29 Aug 2014

Snow Dust on Wrangel

Today it feels as if winter has arrived on Wrangel Island. The weather has changed and we have experienced strong NW winds bringing snow and hail. The up-side of this is that the island looks particularly beautiful with a light dusting of snow across the mountains. The resulting seas were considered ‘rough’ (although they would not be considered so in the Southern Ocean) and forced a change in plans. Despite the sea and weather conditions we have still had great wildlife experiences. Yesterday we came upon a dead whale washed up on the beach with eight Polar Bears enjoying a feed.

We spent this morning around Herald Island, the small (but very important) seabird island about 45 miles east of Wrangel.  It was one of those rare occasions when the island was not shrouded in fog so we were able to capture some great vistas. We are now heading back to Wrangel and the plan is to make a landing in historic Dragi Bay where most of the survivors of the wreck of the Karluk lived before being rescued.