Click on the links to see the trip as it unfolded.

Not long after we returned home from Svalbard last year, the idea of another trip north popped into our heads. It gradually became clear to us that there was so much more to explore and so much fantastic nature to experience among these exciting islands in the north.

We just had to get around and through the infamous Hinlopen Strait. The captain was very keen to explore the north side of Nordaustlandet and perhaps even as far north as Sjuøyane, maybe even all the way up to Rossøya, or Vesle Tavleøya as it is also called, Norway's northernmost point with solid ground underfoot.

It turned out that the ice conditions made it impossible to reach the north side of Nordaustlandet. After reading the book "Isbjørnlandet" (Polar Bear Land), written by Birger Amundsen, a researcher who encounters a lone motherless polar bear cub one summer while stationed in a cabin on Andrèetangen on Edgeøya, she has always dreamed of going there.

We motored north from our home port in Djupvågen near Sørreisa. There was little to suggest a smooth crossing, with sunshine and almost no wind. Last year, the skipper was badly affected by seasickness during the crossing, and we were anxious to see whether this would happen again this year. Now our confidence was much higher, as last year's trip went very well, so we hoped for the best.

With green meadows and snow-capped mountains on Senja, we headed north across Gisundet towards Malangen and Yttersia.

We headed towards Yttersia, past Sommarøya, and turned out to sea north of Hekkingen lighthouse on the north side of Senja. The sea was flat and there was almost no wind. The sails were set, but they hung there flapping more like laundry than sails. The weather forecast had predicted a fresh north-easterly breeze, but we didn't see much of that until a couple of hours later, when the wind suddenly picked up to 20-25 knots and we raced ahead. We were busy reefing the mainsail and eventually had to reduce the genoa quite a bit as well. Once we had the trim sorted out, the boat ploughed through the waves like a dream. Our speed was steady at 8-9 knots.

The nights at sea are cold, even. With winds of over 20 knots, it gets extra cold, so we need to wear two sets of wool underwear, our thickest winter jumpers, hats and mittens.

Since we spent four days on Bjørnøya last year, we had no plans to stop there this year, unless the wind took us right past it.

Now we had perfect wind direction, with a direct course towards Svalbard. The fresh wind caused the waves to build up, and we got a lot of sea water over the deck, but the boat was well trimmed and the wind vane steered. We got into our watch routines and had to go below deck to find our double sets of long johns and woollen jumpers, as the temperature out at sea was no more than 10 degrees.

For a long time, it looked as if the sea would stay calm, but then the skipper had to take a look over the rail, and shortly afterwards the captain also had to check something down in the sea... It was a rather abrupt start for inexperienced stomachs.

We passed 60 Nm west of Bjørnøya, the wind gradually subsided, and the sea calmed down. My stomach also settled down, so the last part of the trip was smooth sailing. Just the way the lady likes it best, 15 knots of wind abeam, tacking to starboard.

The total distance sailed from Djupvågen to Gåshamna in Hornsund was 491 nautical miles. From Hekkingen, we completed the trip in 63 hours. That gives an average speed of 7.7 knots.

Low cloud cover meant that none of the familiar mountain formations, with Hornsundtind at 1,430 metres above sea level as the highest, were visible as we approached, so we had to get close to land before we could see anything.

Gåshamna, Hornsund

The first thing we noticed when we arrived in Hornsund was that there was much more snow now than at the same time last year. In Longyearbyen, we met some locals who told us that last winter had been cold and snowy, and that spring was almost four weeks later than last year.

The bitterly cold wind meant that we just stayed indoors and lazed around for the first 24 hours. We were tired and hungry after the crossing. Your appetite isn't great when the sea is rough, so we kept the stove warm, dozed and enjoyed reading between meals. Occasionally, one of us would go outside to check the conditions, but the bitterly cold wind meant we quickly retreated back inside.

Another Norwegian boat, "Ida", anchored close to us a little later in the day. "Ida" is an Ovni, a French-made aluminium boat. We had a nice chat on the VHF. There were three guys on their way to Longyearbyen.

