Ice, the ‘Bear Necessities’

Sometimes life at sea can seem pretty miserable, working strange hours and being away from home for so long, (I have now been at sea for about 5 months). Then something magical happens and you remember how special it is to come to sea and what a privilege it is to be able to visit these environments. Yesterday, as I prepared to sample a call went out that an Ice Bear had (lees verder…)

Moon Pool Sonata

Of course every ship is different but there is something special about Amundsen that makes her unique among all the ships I have ever sailed on. Now Mum don’t panic, but Amundsen has a big hole in her hull! It’s ok we’re not sinking. No, this is a marine architectural feature called very romantically the ‘Moon Pool’. To me this conjures up romantic images (lees verder…)

Shoes

Enter any building in Ny Alesund and the first thing will find is racks and racks of shoes and slippers. You would be considered very rude if you ventured any further inside without removing your own outdoor shoes! This is because in Ny Alesund there are no concrete pavements to walk upon and in winter you will be tracking through snow whereas in spring and summer there are dirt tracks. Of course during the melt season, which is happening right now, this problem (lees verder…)

Uitpakken

Back on the road again! This time we, that is Anna Noordeloos and Claire Evans, are headed to Ny-Alesund, the most northerly permanent settlement in the world. Ny-Alesund is situated on the island of Spitsbergen one of the group which makes up Svalbard in the high Arctic. We are still fishing for viruses but this time instead of the large open ocean of the sub Antarctic we will be working in the Arctic fjords of Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden. (lees verder…)