1128: Across the Top of the World 27 Jul 2011
Trip Log
Across the Top of the World
27th July to 10th August, 2011
Voyage # 1128
27th July, 2011: Anadyr, Russia
After arriving from Nome, Alaska on various charter fights, and from the Eurasian side of the Bering Strait as well, we were taxied from the airport to a ferry and crossed the Anadyr River to the town of Anadyr. We were lucky enough to spot our first wildlife species as White beluga whales and Largha seals were seen in the river.
Just before 1700 we collected on the dock where we were met by the ship’s Zodiacs and shuttled out to our floating home for the next two weeks, the Spirit of Enderby (Professor Khromov, as she is also known). Originally a research vessel and still serving in that capacity on occasion, the Spirit of Enderby was a welcomed sight after the many hours of travel most of us endured to finally reach the Russian Far East.
The last of our expedition party did not arrive at the ship until later in the evening, at which time we were welcomed onboard by our Expedition Leader, Aaron Russ and we then enjoyed our first dinner together. Considering the long travel day most of us had had, he explained he would postpone the expedition briefing for the following day. After dinner most people went off to bed early for a good rest in preparation for the next day’s adventures.
28th July, 2011: Cape Achchen
Our first full day on the ship began with Aaron’s expedition briefing in the lecture room. He gave a short history of the ship, and began the staff introductions by introducing himself then Julia, the Assistant Expedition Leader from Travel Pacific. Marie then took the microphone and explained some of her background before joining Heritage Expeditions as Cruise Director and Hotel Manager. Adrian and Joanna -- representatives of Polar Quest -- also introduced themselves, and joining everyone onboard were former staff members Dean and Tess, who were filming for a future Australian television documentary. Last, but not least, Rodney Russ, the founder of Heritage Expeditions, gave us some of his background, and Katya told of her work and experience in the area. Rodney and Katya would only be with us until Wrangel Island where they would be staying for several weeks to work with researchers, photograph, and explore.
Later in the morning we participated in the mandatory lifeboat drill which all went smoothly, with all guests accounted for.
In Anadyr the ship had cleared Russian formalities far ahead of schedule which now gave us a little extra time for some Zodiac cruising along the bird cliffs of Cape Achchen. We saw many species including Harlequin ducks, Tufted puffins, Black-legged kittiwakes, and Pigeon, Common, and Brunnich’s guillemots.
In the early evening we gathered in the bar for drinks and a staff recap of the day’s activities. Aaron showed us a photograph of a Tufted Puffin he had found floating in the water so we could get a better idea of its actual size; to the surprise of many, it was a much larger bird than it appeared in flight.
29th July, 2011: Yttygran Island and Gilmimyl
We awoke today to calm seas, we had reached Yttygran Island overnight and anchored within view of it. This was the location of the renowned “Whalebone Alley,” possibly the foremost archaeological site in all the Arctic. The scattered white columns of Bowhead Whale jaw bones could be seen from the ship, and we eagerly anticipated going ashore after breakfast.
Onshore we separated into small groups to walk carefully around the site. At the far end was an intriguing rectangular pit, walled up with carefully stacked flat beach stones and encircled at the top by three huge whale skulls. We could only speculate as to the purpose of the pit, obviously constructed with a lot of thought and care. In the grassy area in from the beach the whale jaw bones that still stood were far fewer than shown in old photos of the site when there were enough to demarcate a kind of alleyway that gave the place its popular name. Closer inspection of the jaw bones showed that they had been sunk in ground and braced with large stones. It is thought that boats were stored off the ground on the line of bones.
Among a jumble of rocks back from the shore were many rough stone “cellars” that had been constructed and these were thought to have been used to store meat. Studies of Whalebone Alley indicated it had never been a permanent settlement, but rather a temporary summer hunting and fishing camp, possibly used by many surrounding clans or groups.
After investigating the site, one group took a long hike to the top of a saddle between two hills for a view of the tundra stretching down and away towards the distant hills. From the top we could hear Sandhill cranes, but try as we could, we could not find them on the slope.
In the afternoon it was back into the Zodiacs and into a river mouth to a grassy shoreline at a place called Gilmimyl. Morton had a spotting scope focused on a Red-necked Stint as well as some Plovers. Some people set off for a hike to the local hot springs where several took a dip in the rustic bathing “tub”; others hiked farther on and saw several pairs of Sandhill Cranes along the way, as well as a small Northern Wheatear. Laurie led a tundra crawl with a small group of people all interested in studying the tiny plants and lichens in more detail, and The Enderby Ladies’ Botanical Society was thus initiated. Although mostly concentrated on the ground, the group looked up occasionally to catch sight of some birds: an Arctic Skua stayed nearby, walking along the higher ground up from the river, and a pair of Sandhill Cranes were heard and then finally spotted on a distant hillside.
