23 Aug 2014

Changeover Day

Our third and final 2014 expedition to Wrangel and Herald Islands has begun. We were blessed with fantastic weather in Anadyr yesterday which made the disembarkation and embarkation of passengers very smooth as we completed the very complex set of arrangements where precision timing is critical. The coordination of charter flights (to and from Nome), domestic flights (to and from Moscow) and multiple trips to and from the ship anchored in the Anadyr River keeps the entire team on their toes on what we call ‘changeover day’. After our passengers, probably the most important thing is the arrival and storage of fresh fruit and vegetables which come from Moscow.

Anadyr

We have just completed a Zodiac cruise and landing in Preobrazheniya Bay with our new expeditioners and are now sailing to ‘Whale Bone Alley’ where we plan to go ashore tomorrow morning. On the last expedition we took some time out to reflect on what we had done and seen. An expedition is about experiences, not statistics, but they are somewhat difficult to quantify. Statistics however can be interesting. For example we saw a total of 85 Polar Bears including 14 family groups on that voyage. Although that was not a record, it was still very satisfying for the group now on their way home.