Into the Arctic Ocean and onwards to Bjornoya
Rosinis heads to Svalbard
Bob Hendicott
Sat 14 Jul 2018 10:07
Our passage through the leads between the islands north of Tromso was
initially in almost no wind, but it gradually filled in and we had some
excellent beating in spectacular mountain scenery, arriving in Torsvag at 2200
on Tuesday and having had a good shake out for the new crew. After
exploring ashore in this remote outpost looking north into the Barents Sea, it
was well after midnight before we got to bed. Our final departure from
Norway the next morning was in bright sunshine and under clear blue skies.
However, it was calm as we motored due north across a glassy sea interrupted
only by a mild swell rolling in from the north west. And so it continued
for the whole day, the only excitement being a couple of whale sightings
(grampus, pilot whales or small minkes: we weren’t sure). By 1900 we had
lost land astern and could have been anywhere, but had a sharp reminder of
exactly where we’re heading as a bank of low cloud rolled in from the west,
removing any chance of midnight sun, and causing the temperature to plummet.
This morning, almost exactly 24 hours after setting off, the wind suddenly
picked up and since then we’ve had some great sailing at good speed and in just
the right direction. But it has stayed cold, with some fog this afternoon,
and we were ready for a superb meal of baked cod cooked by Meryon this evening,
the cod given to us by fishermen in Torsvag. We’ve seen the occasional
ship heading to Archangel and had a chat on the VHF with a fishing boat we
passed very close to, but otherwise we’re completely on our own. As I
write this in the middle of the night we’re only 55nm south of Bjornoya, making
really good time, and we hope to be at anchor there around breakfast time.
Picking up the thread again, we’ve now been at Bjornoya for 24 hours, at
anchor in Kvalrossbukta at the south of the island where there are the remains
of an 18th century whaling station. It’s bleak, windy and cold. We
first saw land at a range of about 2 nm as cliffs and huge rock stacks emerged
from the fog that had accompanied us for much of the ‘night’. Yesterday
afternoon we planned to go ashore which is the point at which we were reminded
of the date (Fri 13th). Bad luck comes in threes and we’ve had our three
(I hope). First we found a puncture in the dinghy, successfully
repaired. Then we discovered that the outboard motor was seized, which
presented a bit more of a problem. Finally, we found that the heads
wouldn’t pump water in, which took a couple of hours to fix and, for obvious
personal comfort reasons took priority over continued work on the
outboard. So work on the outboard engine commenced again this morning and
we think we’re close to fixing it, having stripped it down to crank case level –
in the cockpit at 74N – all a bit bizarre really, but a sharp reminder that
there’s no help within hundreds of miles.
A brief message from Giles: Iso and Hector, we saw an Atlantic White Sided
Dolphin swimming very close to us and looking at us to see who we
were. Lots of birds too and they make a big noise as we mend the
outboard on Bear Island. I hope you are being good for mummy. Daddy
x
We’re sending this over the satellite phone, so just one photo to give a
flavour of Bjornoya. More to follow when we next have broadband. We
leave shortly heading another 200nm north to
Svalbard. |