     "Ida" at anchor in Gåshamna, Hornsund

The wind was blowing from the east, which can make the fjord in Hornsund an unpleasant place to be. The seas become rough, and there can be a lot of ice coming from the glaciers inside Brepollen. It was also cold, with only 2.2 degrees on the thermometer, so we decided to move north to Bellsund and hope for more shelter there.

As we crossed the fjord and reached the shelter behind the mountains north of Hornsund, the wind died down and we had to wake up the diesel beast for the trip up to Fleur de Lys Hamna in Bellsund. This is one of the finest and best harbours south of Isfjorden. It is true that it is open to winds from the east, but unlike Hornsund, it was practically windless.

Fleur de Lys ended up with the district governor's cabin and the old prison cabin (on the right).

Here we were safe, and we wasted no time in airing the tyres and getting ashore. Once again, the Suzuki impressed us. After sitting out of the water for almost a year in the bow compartment, it started on the second try.

Later in the day, there was some tinkering and swearing over the forward-looking sonar, which suddenly stopped working. We are completely dependent on it when navigating in poorly charted areas, such as on the east side.

The next day, we set course out into the fjord, but the fog was thick at the mouth, so we decided to check out a place a little further out in the fjord, just off the northern entrance to Van Mijenfjorden, called Vårsolbukta. We arrived here at the same time as the Kvitebjørn, owned by Berthold Hinrichs, who is based in Bodø.

Vårsolbukta is an incredibly beautiful place. The bay itself is large, albeit somewhat shallow towards the shore, and completely open to winds and waves from the south and south-west. This can quickly cause quite a swell from the seas outside, as we experienced.

Below Ingeborgfjellet, the area is incredibly lush and green. A veritable feast for the reindeer that live here.

To the west of Vårsolbukta, we find a cabin, Camp Bell, which was built by the Northern Exploration Company in 1908, allegedly to search for zinc blende and coal. The Briton Ernest Mansfield spent his first winter here. The British facility was taken over by Norwegian trappers during the interwar period and used as the main station for Norwegian trapping on the north coast of Bellsundet.

A little further east in the bay, we find Camp Millar with Vårsolhytta, which was built by the Northern Exploration Company in 1910, allegedly to search for gold. There are two houses here, which are maintained by the Longyearbyen Hunting and Fishing Association. There are remains of a railway and mining facilities a few hundred metres further north. Camp Millar is a protected site.

Together with Camp Bell, the facility was part of the Lågneset trapping area, and the area was used for Norwegian fur trapping in the period before the Second World War.

A little north of the cabins are the remains of a railway and the entrance to the mine.

Vårsolbukta

After a night in Vårsolbukta, where south-westerly winds caused increasingly rough seas inside the bay, it became difficult to understand how it was possible to sleep in a cradle. So, early in the morning, we weighed anchor and set course north towards Isfjorden.

Outside the fjord mouth, we encountered increasingly lower cloud cover, and by the time we reached Kapp Linne and Isfjord Radio, the fog was thick. However, with radar and a chart plotter, it was easy to find the entrance to Trygghamna, and once we were well inside Alkepynten, we caught a glimpse of land.

In addition to being a safe harbour, Trygghamna has another advantage, which we discovered last year. There is mobile coverage here :-) The Russian mobile network in Barentsburg reaches this far, and it is possible to download weather reports and emails with a Telenor dongle, albeit a little slowly.

The western side of Trygghamna with Lagmannstoppen

Once again, Tryghamna lived up to its name, and the sea was completely calm. After a good night's sleep, we woke up to sunshine and beautiful weather.

We lingered over a leisurely breakfast before setting course for Isfjorden. Our goal is to reach Svenskehuset, located just east of Kapp Thordsen, at the entrance to Billefjorden, and it makes sense to stop by Longyearbyen to buy fresh vegetables, even though the skipper has a considerable stock of dried vegetables on board that she prepared during the spring.

More photos in the gallery: