On April 2nd, 2017, the Dutch sailing ship Noorderlicht set sail for an expedition along the west coast of Svalbard. I unique event, as this was never before done this early in the season. I was lucky enough to be present at this unique event. For a week we were immersed in the harsh, but beautiful landscapes of Svalbard’s arctic winter. A week-long adventure, in which we forged friendships for life. One week, that’s all it took to get caught up in the Svalbard Blues. A travelogue of our own journey of discovery.
Until 2013, sailing ship Noorderlicht was annually frozen in the sea ice of Svalbard; in the Tempelfjorden near Longyearbyen to be exact. Until mid-May. Then the ship was freed again by the local icebreaker. However, rising temperatures, increasingly capricious winters and ditto ice conditions have made this impossible in recent years. Oceanwide Expeditions therefore chose to let the Noorderlicht already sail out in April in the 2017 season. Never before have tourists had the opportunity to explore Svalbard with a sailing ship that early in the season. This was also the very first expedition on the Noorderlicht for the crew. In December, Floris de Waard and Mariëlle van Twillert had taken over the sailing ship from its previous owner, Gert Ritzema.
I was not aware that this was such a unique journey. For me there were other reasons to specifically choose this early departure: the light and the arctic winter landscapes. March to mid-May is the ‘light winter’ season in Svalbard. In mid-February, the sun will rise above the horizon for the first time in Svalbard and it will not set again from April 19. The first week of April I was just able to take advantage of colorful sunsets and sunrises and the sun was still low during the day.
Day 1 – Leaving Longyearbyen
It is around 5pm when we – after taking some pictures around the quay – walk towards the Noorderlicht. Floris already meets us and gives us a friendly welcome on board the ship. We meet the rest of the crew – Mariëlle, Robert, Aries and Josefin – and expedition leader Sarah Gerats with her dog Nemo. We are shown our room and immediately feel at home. The last guests slowly trickle in and soon Floris’ word of welcome follows: “Ladies and gentle people…”. After the necessary explanation about the ship and the safety on board, we sail from the quay around a quarter to six. With Longyearbyen, the inhabited world slowly disappears from sight. It feels like a relief when later that evening the last lines of telephone coverage disappear and we are actually all alone and (virtually) unreachable. Soon we sit down for the first special meal. The food is so good that we can’t imagine we will be spoiled like this for the rest of the week.
After dinner, everyone quickly hurries outside again, where it is now gently snowing. Within a few hours, the ship was covered with an attractive layer of snow. We sail past Alkhornet; the bird cliff of West Spitsbergen (Svalbard’s biggest island). Birds are not yet to be seen, so early in the season. At a quarter to ten we anchor for the first time in the mist-shrouded Ymerbukta bay.
Day 2 – The first landing: Ymerbukta
At a quarter past seven in the morning the anchor is hoisted again and we sail towards the landing site in Ymerbukta. On Sarah’s advice, we walk around the deck before breakfast to enjoy the beautiful morning light.
About two hours later, after the necessary instructions, we go ashore for the first time with the zodiac, on the southern shore of the bay. There Sarah first explains a few things about the safety measures in case we encounter a polar bear on land. And believe it or not, 10-year-old retired sled dog Nemo acts as the first line of defense. Running at the polar bear would normally startle the polar bear and run away. The next alternatives are making (mechanical) noise, the flare gun and the rifle with exploding bullets. The conclusion: a nice polar bear, but you just don’t want to meet them on land.
On the coast of Ymerbukta we take a walk over a snowy hill, towards the Esmarkbreen glacier. The strong wind causes a lot of drifting snow and the (her and there) deep snow makes the more than two-hour walk quite strenuous. The poor visibility regularly obscures the landscape, but it does allow Nemo to roam freely while claiming most of the attention. Along the way we encounter the necessary natural ice sculptures and the drifting ice on the coast leads to equally interesting scenes. The route back to the landing site yields a spectacular view: the Northern Lights – our temporary home – behind a sea of ice.
When everyone is back on board around 12.30 and the zodiac is tied to the stern again, we sit down for a (hot) lunch. It is now becoming clear to us that we really don’t have to worry about the food. Meanwhile, the anchor is hoisted and Floris sets course for Fjortende Julibukta, via the Forlandsundet strait, where we sail on the headsail for the first time. Along the way, the characteristic mountains of Svalbard pass us by. The landscape never gets boring, but with a temperature of around -20 degrees Celsius we are occasionally forced to warm up inside again.
