PLA16-19, trip log, Spitsbergen - Northeast Greenland

Today’s writer: Johanne From the plane we got a first glimpse of Spitsbergen’s impressive mountain peaks though the clouds. At first glans, this seemed like a wild and inhabitable place, but as we were about to learn it is home to a lot of life. For many of us, Longyearbyen was our first stop, visiting the museum and the church or maybe shopping some extra warm clothes before leaving civilisation. We already needed our water proofs today and got a taste of the sea as we were shuttled in zodiacs to M/V Plancius, the ship that would be our home for the next 13 days. We got allocated our cabins where our luggage had already arrived. We were greeted by our expedition leader, Philipp, and hotel manager, Siggi, and showed to our cabins with our luggage already waiting for us. Gathering in the observation lounge we were briefed about safety on board. The briefing was held by the Chief Officer who was talking about ship safety and how to prepare for the worst. A general alarm-drill (seven short blasts followed by one long blast) was made, and we all took the SOLAS orange life jackets and mustered in the lounge guided by crew and staff. We went out on deck to have a look at the lifeboats as Plancius was navigating out of Adventfjorden. In the lounge Philipp invited us for another briefing, now about life on board and introducing the expedition team ready to explore the wilderness with us. Siggi introduced us to the interiors of the ship, hotel operations and dining room where we would be served delicious food. Captain Artur joined us in the end for a welcoming toast of sparkling wine or juice before we headed down to the dining room for our first delightful dinner prepared by Head Chef Heinz and his kitchen team. After dinner, the staff called us to get our rubber boots which we will use when disembarking from the Zodiacs during this voyage. We were now already out at sea and we could feel the swell and waves, a proper welcome to our adventure onboard Plancius.

Today’s writer: Tobias It was the first morning of our expedition and Philipp’s voice woke us up to start the day. We enjoyed our breakfast and prepared for the mandatory briefings that followed right after while sailing into Raudfjorden. Christian gave us information about the Association of Arctic Tour Operators (AECO), how to behave in Polar Bear country and how to get in and out of our zodiacs safely. With this wealth of new information, we had the tools at hand to enjoy a great expedition ahead of us! Not long thereafter, we could demonstrate our newly gained knowledge when we embarked the zodiacs for our first landing at Buchananhalvøya, a peninsula at the southern end of Raudfjorden. It was a bumpy, wet and windy ride to shore where the expedition team was waiting for us. We received information about the different hiking groups and got the chance to choose one. The energetic and middle groups were making their way up the slopes straight away for a view, while the leisurely group initially remained on the beach for more information on drift wood, reindeer, plastic, kelp and many other things. It was our first Arctic tundra experience of the trip... and many more will follow! Back on the ship, we were just in time for a delicious lunch prepared by the galley and hotel team. Cold weather makes hungry, so we enjoyed every bite of it! Hmmmm! Not long after lunch we got ready for our second activity of the day. As we were now very experienced with rough weather conditions, we had no problem with another bumpy ride ashore at Bruceneset south of Alicehamna on the eastern shoreline of Raudfjorden. After looking at the hut near the landing site and some more information on history by Christian, we split up in groups again and explored the area. Stone circles, whaler’s graves, nice views and many more things were to be found along the way, while strong wind gusts and chilling temperatures kept us fully awake. After all, it is the Arctic not the Tropics! Who would expect warm temperatures here anyways!? ;) Once again back on the ship, we took a warm shower, drank a cup of coffee or tea, or did all the above to get cozy and warm again and ready to listen to the expedition team at our daily recap. Philipp gave us the plans for the following days. Andreas explained the geology of the Old Red Sandstone that we saw ashore and Karin introduced us to Arctic flowers. Thereafter we enjoyed a delicious dinner in still calm conditions before Plancius sailed out into the open ocean and with that into big waves, luckily coming from behind us. This way, we only experienced a short while of rolling and pitching before the mighty ship calmed down and sailed with the waves towards Greenland. Looked like we would be able to have a good night sleep with all the new impressions of the day!

