18 Aug 2017

SOE: Cruising Cape Dezhnev

Waves crashing against the beach near Uelen village didn’t bode well for our morning at Cape Dezhnev, nor did the swell sweeping along the coast as we turned south into Bering Strait. But as the Cape appeared through mist and rain, the seas began to calm and hopes began to rise. Just before breakfast, a scout boat checked conditions on the beach and returned with a positive report ­ -- not only was a landing possible, the odd patch of blue appeared in the sky. By the time we landed on the north-easternmost point of Eurasia, we had stretches of glorious sunshine. The unruly weather was no surprise, for here the Pacific and Arctic Oceans meet, a mix of warm and cool currents.

While some of us joined Sarah’s boat for a fascinating bird and marine mammal cruise beneath the dramatic cliffs of the southern cape, the rest of us made our way up to the incredible ruins of the former settlement of Naukaun. It’s amazing to think that within some of our lifetimes, Inuit people lived in the huts made out of stones and whale bones, and lined with turf for insulation. They were renowned for their hunting prowess and seamanship skills.  At one time they would make regular visits to their American neighbours in Alaska just 89 kilometres across Bering Strait. In 1958, all the people of Naukan were relocated to various towns along the Chukotka coast.

We wandered from the abandoned stone buildings of Naukan up to the lighthouse, a wooden memorial cross in honour of the sailors who accompanied Semyon Dezhnev more than 350 years ago when he became the first European to sail from the Arctic to Pacific Ocean. There is also a sculpture of an Inuit baidara, symbolizing the connection between Asia and America. On the clifftop below the lighthouse, the remains of the old Border Guard buildings are slowly being recalled by gravity and the slippery slopes below. And throughout the cape, ground squirrels delighted us with their antics, while feeding, sunning and playing in rich vegetation near their burrows.

Those of us who landed had our chance for a great Zodiac cruise to the south before returning to the ship. After lunch, Sarah gave a fascinating lecture on Life in an Arctic Field Camp; and a short time later, Grisha wowed us with his talk about how whales (and seals) use sound to communicate, socialise, and hunt. Incredible to think that some cetaceans might be able to use their sonar skills  to detect whether females are pregnant. Or that fin whales in America can communicate with fin whales in Spain, a distance of 5000 kilometres and at a depth of 1000 metres. Amazing.