THE NORTH SIDE OF SPITSBERGEN

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Mushamna is a lagoon formed by a long sandbank, with an opening no more than about 15 metres wide. The seabed here is stable. Although it can be very windy, the lagoon means that there are no waves inside, making it safer and, not least, much more comfortable. The trip from Magdalenefjorden is long, but we had good weather for most of the trip, so it took us about 10 hours.

Mushamna trapping station at Mattilasodden

Last year at this time, there was no snow along the water, as there is now.

We had heard a lot about the fantastic Svalbard (arctic) char, and last year we tried in vain to catch this delicacy. This year, we hoped we had the right equipment with us, and not long after we were safely anchored, we just had to try our luck at fishing. Tommy in Longyearbyen had given us some good tips, and now it was time to test them.

Oh joy... What a catch. Two solid char and a fat sea trout. Now it was time for a party and a feast on board. Fantastic food. We tried it boiled, fried, baked, as sashimi and the "day after" cold on bread. Every day, three whole days in a row... :-)

Now, it's not like that on board. Bread is baked regularly, and the skipper has got the hang of the Taylor'n (the diesel stove from Taylors), so in addition to bread, there is pizza and lots of other goodies.

In the picture on the left, the ship's cook poses with a specially made apron. This is actually important safety equipment and is always used when cooking or frying while at sea. The fabric is similar to a kind of waxed canvas that is waterproof and therefore protects against burns if you are unlucky enough to spill boiling water or fried food when the boat is rocking on the sea.

When sailing in these waters, there is no need for a refrigerator. With a sea temperature of 2-3 degrees, the temperature below deck is cool enough to store most of the food there. We have a freezer on board, but we don't use it.

The skipper has spent the winter experimenting with drying different foods to make them easier to store on board over time, and this has been very successful.

The "Sedona" dehydrator. Most of the raw ingredients are cut into smaller pieces or sliced, meat is pre-cooked, and then laid out on thin trays with ventilation at the bottom. The drying process is a matter of experience, with different times and temperatures for different raw ingredients. There was a bit of trial and error in the beginning, before production got up to speed. Vacuuming also contributes to extended shelf life.

Vegetables that are well suited for drying include peppers, broccoli, squash, fennel, chillies, spring onions, mushrooms, apples and banana slices. Otherwise, there are various types of meat.

After drying at home, everything is vacuum-packed in suitable dinner portions. When ready to use, simply soak in water, preferably overnight, and it is ready to use. It tastes excellent and has lost virtually none of its nutritional value.

Although the entrance to the lagoon is barely 15 metres wide, it is approximately 10 metres deep, so the cruise ship Antigua has no trouble entering. Even though they are here for the same reason, it is undeniably much more pleasant to have a ship like this in the neighbourhood than the more modern cruise ships.

The next day, the sun shone from a cloudless sky. The Zodiacs from Antigua whizzed back and forth, ferrying guests ashore. They were clearly going to take a closer look at the trapping station at Mattilasodden. We thought it appropriate to set course inland towards Jotunkjeldene.

Surrounded by glaciers and jagged mountain peaks to the west, the massive red sandstone mountain to the east and Sverrefjellet to the south, lie the hot springs – Jotunkjeldene, in two senses a geological "hot spot" on Svalbard.

The water in the springs is groundwater that has been heated so that the temperature at the surface is 20°C or warmer all year round. This is related to previous volcanic activity along a fault in the bedrock.

Gyda anchored just below Jotunkjeldene. In the background, the characteristic red sandstone mountain with Kronprinshøgda at just over 900 metres above sea level. The red-coloured mountain is the most characteristic feature of the landscape in this area. There are large areas with mighty deposits from the Devonian period (360–415 million years ago). Much of this is sandstone that has acquired its reddish "desert colour" from the oxidation of iron filments around the sand grains. This happened when Svalbard was located near the equator.

After the foot bath was done, we set course for Lernerøyane in Liefdefjorden. It is incredibly beautiful here, with a small archipelago in front of the Monacobreen glacier. We hoped to find a good anchorage and just enjoy the surroundings. We rounded Rooseneset and Roosfjella, but as we crept into the narrow passages between the islets and skerries, the weather changed and the wind picked up. By the time we found a good place to anchor, the wind was so strong that we decided to pull out and head for the safety of Hornbækpollen. It is a safe harbour no matter which way the wind is blowing.

