As we had a 0700 arrival, it meant a pilot boarding time of 0300 hrs. and the start of the approach one hour before. With the aid of the AIS system on the radar, we could see the pilot sitting at his dock tucked away between the rocks and that made life a lot easier. In the past all we could do was look with our binoculars to see if we could find the pilot boat and then to slow down on time to match it’s speed and make a lee for safe boarding. Now we can see when the pilot leaves the dock, how fast it is going and how much time it will take before it meets the ship. Thus slowing down, changing course for a lee side and opening the correct access door can all be timed a lot better than before. The pilot boat does the same and some pilot boat skippers take pride in delivering their charges right at the agreed time. Here it was no different, the pilot stepped on board with 30 seconds to spare. Five minutes later we were back to full speed, as the first 30 miles up the Fjord it is wide open and there is no speed restriction to avoid wake damage. Also the ferries that transverse between Horten and Moss about 1 hour in, do not operate yet, so the ship can race up the fjord unhindered. Continue reading

The weather turned out very changeable and within a few hours it went from nearly wind still with calm seas to wind force 8 and torrential rain. Although that is normally very unwanted; in this case I saw a positive side to it. This was the weather that was forecast for tomorrow in Kristiansand. If I had it now, 10 hours before arrival then I could not get it tomorrow morning. In the Dutch language we have a saying, after rain there will be sunshine and based on that logic it would mean that we would have nice weather in Kristiansand. So let it rain and let it wobble and then let it be nice while are in port. Well the theory worked out quite nicely. On arrival at the pilot station the wind was down to force four and the cloud cover was breaking up. By the time we were at the dock, the wind was nearly gone and rays of sunshine were coming through. It turned into a very nice day. Continue reading

So we had our weather forecast for a sunny day. We started off overcast with a little sprinkle but indeed later on the sun came through and we had a very beautiful sail away. The whole weather on the coast here is very changeable due to the fact that it comes across from the North Atlantic Ocean and then moves over Norway by going into the Fjords. With the result that a weather front gets split up and one fjord might be bathing in sunshine, while the other might have rain. Just a slight wind change and that weather pattern might move over a mountain ridge between two fjords and the whole situation changes again. On top of that, when coming inland, the ice caps have a great influence on the weather was well. The total result is that is best to look at the weather forecast at least twice a day, to see if there are any changes and normally there are. While I am writing this blog I am downloading the weather forecast for Kristiansand for tomorrow and it is already different than this morning and it is not an improvement. Continue reading

At 0600 we embarked the pilot for Bergen as we were scheduled for a 0900 arrival. We did not need to be that early as we will be staying overnight here and that gives two days to explore beautiful Bergen and the surrounding areas. So we have some full day tours running here that will return to the ship at a time that we would normally be pulling out. Not today; we will have a quiet overnight, great for the guests and interesting for the crew. Although the local prices will probably keep the crew from having too good a time ashore. Bergen itself is lying in the shelter of two strips of coast line, facing a large open bay called the Byfjorden. Therefore it takes a while from both pilot stations to get to this port. Whether you come from the North (Fedje Pilots) or from the South (Marsteiner Pilots) you have to sail through an approach fjord which will lead to Bergen port. This port is sheltered from the elements, especially in the winter, and that made it possible that the city rose to become the 2nd city of Norway in size. If you talk to some inhabitants of Bergen, then they will claim that Bergen is the foremost city in the country, far ahead of Oslo. It is a rivalry not uncommon to other countries as well. In my own country there is Rotterdam and Amsterdam and never “the twain shall meet”. Being educated at the Maritime academy of Amsterdam and sailing for a company originating from Rotterdam, I know everything about that. Continue reading

Today we had another restful day at sea with still the same smooth seas. At least until late in the morning when the wind and swell started to pick up a little bit. Normally there is a southerly flow blowing along the coast of Norway and on most cruises that I made here we have had this flow. So also this time. Thus the ship moved a little bit on occasion but you had to look at the curtains to be able to notice it. For the rest the weather is holding perfectly and that means that this is just a perfect cruise as far as that is concerned. The rest is always a matter of personal taste but I think even the greatest pessimist has to agree that this cruise has been rather spectacular with its ports and accompanying weather. We just have to keep our fingers crossed for the three coming ports, Oslo, Kristiansand and Bergen (in reverse order) as far as the weather goes. Although these three ports are less weather dependent than those that lay behind us, as there are things to do that do not require you to be in the open that much; still most of our tours are focused on the Norwegian scenery and that looks a lot better in dry weather than in a downpour. Continue reading

