeping and having warm food.
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| At the helm, towards Svalbard |
On the first day, still near the shore, puffins would half-fly, half-run away from the boat. It was raining and gray, but the rest of the trip really gave us variable weather. Everything from blazing sun, rain, rainbows, fog, and snow - we had it.
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| Storm is brewing |
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| Suddenly: sun and rainbows! |
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| Thick fog, only a cable's visibility ahead. |
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| Yes, this is snow! Sailing still, about halfway to Svalbard |
The sea colors were ever changing, just as the weather. Everything from storm blue speckled with gray, to saphire, to quicksilver or aluminum. I kept log and read Spitsbergen maps, guide books, and Amundsens diary - the latter being very effective in motivating me to deal with the cold (The cold? For those guys, -17C was a hot summer day!) To keep the cold away, I would do a bit of push-ups. Realised that I had bruises from the mast adventure. Wales were passing by and saying hi, sending fountains up the air. Suddenly the depth sounder jumped to 7,1 meter - must have been one passing right under us. A lot of curious birds were making us company too:
Little Auks,
Great Skuas, and other sea birds. Porpoises came to visit, too.
Despite the interchanging weather, sea, and fauna during the sailing, it was a real treat to see land again after almost a week at sea.
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| Land in sight! Southern Svalbard |
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| The isles met us with Arctic sun and freezing temperatures. |
But I could never imagine what would meet us upon arriving to land. Half a ton of muscle with long tusks. See
next post -