Day 3 – Insomnia towards the Fjortende Julibreen
The fierce and icy headwinds in Forlandsundet (the narrow and shallow strait between West Spitsbergen and Prince Karls Forland) ensure a turbulent evening and mean that we do not (as planned) anchor at one o’clock, but only around four o’clock in the morning to lower. Upon hearing the anchoring, a small number of the guests immediately crawl out of bed to admire the new anchorage. And with good reason, because it is a special anchorage: we are located between large plates of floating ice, a few kilometers from the glacier wall of the Fjortende Julibreen. The light is breathtakingly beautiful: a yellow glow rises above the glacier and contrasts well with the blue drift ice around the ship. A few times a bearded seal will appear from some distance to inspect the new guest in the bay. During the cold and turbulent night, the front of the Northern Lights is covered with a thick layer of ice, which results in a very photogenic scene.
Most passengers barely got any sleep. It is taken up sportively by everyone and seen as part of this beautiful adventure. Without protest we go ashore around nine o’clock on the north side of the Fjortende Julibukta. We walk along the coast towards the glacier front. On the way we see some reindeer walking up the adjacent slope and the kittiwakes flying back and forth from the cliff above. It almost looks like a spring scene, with all that activity against a background of clear blue sky, but the surrounding winter landscape betrays that we are still in the middle of winter here. Along the way we also see two walruses – unfortunately turned away from us – lying on some icebergs in the bay. In the meantime, the Noorderlicht has found a safer place outside the drift ice, but there is also a sailing route towards the glacier front of the Fjortende Julibreen, so that we can be picked up there. I opt for the last trip of the zodiac, in the hope that we can still sail via the still lazing walrus. Sarah also likes that and a little later Aries brings us to a distance of about 30 to 40 meters from the walrus. Insane!
In the afternoon we sail on to Signehamna, where we make a particularly cold landing. Minus 27 degrees Celsius and a strong wind make the feeling temperature extremely low. So an extra layer. We walk over the sea ice towards a valley that clearly shows what the interior of this part of Svalbard looks like. The wind is strong and the walk is therefore on the edge of cold for many, but the view of the valley is certainly worth it. Along the way we also encounter a lonely reindeer and a watering hole of a seal. The fact that the walk has cost a lot of energy becomes clear during dinner: in relative silence, a lot of bunkering is done to replenish the reserves.
That evening we stay at anchor in the Krossfjorden, which means that we experience a (for many welcome) quiet evening. At least, to some extent; at times, the night’s sleep is brutally disturbed by collisions with ice calved from the nearby Lilliehookbreen glacier. And all this despite Robert’s frantic efforts to keep the ice away from the ship. His summary of the night: “Not normal, that ice machine was really on the atomic setting or something.”
Day 4 – Intimate get-together with the Lilliehookbreen
After breakfast the anchor is hoisted and we sail towards the Lilliehookbreen. Only when you sail the waters around Svalbard do you get an impression of the dimensions of the landscape. That glacier and mountains that seem to be a few kilometers away are in reality still more than an hour away. At the imposing and more than 10 kilometers wide Lilliehookbreen we sail close to the glacier front. With a loud murmur, a small part of the glacier calves off. If this is making such a noise… In the meantime, Floris and Aries have fished some glacier ice out of the water for later that day.
In the afternoon we land at Camp Zoe, where after a look at the Trappers Hut we walk up the hill and enjoy the impressive views of the Northern Lights in the Krossfjorden of Svalbard. It surprises me that – despite the limited sailing area – every landing is always different, both in terms of experience, conditions and landscape.
At the end of the afternoon we are back on board and we sail towards the Kongsfjorden. Around 9 o’clock we drop anchor in Blomstrandhalvøya, near the settlement of Ny Alesund. It is a somewhat strange sensation to suddenly see something of the inhabited world again after three days of no man’s land, even if it is from many kilometers away. During the beautiful and endless sunset, the view becomes even more unreal, when the few lanterns in the town also twinkle.
At the bar in the ship, Floris presents a bucket full of glacier ice. “This is thousands of years old ice. You can buy this in Longyearbyen for 150 euros, but on the Noorderlicht it’s free!” The result: an explosive increase in whiskey consumption.
Day 5 – Full speed through the sea ice
In the morning we go ashore at Blomstrandhalvøya and walk through a frozen waterfall towards Ny-London, to the remains of an old marble mine. We learn here that it was soon discovered that the marble could not be transported: the rock cut out of the permafrost falls apart in warm conditions. The installations rising from the snow – including a rusty locomotive – are patient subjects for the photographers present.
