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Spitsbergen 2024 – A special adventure with the POLARIS (Part 3)

from, Guido Dwersteg

The morning after our night at anchor in Hornsund is uncomfortable. At least on deck, because the wind is blowing noticeably from the south-west and rain and sleet are falling from the low-hanging clouds. Where yesterday we had good visibility, today we can only make out the outlines of the steep mountain ridges and glaciers. By the way, “morning” is relative, because it never really got dark. It is difficult to “feel” the current time of day. You need to look at your watch regularly to make sure you don’t completely lose track. So it’s better to stay below deck where it’s cosy and warm and breakfast is slowly taking shape.

Thickly wrapped up, we then weigh anchor. To do this, we position a person at the bow who uses hand signals to inform the helmsman of the direction and tension of the chain. Ideally, our heavy harness should be recovered without much resistance, not least to avoid further problems with the winch. This time it works better. Only once does the winch take a short break to recover, but the grounding line is already free and so we can safely leave our anchorage.

The further the sound opens up, the stronger the breeze becomes. The ice-cold wind is now right on our noses and whips the sleet into our faces. It feels like tiny pinpricks, and the cold does the rest. So we quickly put up the bimini. This only provides slight relief, as the mini-hail is now coming more horizontally than vertically from the front, but the large roof does offer a little protection. In the end, I even put on my ski goggles to be able to see better against the unpleasant precipitation. Not only in our anchorage, but also here in the wide sound, ice floes are constantly drifting around. If you hit one of these floes (or growlers), it can make quite a rattling noise. The glacial ice from which the small icebergs originate is very old and very hard. And the weight of the floes should not be underestimated, especially as you can only guess at a small part of the total mass above water.

About halfway along the route, Marco starts shouting as if stung by a tarantula. He has seen a whale overtaking us just a few metres away to starboard. Madness! When everyone finally pulled out their cameras, it disappeared again, of course; that was obvious :-). But it was still impressive and beautiful. Shortly afterwards, there was a creak on the radio and a yacht unknown to us called the POLARIS. When we answered, a French skipper who had seen us pass by from his anchorage on the northern shore of the Sound called us. We have a brief chat about the weather and our upcoming plans before we lose contact again and head further out to sea.

In the end, it takes us about two hours to reach the open sea and set a north-westerly course. The weather has now improved somewhat. The low clouds are slowly disappearing and the cold freezing rain has also stopped. We can finally set sail to tackle the remaining 50 nautical miles. Our destination is the huge Bellsund, where we have marked a nice sheltered anchorage on the chart. Anchoring will be our standard for stops and breaks over the next few weeks, as there are very few harbours or even marinas here. We now continue north-westwards along the fascinating mountain and glacier world of Spitsbergen. The sunny weather and moderate sea conditions ensure a good atmosphere on board. The forecastle is also running quickly and routinely. It’s always nice to see how a bunch of strangers become a functioning team over time.

The entrance to Bellsund is also spectacular. There is a new highlight around every corner. We now travel a good 10 miles into the sound. We use the engine for this. The winds here are too erratic and changeable. Before we head for our anchorage today, we make a detour to an imposing glacier front directly in front of us. And the closer we get to the ice wall, the cooler it gets. Like a giant refrigerator, the glacier provides its own microclimate. Gunter now launches the drone we brought with us for the first time and provides further fascinating insights and views. Well protected, we drop anchor in Vestervagen Bay in the evening. Time for a landing beer and a delicious dinner. What a marvellous day. Next stop: Longyearbyen.

DO YOU ALSO WANT TO EXPERIENCE SUCH AN ADVENTURE ON THE POLARIS?

12. December 2024