The next day, we drive inland towards the Monacobreen glacier. Not many years ago, the Monacobreen and Seligebreen glaciers formed a 5 km wide common glacier front down to the sea, and it was a magnificent sight. Now so much of the ice has melted that the glacier front has been split in two by the mountain ridges coming down from Høghotten and Stortingspresidenten, and the spectacular glacier front is disappearing. The map section from Topokart and the radar image on the plotter clearly show this.

Photo: L´Embellie

There is a crackling sound from the ice in the water, and occasionally there are deep rumblings from the glacier. The rumblings come from the ice moving and cracking. Ice is gathering around us, but confident that the boat can withstand it, we just drift along. L'Embellie is also approaching. They stay out of the ice and are probably wondering what we are doing when we haul a large chunk of ice onto the deck. We capture 1000-year-old glacier ice for tonight's whiskey. The fact that the weather suddenly changes with mild winds that cause our ice to melt away before evening comes, and that the whiskey toast therefore did not happen, is another toast.

It is fascinating to just lie there drifting in the ice. This type of ice cannot be compared to drift ice, which can be really dangerous if it starts to move while you are stuck in it. The ice can be both large and dense, causing problems for large boats too, but today the wind is blowing away from the glacier and we are drifting slowly out into the fjord where the ice gradually spreads out, giving us plenty of room to manoeuvre.

Photo: L´Embellie

After a long day by the glaciers, we set course back to Mushamna. The weather was getting worse and worse, and the wind was picking up.

Inside the lagoon at Mushamna, it was quiet, and we quickly decided that our stock of fresh fish needed to be replenished before continuing our journey the next day. Once again, the fishing was good and we caught more than we could store, so we shared with "Kvitebjørn", "Nussie" and "L'Embellie", which were also moored here. The skipper of L'Embellie brought out a bottle of Chablis as a thank you.

The next day, we were to continue eastwards, past Wijdefjorden, around Verlegehugen to Sorgfjorden. The weather had changed, and strong winds and waves were coming in from the north.

Bertholdt, the skipper of the Kvitebjørn, came by and we had a chat. He has been sailing up here for years and warned against heading east in such weather. When the north wind meets the south current on the way out of Wijdefjorden, it creates difficult seas with high and steep waves. You have to stay far out if you want to avoid this, and with the wind that was now building up, it would be a rough trip. It´s vise to listen to people who have experience, so we postponed our departure in anticipation of better weather. The map below shows how long Wijdefjorden is, and it is easy to understand that there is a lot of water to get out when the tide changes.

The next day, the wind had calmed down and we set off. At first we had a good tailwind from the north, but eventually the wind died down completely and the diesel engine had to do the job. The fog settled and we passed 80 degrees north on a grey day. Nothing to see, just grey.

The captain is a member of the OCC, Ocean Cruising Club, so it was time to mark the occasion when "The Flying Fish" passed 80 degrees north. A photo was taken and a report sent to the club.

Good thing we have a plotter and a good radar...eh...that is...what just happened...?? Suddenly, the plotter screen went black. That's when it (literally) went dark outside to... Well, it had to happen sooner or later, but not here. We have backup maps on two iPads, but none of them cover as far north as we are now. Down into the drawer with the strange device to find the "Montana" handheld Garmin GPS. At least that covers the area we´re in, but with an iPhone-sized screen, it was a sudden transition.

After some kind of control was re-established and troubleshooting could begin, it turned out that the skipper's bulky thermal suit was the cause. It had got caught in the switch for the navigation system on the main circut board and turned off the power to the plotter. Once the power was back on, te plotter was on again, but it was a wake-up call, even though we have duplicates of most things. We only have one radar, and it has to send the signals via the plotter for us to get them up on the PC in the navigation room. It's a good system in many ways, but not good enough when the plotter fails, because then we also lose the radar.

Shortly after the plotter and radar are working again, we pass Verlegenhuken and can turn south towards Sorgfjorden. No matter how far ahead we look, there is not a single iceberg in sight, even though all the information we have indicates that there is suppose to some heavy ice in the north part of Hinlopen. This bodes well for the next day when we will cross over to Nordaustlandet.

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