05 Sep 2017

SHO: Experiencing Tikhaya Bay

Our visit to Franz Joseph Land (Arctic National Park) was extremely enjoyable. We enjoyed three days of summer weather, in fact the weather was better in some ways than our previous visit.  We had a good run north from Murmansk.

Our first landing was a Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island, summer headquarters for the Arctic National Park.  We are required to carry Park Inspectors during our visit and it had been arranged that we pick them up from here. It is also a very interesting historical site.  The Bay was named by Georgiy Sedov, leader of the first Russian attempt on the North Pole in 1912-14 who wintered here. In 1929 it became the site of Russia’s first Polar Station in Franz Joseph Land.

During our visit to the archipelago we visited a number of other sites, giving us a great introduction to the geology, the natural history and historical importance of the Park. With 192 Islands there is a lot of exploring and landings that could be done but we sailed this morning after dropping off our Park Inspectors for Vize Island satisfied that we had seen and experienced the best. It is always nice to leave a place knowing that there was still more to see and learn. Our journey through the Northern Sea Route continues with potentially the most difficult part ahead of us but Ice Maps look promising.

©Heritage Expeditions