Today’s writer: Ben It was a rough night in between the bed sheets. The Greenland Sea showed itself far from its modest temper, making us all but steady sleepers. Surprisingly the breakfast table was visited by many and the atmosphere was great, because we were heading to the pack ice, while underway to Greenland! As we got used to the movement of the Plancius we all adapted to our new lives at sea. Since it was a full day at sea, we could enjoy some highly informational presentations from Andreas and Tobias about the geology of Svalbard. Normally a heavy topic that requires some sturdy grey matter, but these outdoor professionals were more than keen to explain the material in such a way that it could be understood (even in the morning). Interesting to know that this northern archipelago was once at the south pole! Some say time flies on a ship, that is no different on Plancius. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. After we had made the buffet disappear, it was time for something else: Karin would share her dogsledding adventures in the restaurant. Who knew it could be such a relaxing hobby, handling all those wild overly active animals? Around 4 p.m. Ben took over the restaurant with a story about the history of whaling on Svalbard back in the 1600. Apparently, the eager Europeans caught so many whales back then that we can still see the results of the extensive hunt today! After these interesting topics we had some time to enjoy the view of the waves again, which were still rocking the ship now and then. Luckily, we got more and more used to it, our sea legs were starting to form! And then, it was already time for the evening program: After a thorough briefing by our expedition leader of where we were heading to, Johanne explained to us what type of waves are making our ship rock as if they were to make us seasick on purpose. How are these waves created and where do they originate from? It is odd to know that the hull of the Plancius is the only thing that separates us from the Greenland Sea, that stretches up to 4 kilometres in depth at some places. Would it be so wavy down there as it is up here? Andreas showed us some images that shocked us a bit: Even though no human being has been there, our trash lies around at these depths as if it was a landfill. Images made with a remotely operated vehicle clearly depicted plastic wrapping, bottles and fishing gear partly submerged in the sediments. With these interesting topics fresh in mind we headed downstairs for some much-needed dinner. A day at sea does not mean that the expedition team leaves its guests wandering around the ship, the day was filled with informational lectures and recaps. Basically, exercise on a psychological level! After a tasty dinner in the restaurant the tension started to rise, the bridge and outer decks were starting to get crowded and all eyes searched the horizon. Philipp earlier informed that we might get a sight of the pack ice, as it was on our route towards Greenland. Luckily a bright sun was out and we could enjoy the sight of fulmars gently flying over the wave crests. And then it started: small bits and pieces of ice appeared, very few at first but steadily growing over time. Before we realized it, our captain had navigated the Plancius into the middle of a dense field of pancake ice. The sun, already low on the horizon, gave the whole scene a golden glow, what a spectacular sight! The noise of the ice crackling against the hull of the ship filled the air. Forming a serene, almost intimate silence that can only be experienced in the remotest of places. Cold and weary (we were still in the Arctic, it’s cold!) we headed back to the lounge to enjoy a drink, review our freshly made photos and look back at a great day at sea. Wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Today’s writer: Karin As we woke up in the morning there were much smaller waves than the day before, and the ship was not rolling as much anymore. The weather was really nice with sunshine, but still quite a lot of wind. We could all enjoy the view of a free horizon, in all directions nothing else than water. Johanne gave a lecture about sea ice, how it is formed and why it is so important. After the lecture a fin whale was sighted close to the ship, and most of us went out on deck to see it. While we were waiting for the whale to surface again, a second fin whale was sighted further away on the other side of the ship. It was a magnificent experience to see the world’s second largest animal so close by. After lunch we went into an area with fog, and visibility was limited. Christian gave a lecture about Northeast Greenland's history, with special emphasis on the Sirius patrol. And in the Dining room the movie Paolos Wedding was shown, an old movie shot in Greenland. At the recap Philipp told us about the plans for our days in Greenland, Miriam talked about Fulmars and Ben told us about Fin-whales and their lives. Andreas told about a great underwater volcano on the seafloor. After the dinner many of us gathered in the launch to talk about the day or just enjoy the view of free horizons.

Today’s writer: Karin In the morning, before breakfast, Philipp invited us to the lounge to share very sad news with us. During the night there had been an emergency situation which required us to change course towards Iceland to bring the patient into a hospital. After the breakfast we were invited to watch a National Geographic movie about the Arctic and enjoyed the slight view through the fog onto the East Greenland coast that was possible to see in the distance. Also, some icebergs were drifting by here and there and a beautiful fogbow was seen on the horizon. In the afternoon Ben gave a talk about his time at the research station in Ny Ålesund in Spitsbergen. He was stationed there for two months a few of years ago, working as a field assistant as part of a project on bioindicators and contamination concerning shellfish. He enjoyed his time there very much and told that there were 12 polar bears visiting Ny Ålesund and the surroundings in the time he was there. Later in the evening it was time for recap and Philipp talked about our plans for the next days and when we will reach Greenland. Andreas explained the fog and Karin introduced us to the biology of the kittiwake, and then it was time for dinner in the restaurant.