Some of us walked over to see a house near the beach and met Ivan, a Chukchi fisherman who was netting and drying salmon. He came from a village nearby, but stayed at his camp most of the summer. He made us a present of a few dried salmon and some fresh ones as well. With such delicacies as fresh salmon and wild mushrooms readily at hand, we could understand why Ivan would choose to pass the summer here.
30th July, 2011: Cape Dezhnev and Uelen
In the misty cold morning we anchored off Cape Dezhnev. It was a splashy landing on a steep stone beach, but with all the help at the Zodiacs it was not too difficult to get onto shore. Morton led us up the beach to a path that took us up a steep slope and then across a small stream, and then up another, easier slope. On top the most amazing collection of dwellings spread out in front of us, below the monument to Simeon Dezhnev. There were a few ramshackle modern dwellings still clinging to the hillsides that were used previously by border guards but now only occupied in summer by the occasional hunter. The original stone dwellings were homes for the Eskimos who occupied the village, called “Naukan,” for about 300 years and mainly hunted whales. Most of the foundations and some walls of the dwellings were intact, and a few even retained the jaw bone roof trusses that supported a cover originally made of hides. Modern touches to the stone houses included metal stove boxes and the crumbling remains of typical Russian brick heating and cooking stoves. The Eskimos were moved out by the Soviet authorities in 1958 with sad consequences to their clan and family relationships, as well as their traditional way of life and sense of place.
There were wildflowers all over the slopes and in the boggy streams of water flowing through the grass. This was the first place we saw the Arctic Forget-me-not and its beautiful sprays of bright blue flowers. Overhead we spotted a couple of ravens that were calling to each other and wheeling in the wind blowing upslope from the sea.
Back at the ship before lunch, Morton gave an “Introduction to the Birds of Chukotka and Wrangel Island.” He showed photos of many of the birds of the region, including the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, an iconic species of Chukotka, and explained how Rodney and Heritage Expeditions were spearheading some conservation initiatives for the species.
After lunch we found ourselves moving northwards into some ice that had come out of the Chukchi Sea, north of the Bering Strait and then followed the coastline south until disappearing near Cape Dezhnev. We soon reached the town of Uelen, the Zodiacs were lowered from the ship into open spaces among the small ice flows and we loaded up and wound our way through the ice to shore. Once in Uelen we walked to the museum at one end of town where we saw some old and modern examples of walrus ivory carving and scrimshaw. We next visited a school where Katya translated for Alyesia, a teacher at the school, who explained the school system and the Chukchi language and culture classes she taught.
In front of the school some boys were kicking around a soccer ball and Simon and some others joined in the fun. Across the street there was a stage with some chairs set up and we enjoyed an enthusiastic performance of traditional dances by a group of local men and women, as well as some youngsters. It was nice to see dancers of all ages participating, from children to grandmothers. The dancers’ movements were accompanied by chanting and the rhythmic beating of an instrument consisting of a hide stretched over a large, round frame and struck with a stick. The dances depicted the traditional life of the Chukchi: hunting stories, whaling expeditions, and men trying to gain the attention of women. At the conclusion, the dancers invited us to join them and we tried our best to keep time and follow their movements, to the laughter and amusement of everyone.
The fog had moved in when it was time to return to the ship, and finding the really challenged the navigational skills of the Zodiac drivers. Not only was there ice floating everywhere, it was astounding how easy it was to hide a huge blue boat in all that fog and sleet and drizzle. Finally, however, we were all back on board after an interesting afternoon spent in town.
During our recap in the bar, Katya explained a little about the Russian and Eskimo history of Cape Dezhnev, and Adrian showed off a sling that he obtained from a man in Uelen who was using it at the landing. The man on the beach could launch a stone a good distance and with great accuracy, but Adrian admitted he had a hard time even getting a rock to stay in the sling’s pouch. Aaron then gave us the briefing for the next day, and put us on notice to expect a true expedition morning. He explained that we knew where we wanted to go, but due to the ice, weren’t sure when we would get there. We were advised to listen for announcements.
After dinner we found we were rapidly approaching the Arctic Circle at 66.33.66 degrees North latitude. Everyone was urged to come up to bar to celebrate the crossing into the Arctic, with a proper Arctic vodka toast. Nicki initiated everyone with “the mark of the polar bear” stamp she had carved from a potato, and everyone was duly imprinted with a blue paw print on their forehead.
31st July, 2011: Kolyuchin Island
This morning found the Spirit of Enderby north of the Arctic Circle. A narrow band of pack ice was hugging the shore, but the ship was already close to the Kolyuchin Inlet and making good time to our morning destination, Kolyuchin Island.