After the excitement of the Top of the World visit we had today the first of our two sea days. Two days are needed as we have to cover about 1160 miles, straight down, to reach Bergen in the middle of Norway. As the sea is very smooth we are having a very nice ride following a course of 185o which will not change for those two days. With every mile that we make we are coming closer and closer to the real world, of email, twitter and facebook. I expect that we will be able to pick the signal again in the early evening of today. I am not very much into satellite signals but it all seems to depend on the angle above the horizon and the strength of the signal beamed at any given time. That means that we might not pick it up at the same latitude where we lost it last year while Northbound. Still today we should be back in “civilization” as they call it and it will mean that I can upload my blogs tomorrow morning. Continue reading

From the “Top of the World” we sailed slowly south towards our next highlight of the cruise Ny-Alesund also on the island of Spitsbergen. It is located on the banks of the Kongsfjorden about a 100 miles North of Longyearbeyen as the crow flies. The “Kongs” or Kings fjord was created by a glacier system called the Kongsbreen which is very big. So large in fact that it looks like an ice plateau that flows around mountain peaks and gives the impression that there are several separate glaciers. This glacier reaches the waterline and thus there is ice calving off and floating to open waters. Normally not much of a hindrance as the fjord is very wide but in foggy circumstances you can still bump into little bergs. As we have been having fog banks in the early mornings, there would be a good chance that this would happen today as well and that complicates dealing with little bergy-bits of ice. Continue reading

Today was the absolute highlight of the cruise. This cruise is called the “Top of the World” cruise and thus the idea is to go to the top of the world. At least as close as possible. By the time you come to the drift ice it is time to stop as we are not an ice breaker. In the last 14 days I had kept a close eye on the ice border North of Svalbard. In May they had a warm month in this area and that caused the ice rim to retreat. The worry was how far as I had only so many hours in the schedule to sail North and go looking for the ice without endangering the next port of call Ny-Alesund, which I knew was also going to be a highlight. You do not visit the middle of nowhere everyday, thus we had to go. The ice charts kept however indicating that the ice hovered between 150 and a 100 miles North of Spitsbergen, with the Fast ice about 200 miles away. That meant that I would be able to find it within the schedule as with full speed I would be able to cover 300 miles extra, as long as I would make enough time available to do so. Meaning we had to go to Magdalena Bay very early in the morning. Continue reading

When I reached the bridge at 0500 in the morning, I was met with very hazy weather which turned within 15 minutes into a dense wall of white fluff. For the approach to the port of Longyearbyen it does not crate much of a problem but in the scope of things to come, tomorrow’s sightseeing, I was not very happy with what I saw. However after an hour of frequent whistle blowing, which advised all the guests in the balcony cabins that the bridge was wide awake and working the fog dispersed and the Isfjorden opened up in front of us. This is a very wide and deep fjord and deserted in the early morning. Later in the day it will be a different story as it can be full of sailing boats, canoes, fast crafts and scenic contraptions that are moved around. But even scientists have to sleep on occasion and therefore things tend to be reasonably quiet at 5 am in the morning. We had very good visibility after clearing the fogbank and we could see the dock from miles away and it was nicely clear of boats. Continue reading

03 August 2010; At Sea.

This was our second day at sea and I was mind boggled by the weather. Smooth seas, with only a gentle breeze. Later on it went up to just wind force four which is still very good for this area. Reasonable to good visibility; all the reason to be very happy with the state of affairs as they are developing. The chance of fog is bothering me as all the coming sightseeing depends on it. So I am hoping for the best. I made my announcement today, laying out the plans for the coming days. After departure Longyearbyen we will go to Barentzburg, which is located in a small fjord to the south West of Longyearbyen. This side step is not in the brochure or in the HAL planning, but I have the time, so why not. It works out that I can do it between the two sittings and before the show starts, so no irate cruise director who sees his planning going up in smoke. Nor will it affect the bingo so I will live another day on that one. The next day we have the planned visit to Magdalena fjord, which looks a little bit like Glacier Bay although the landscape has different colors. Here I need good visibility and if it is foggy I might still be able to do the call in the afternoon. In between we will go north to find the North Pole ice. The Norwegian Ice charts are indicating that the ice is about 100 miles North of Spitsbergen and that I can reach easily within the current schedule. So I sent all the guests to bed with the request to say a little prayer. Continue reading