Today’s writer: Andreas Plancius was a bit outside the coast of Iceland when we finally received the releasing message: The rescue helicopter could fly towards Plancius and the weather conditions would permit an evacuation via helicopter winch. Shortly after six o’clock in the morning was the time we had all been waiting for. The sun had just risen and the helicopter reached our vessel. The winch went down on the outer deck and an air rescuer as well as a doctor rappelled down onto our vessel. The patient went up in the stretcher shortly after, followed by the air rescuer and the doctor and the helicopter flew away. A big relief settled in on the ship. Everything went well and the patient was on the way to the hospital. The captain changed the course and we went back again towards the north. Greenland awaited us. Finally! The wind slowly picked up as we made our way into the lounge for an update. Philipp informed us about the further plans for our remaining voyage. First, we would go to Scoresby Sund and afterwards, if the weather conditions would permit, we would go north into Kong Oskar Fjord and Antarctic Sound. What pleasant news. During the remaining morning we could continue watching the ocean as well as another Greenlandic movie. After lunch, there was a lecture about glaciers by Andreas and at the end of the talk the ship started rolling. The storm set in. Luckily Philipp informed us during Recap that the storm wouldn’t last long. At least not for us. We would already arrive in the shelter of Scoresby Sund around midnight. What pleasant news!

Today’s writer: Johanne Finally, we had arrived in Greenland, and we now found ourselves in Scoresbysund, the longest fjord on earth. From the porthole in our cabin we got a first glimpse of these massive icebergs that Greenland is so famous for. We gathered by the gangway, eager to set foot on land after so many days at sea. Despite clouds and rain, we enjoyed our first landing in Greenland on Danmark Ø (Denmark Island), strolling across the tundra covered in vegetation with beautiful autumn colours. Impressive geological features could also be seen by the landing site. The scoured landscape and boulders transported with the glacier ice showed evidence of a time where all of this was covered in ice. The long hikers gained some elevation to get a view of the landscape. With the icebergs in the distance we could see why Greenland is famous for its spectacular landscape. Back on the ship we could dry our clothes and fuel up on some delicious food before we once again got ready for another excursion outside. This time we needed to dress warmly as we were cruising icebergs with the zodiacs. A polar bear was already spotted on one of the icebergs and we quickly moved in the direction it was last seen. However, somehow it was now hiding or it had moved further away as we could not detect it anymore. So, we changed our focus towards the massive icebergs floating around us. This was really an eldorado for photography! Icebergs of different shapes and variations of blue and white colours were reflecting in the calm water. The crackling sound of melting ice surrounding us added to a special atmosphere of being in the Arctic. On the way back to the ship we cruised along some steep mountain cliffs with yellow vegetation and a very distinct snow-line. Suddenly it was announced on the radio that a polar bear was detected high up on the slope. Through our binoculars we could see a proud polar bear looking out over the fjord. The king of the Arctic, quite a special sight and end to a magnificent first day in Greenland.

Today’s writer: Tobias For many of us the morning started early as we were sailing into Fønfjord. The fog had lifted during the night and Plancius was sailing quietly through flat calm waters with massive icebergs and sugar-coated mountains scattered throughout the magnificent landscape. By the time Philipp made the wake-up call, many of us were already on deck enjoying the scenic views. After breakfast, we jumped in the zodiacs for another zodiac cruise. This time, we explored the majestic icebergs grounded near Røde Ø in a so-called iceberg graveyard. They had all kind of shapes. Some were blocky, other rounded, and some even had arches and tunnels. Dense fog rolled in at the beginning of the cruise, but quickly lifted again causing an even more spectacular mood. We cruised the icebergs for about two hours before circumnavigating Røde Ø itself – a red island made of sandstones and conglomerates about 400 million years old. The yellow, green and red tundra vegetation was shining very bright on those rocks making it nicely colourful with a big contrast to the white icebergs. As we came around the southern side of the island, we had the chance to see a basaltic dyke that had already been partly eroded out of the island and was hence sticking out of the water like a remnant wall of a far gone building. This gave us the chance to explore this basaltic feature from all sides. To round up the cruise, we landed all at once on the western coastline of the island to enjoy the iceberg graveyard from a higher vantage point overlooking the entire area. What a view! Back on the ship, we were quite happy to warm up and enjoy another fantastic meal prepared for us by the ship’s crew. In the meantime, we started sailing north through Rødefjord towards our afternoon destination Rypefjord, where we arrived at about 16:30 after a fantastic ship’s cruise with more icebergs and scenery. It was time to launch the zodiacs once again to go ashore at Rypenæs at the southwestern end of Rypefjord. We hoped to see some Musk Ox, which we had already spotted from the ship. Unfortunately, only the long hikers managed to see some distant animals. Either way, the scenery was stunning as we hiked through thick orange-red-brown-yellow tundra and snow-covered mountains in the background. Even the sun managed to fight its way through the clouds creating a fantastic light spectacle at the glacier in the back of the bay. In the meantime, our company’s other ship, the sailing vessel Rembrandt van Rijn came next to Plancius to take on provisions that we had brought for them as they spend several months in Greenland at once and hence have only limited access to supplies. Eventually, we finished another eventful day with a delicious BBQ on the back deck in calm conditions and a nice view, while Plancius slowly started moving along.

