Where are we going?

This summer we are heading to the high arctic... a serious change from the catamaran sailing of the South Pacific where we sailed through 12 hours nights in t-shirts and shorts... this time there will be no night, and almost certainly we will not be wearing t-shirts and shorts.

We have a full returning crew from the pacific (Barny, Joy, Gabi, Rob, Ben) and some additions (Dan, Alan, Adam).

The contrasts to our previous adventure continue since on that occasion we booked only a few weeks before having selected the most flexible charter company in the huge area of the Pacific, this time there is only one charter company: Boreal Yachting that will let you take a bareboat yacht this far into the arctic.

So where are we going? To the archipelego of Svalbard, an administrative region of Norway protected by the Svalbard Treaty which ensures the natural environment is protected. In particular we will be heading to the largest and most famous island in the group: Spitzberg. We are picking up the boat in the 'capital' Longyearbyen (78N). We have chartered a boat called 'Arctic Ice', a Delphia 47 which has been kitted out but the guys at Boreal for this type of trip.

From this town (of around 2000 people) we will set up North along the coast line, until we reach the North Coast, where we will hopefully pass a respectful (and enforced 300m) from the Walrus breeding group of Moffen, before entering the large Liefdefjorden where we hope to see some whales, spectacular scenery and perhaps some polar bears on the coast line.

We have been out on a trial week long sail on the sister boat Arctic Light in October where we saw some great sights on the Norwegian coast, including the Northern Lights.

We hope to post some more information on the blog over the next week as we make our final preparations and head up to the Arctic...

Barny