Once aboard the Noorderlicht we sail back to the South; again by Forlandsunset, meanwhile flanked by many Norwegian Fulmars. However, the circumstances have changed completely: the water is calm and suddenly we are sailing through a sea of ice. I follow Sarah and climb into the bowsprit, where I have a fantastic view of the ship and the ice we are plowing through. Sitting on the bowsprit, every contact with the floating ice is felt; a mighty beautiful and unforgettable experience. It is a special moment for everyone on board: a few days earlier we were still very carefully drifting between the sea ice in Ymerbukta, but now we are plowing through it at full speed. The result of four days of experience and confidence.
And as if all this wasn’t beautiful enough, not much later we pass some seals and we even manage to get to about 50 meters from a bearded seal. Contrary to all expectations, the animal remains undisturbed, while the cameras click frequently.
That evening we anchor in Store Jonsfjorden, near the Gaffelbreen. Late in the evening we see an Arctic fox walking along the edge of the frozen fjord. We follow the tiny dot in awe through our binoculars and telephoto lenses for ten minutes. It makes a worthy end to a very special day.
Day 6 – Two warm landings
Another day, another landing. This time we go ashore via pieces of drift ice at the Gaffelbreen. There we hike up the hill for another impressive view of the glacier and the surrounding arctic winter landscape of Svalbard. In the distance, at the foot of the glacier, we see several seals crawling out of their water hole onto the ice. Cold turns out to be relative: with minus 10 degrees Celsius it is considerably warmer than the days before and people almost complain about the ‘heat’.
That afternoon we continue sailing through Forlandsundet and in the afternoon we make a landing at Poolepynten, one of the best places on Svalbard to spot walruses. Unfortunately we don’t get to see the walruses, but we still enjoy the flat walk across the frozen lake. Unlike all previous landings, this time it is a lot of effort to mount the zodiac and sail back. In the third and last boat we make a lot of water and finally return with ice-covered clothing and an adventure richer on board the Noorderlicht. We continue south and anchor in Trygghamna later that evening. Around midnight, it is noticeable how the light and the colors have changed in the past week: the twilight remains much lighter than before and the purple-red skies are no longer there.
Day 7 – Bittersweet
The day starts fresher than others: not from the deck, but in the water. Together with four other passengers and Sarah and Josefin I take a dip in the icy water. The participants are welcomed back on board with loud applause and with some bewilderment. In the hut, Floris raises a pedantic finger: “Oh! Oh! Oh!”. Mariëlle then explains that it is really just a crazy idea that you do your best to keep people out of the water the entire trip, only to see them jump in voluntarily. Well.
After this energy boost and a good breakfast we land at Alkhornet; the bird cliff we had already passed the first evening. We are pleasantly surprised by the activity of birds around the cliff, while large groups of guillemots fly towards land from the southwest. Against a background of beautiful light, we witness the first steps of spring in Svalbard; an indescribable feeling. Not much later we see a herd of Svalbard reindeer grazing about ten meters away. What a great final landing! Before we are picked up by Aries with the zodiac I let myself fall back in the snow one more time. For minutes I don’t think about anything and I’m alone here, buried in the snow on the shore of Alkhornet.
Once on board we enjoy a very special lunch again, but while we set course for Longyearbyen via Ymerbukta, it also becomes clear to everyone that the journey is slowly coming to an end. We get a final instruction from Sarah: whether we all want to disembark in Longyearbyen, so that the crew can prepare a few things. What we are going to do, we can decide for ourselves, as long as we are back at half past six. We stroll through the town that now seems much bigger, busier and noisier than when we left. Once back on the boat, we immediately see what had to be prepared: the windows are taped and the tables are beautifully set inside. The crew serves us a delicious Captain’s Dinner with matching wines on the house. What a night! However, the closure is also bittersweet: a number of passengers have to disembark early in the morning and are already saying goodbye. In a week’s time, beautiful friendships have arisen and with all that drink, the few night owls philosophize about life for a while.
Day 8: The Svalbard Blues
We pack our things and have breakfast in a smaller group than usual. It feels strange that we are having dinner together for the last time. With a lot of pain in our hearts we say goodbye to each other and the crew. It feels unreal that after a week of intensive contact and friendship we may never see each other again. I hope the opposite.
A few days after the sailing trip I know for sure: the Svalbard-Blues has grabbed me and won’t let go…