Today’s wakeup-call at 06:30 came a bit sooner than expected, especially after the drinks we had during last night’s barbeque. Philipp’s velvet voice announced our arrival in the Ø Fjord. The first sunlight threw a spectacle that one can only see when standing on deck very early in the morning. Luckily it was wind still and we could all enjoy the beautiful steep mountains on both sides of the fjord getting lit by almost golden rays of sunlight under a bright blue sky. Little did we know that this beautiful weather would stay with us all day. As Plancius continued slowly through the iceberg filled fjord, we were invited to join the breakfast buffet. On the bright side: the restaurant has wide windows from which the view could still be spectated. After breakfast it was already time to stick our feet in our boots, the first landing of the day was a fact! We landed in Jyttes Havn. A beautiful area covered with rich vegetation, making it even more interesting for the plant loving people on board. The fast hikers went on a trip over the flanking outcrops, reaching a stunning viewpoint at last. Then it was already time for lunch, time flies! As the remnants of the exquisite lunch made way through our digestive systems, we found ourselves in the shuttle zodiacs again to be dropped off at Syd Kapp. A rocky outcrop with two large huts. On the beach we found an old-fashioned Inuit sled, piles of burned rubbish and rusty tools scattered around the barren landscape. The buildings were erected in 1952 for hunting purposes and are still in operation today. Evidence of hunting related activities could be found as well; smelly lumps of beluga blubber, carcasses and bones of a variety of animals lied around the area. Despite the horrific finds it was impossible to not see the beauty of the landsite as plants grew abundant and the horizon was filled with enormous icebergs bordered by blue skies. The fast hikers went all the way to the top of the nearest mountain, while the medium hikers had a further stroll inland. The fun group (leisurely group) took the time to explore the local surroundings, making one think of how the life of an Inuit hunter must have been. Since we were not really Inuit hunters, we could not enter the hut to warm ourselves. Luckily, we could soon return to the Plancius to warm our cold bodies. Before the call for dinner was given, Philipp presented the plans for tomorrow, exciting landings were ahead! Tobias and Andreas explained to us the ins and outs of basalt, the type of rock we had seen in such extraordinary ways for the last few days. Karin gave us a further insight into the type of plants we had encountered today. Exciting topics as we headed out to sea, slowly sailing past huge icebergs covered in a golden evening sun.

Today’s writer: Karin In the morning we landed in Hurry inlet, already on the beach we could admire the beautiful stones in different colours, it was like being in a candy shop for geologists. We split up in our three groups to hike and explore the area. The land was moss tundra crossed by many rocky areas. There was a lot of mountain sorrel growing on the tundra and between the rocks. We hiked to a place where there were remains of an old Thule community. There were two very visible house remains where you could see the entrance area and the cold trap. Next to the house remains there were several round holes in the ground that probably were used for storing food close to the cold permafrost. As we returned to the beach there was time for one of the real highlights of the trip, the polar plunge! Quite many stayed on the safe side and went straight back to the ship. But others were brave and used the opportunity to swim in the Greenlandic water. A very refreshing experience. After the swim we returned to the ship and had a delicious lunch and preparing for our next landing. In the afternoon we visited the village Ittoqqortoormiit where the tourist office and a small souvenir shop were open for us. Outside, it was also possible to taste muskox meat. At three o’clock one of the mushers in the village fed his sled dogs as a show for us. Some of us was lucky and managed to get a stamp in our passports from the police officer who came down to the jetty area in his police car. The museum was also open and we could go inside to learn more about this fascinating little village and the life there. As we came back to the zodiacs, we noticed that Ittoqqortoormiit had got a new playground. The floating zodiacs adventure playground. It was supervised by Andreas and Christian, offering activities jumping in and out of zodiacs, trying on lifejackets and hiding in the bow-box. We waved our new friends goodbye and returned to the ship. In the recap Philipp told us about the plans for the next days, Andreas talked about James bond and Icebergs and Karin told about a few of all the plants we have seen so far on Greenland. This day, full of experiences, ended with a beautiful sunset at sea. Heading north, ready for new adventures.

