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Spitsbergen 2024 – A special adventure with the POLARIS (Part 4)

from Guido Dwersteg

The next morning in Bellsund greets us with plenty of sunshine. And the temperatures have also become much milder. But there is little or no wind today. But after the exhausting hours and days of the crossing, that’s not a bad thing at all and so we enjoy the unaccustomed warmth and can even sit in the cockpit in our shorts as we continue our journey. The destination of today’s stage is Longyearbyen, the capital of Spitsbergen and home to around 2000 inhabitants. At least in summer. There are far fewer people here in winter. The tourist season is then over and life in permanent darkness and freezing cold is probably not for everyone.

Countless photos and videos are taken along the always impressively barren mountain landscapes. We are particularly fond of the seemingly symmetrical rock formations. Almost as if drawn with a ruler, the structures stretch perfectly horizontally across the steep walls. Before entering the Isfjord, the coastal development increases noticeably. Here and there you can see a building or a mast with lights or aerials. The fjord itself is gigantic. At 107 kilometres long, it is the second longest fjord in Svalbard (after the Wijdefjord). The two largest towns in the archipelago, Barentsburg and Longyearbyen, are located on its southern side. According to the area guide, Isfjord Radio, a beacon and a marine radio station as well as the Boutique Hotel, which can only be reached by boat, are also located at its mouth. The named radio station must have been the lights and antennas that we saw on the approach.

We leave Barentsburg in the fjord to starboard. The Russian enclave and mining town may become one of our destinations later on. We first want to get to Longyearbyen to stock up on provisions and take care of a few last administrative matters. This includes borrowing a long gun and buying suitable flare guns, i.e. signal pistols with special ammunition to keep attacking polar bears at a distance in an emergency. The long gun is also required by law. Without these, either no or only very few trips ashore are permitted in certain areas. This is also the case in Longyearbyen. The town has protective fences and is also guarded by armed personnel.

After a good 60 nautical miles or 8 hours sailing, Longyearbyen lies ahead of us. The first thing we notice as we approach are dozens, if not hundreds, of spherical structures on a mountain ridge.
There must be some kind of research going on here.After all, Spitsbergen is the international centre for global climate research.Perfectly in keeping with this, a few walruses can also be seen lazily lazing on the nearby coast.

The water has changed completely several times over the last few miles. The variations range from a deep blue on the approach to almost turquoise passages and a brown muddy broth. This is probably due to currents, wind and, above all, glacier inlets in the centre of the fjord. In any case, we won’t be starting the watermaker in the brown soup for the time being.

Longyearbyen itself is a typical polar community. Everything is trimmed for functionality and simplicity.
You won’t find a city park or flowerbeds here. Instead, there are potholed streets, rustic gravel tracks and pragmatic angular buildings, which we can see from the POLARIS. The harbour itself consists of a long, massive floating pontoon with moorings for pleasure craft on the inside. Meanwhile, large supply and expedition ships are moored on the outside. We can also make out a few moorings in the wide bay. A little way in front of the floating dock is the inevitable cruise ship terminal. A huge ship is moored here again today, a sight we will have to get used to more often in the coming days and weeks.

Uwe drives the jetty. We feel our way forwards and very slowly behind the large pontoon.
The depth gauge jumps back and forth between 5 and 3 metres, so we take the precaution of pulling the POLARIS’ centreboard up a little to avoid running aground. A little later, we are alongside the ULLA RINMAN, a former German ship registered in Cuxhaven, which is now in service as an expedition and travelling vessel in the high latitudes.

So now we have actually arrived in Longyearbyen. An almost surreal feeling after the long months of preparation.
Nevertheless, everyone is happy. The boat and crew have landed safely and so, after a short orientation tour around the jetty, we head straight to the world’s northernmost brewery. It’s just a few metres from the quay and offers delicious beer at admittedly reasonable prices. But that doesn’t matter to us today. We want to celebrate something. Just like the 50 other guests sitting here, who are obviously from the big cruise ship.

We then spend the evening in town. At the KROA to be precise. A rustic trapper-style restaurant with delicious food and drinks.
On the way back, we make a quick stop at a bar. All hell breaks loose here too and we are soon drawn back on board. The sun is still shining, by the way, even though it’s well past midnight. Tomorrow we want to arrive properly, do some shopping and plan our next route.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPERIENCE SUCH AN ADVENTURE ON THE POLARIS?

12. December 2024