Today’s writer: Miriam We had arrived to the National Park and were cruising into the Kong Oskar Fjord. After breakfast we went onshore at Segelsällskapet (swedish for „the Sailing club“). This beautiful spot on earth is a paradise for every geologist, and everyone who was not interested in rocks so far is changing their opinion at this place. These rock formations, shining in diverse colours and stripes, developed around 600-720 million years ago when Greenland was still around the subtropical latitude. This fantastic scenery developed by rising and lowering of the sea level and different sedimentation of minerals and biological material present at that time. After a good while walking over the coloured rock formations, we separated into the usual hiking groups. The „mountain goats“ and the medium hiking group tried to get some height to view the landscape from above, while the „fun-group“ vied the rocks more in detail and made close-ups. Beside beautiful geology, there was also diverse autumn vegetation between the rocks for the hobby botanist and two muskoxen were spotted in the distance. After lunch we landed at Maria Ø. This is an island that got its name by Eli Knudsen, a Danish trapper who used to live and hunt here before the second world war. He named the island after his daughter. Beautiful autumn vegetation covered the ground of Maria Ø and a muskox were grazing on the hillside in the far distance. After the landing we were cruising into the Antarctic Sound and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings of the colourful mountains with a glass of hot white wine. What a successful day!

Today’s writer: Andreas An early morning. Philipp woke us up at six o’clock. A short snack at the bar and off we went outside. The Plancius had gone back into the middle part of Kong Oscars Fjord overnight, where the island Trail Ø is located on the northern side of the fjord. The small bay called Holm Bugt, which is located at the southwestern part of the island, formed our morning and at the same time also our last landing site. The sun slowly rose while the Plancius team prepared for our landing, first a small pink mountain tip, then another one and another until the whole southern side of the fjord was gloaming in pink light. What a moving sight. A wonderful beach and a rolling tundra landscape awaited us ashore. We extensively explored the landing site and its surroundings in our three hiking groups. The old Norwegian trapper cabin, the gravel runway and the abundant vegetation. The fast hikers made a quick crossing over the vegetation up to a small ridge. The efforts were rewarded by a magnificent view over wide river valleys in the morning light. We could have spent a lot more time here. But, unfortunately, our time in Greenland came to an end. It was time to depart. Time to return to civilization. Back on the ship, Plancius set sail towards south while we enjoyed our breakfast. We slowly made our way out of Kong Oscars Fjord. Until late in the afternoon we could admire icebergs, framed by a spectacular landscape. Definitely no one got bored. A special highlight of the afternoon was the lecture by our fellow traveler Julian Paren, who extensively explored the fjords of Northeastern Greenland during geological fieldwork fifty years before. He told us all about his problems with ice clogged fjords, which made Zodiac travel almost impossible, wild parties with the Sirius patrol and nightly visits of polar bears and musk ox, at that time during an entertaining presentation. Adventurous stories from a wilder time of Greenland. Ben told us about Louise Arne Boyd during the evening Recap. She was a rich American woman, who organized several expeditions to this corner of the world in the early 20th century. The story was about skeptical captains and the exact amount of wine bottles and cigarettes needed for such an expedition. Times have definitely changed. Or maybe they haven’t?

Today’s writer: Johanne Yet again, we were out in open ocean. Water and waves as far as the eye could see. And what else could fit better than a day of ocean talks. Miriam started off in the morning with her talk on plankton, microscopical organisms that actually can be found out in the open water passively floating with ocean currents. Johanne later followed up with her talk about ocean circulation and currents and we learnt that the part of the ocean we were crossing this very moment is the place of oceanic processes important for the whole global circulation. In the evening we were invited into the Lounge one last time for Captain’s cocktail. Philipp summarized our voyage from Longyearbyen in Svalbard across the Greenland Sea and all our adventures in the sheltered fjords of Northeast Greenland. We were reminded of all the wonderful moments we’d had and impressions we will keep with us back home and how lucky we are who can experience this fragile place of beauty.

Today’s writer: Johanne We now found ourselves in the port of Akureyri in Iceland. The ship movement from yesterday’s rough sea was a faint memory when we were woken up by Philipp’s voice one last time. We got our luggage ready and placed it outside our cabins before enjoying one last breakfast in the restaurant. At 9 am the busses were ready on the pier to take us to the airport for our home journey or further travels. After such a long time onboard Plancius, it felt strange to leave, but our memories of the trip will stay with us. Northern most position: 79° 55.7’N 011° 30.4‘E Total distance sailed on our voyage: Nautical miles: 2591 nm | Kilometres: 4799 km On behalf of everyone on board we thank you for travelling with us and wish you a safe journey home.