Kolyuchin Island soon became visible in the distance and became larger and larger as we approached. The abandoned buildings of an old meteorological station stood out on the top of the island, and farther along the cliff face flocks of birds could be seen wheeling over the ocean. Soon we were even able to make out a number of Polar Bears lying or wandering about the tundra, about ten in total, including a mother and two 2-year old cubs. The number of bears meant that we wouldn’t be landing and instead planned for a Zodiac cruise along the bird cliffs.
With Aaron, Morton, Katya, Kostya, and Marie driving, everyone got great views of Horned Puffins, Pigeon Guillemots, Brunnich’s Guillemots, and other species. We caught sight of a mother Polar Bear swimming with her two cubs, as well as a Polar Bear in a cave dug out of some of the remaining snow on the coast.
In the afternoon Rodney presented his talk on the “Russification” of the Far East, and Laurie later lectured on the ‘tundra plant community’. Katya followed up with ‘Wrangel Island History and Nature’ in preparation for our upcoming visit to the island nature reserve.
A short while after the last lecture of the afternoon we gathered in the bar for some liquid refreshments. Katya led off the recaps by expanding more on the information she had already given us about Polar Bears on Wrangel Island. She also explained that the snow cave in which we saw the Polar Bear during the morning Zodiac cruise was not a maternity den, but just a resting place a bear had carved out of the snow. A maternity den, we were told, would never have been made so close to the water. Morton followed up with news of a few whale sightings from the bridge -- two grays and a bowhead -- but explained that they were only seen for an instant. He encouraged us all to be up on the bridge to catch even a brief glimpse of these and other marine mammals. Marie continued with the enlightening observation that, while most of our focus has been on just a single phylum of organisms -- the vertebrates -- we walked by invertebrates on the beach at Cape Dezhnev from six separate phyla without so much as a glance. She showed us some of the sea creatures she had collected earlier, and left them displayed for later examination. Aaron wrapped up the talks with the briefing for our exploration of Wrangel Island, a destination many of us had only dreamed of reaching, but was now just a day’s sailing away.
1st August, 2011: Doubtful, Wrangel Island
Overnight we experienced rough seas during our crossing of the Long Strait between the mainland and Wrangel Island. This morning we still had a way to travel until Wrangel was in sight.
After breakfast, Katya spoke on the ‘Future of a Polar Bear in the Greenhouse World’. Considering the adaptive-ness of Polar Bears and their evolutionary history, there is hope for their future in a warming Arctic. Polar Bears can likely meet the challenges of changes in ice patterns and prey shifts, but their biggest problem is going to be the increase in human activity in the region, bringing bears and people into conflict. More protected areas, better management of poaching, and increased education of peoples living in regions with polar bears will improve the outlook for the species’ survival.
We finally reached Wrangel Island, an area renowned for its biological diversity and more than ever the Alaska-Chukchi population of Polar Bears. It was made a strict nature preserve in 1976, and is also a World Heritage Site. The marine area surrounding the island is also strictly protected.
Later in the morning we were able to make a landing at Doubtful, a small settlement that is used by researchers and rangers of the preserve. On the Zodiac drive to shore we saw a polar bear swimming, and the island staff who greeted us told us that five bears had come ashore just the day before. We walked through the settled area with Irina Menyushina, a Senior Scientist and long-time researcher who studies Snowy owls and Arctic fox. She showed us the “guest house” that is used as living quarters. We continued out onto the tundra and walked to the old military base and airstrip. Bright purple clumps of wooly Louseworts were everywhere, along with poppies, cotton grass, and many different saxifrages. Irina told us that a wolverine makes its maternity den every spring in the snow that fills one of the rusted metal hangars, and that the cubs are born in May. Three other island researchers and rangers who joined us on shore came aboard with Irina and they stayed with us for our tour of Wrangel Island.
In the afternoon the Captain repositioned the ship to Predatelskaya Bay and the Mammoth River where we took the Zodiacs in behind the spit and landed allowing us to walk through the tundra. We saw Snowy owls and were shown how their favorite perches are easily spotted from the greener vegetation beneath where they sit. We learnt that this year had not been a good one for the nesting owls because the Lemming population had crashed due to disease and many baby owls did not survive. We also saw Snow geese and Brent geese on the other side of the river, and despite the drop in their numbers, Lemming tunnels and holes were everywhere.
We returned to the ship for a late dinner, afterwards most people retired to their cabins as it had been an exciting first day on this incredible island.
2nd August, 2011: Herald Island / Dragi Bay, Wrangel Island
Today we reached Herald Island, a remote, forbidding rock to the northeast of Wrangel. Its natural claim to fame is as a prime denning site for Polar Bears, with even higher den densities than Wrangel Island. It is also known as the last landing and ultimate resting place of four of the Karluk’s expedition members.
After breakfast, the Zodiacs were loaded and we set off to cruise the shorelines beneath the towering cliffs of Herald Island. Pigeon and Common Guillemots whirred overhead on their way out to, or in from the sea, with many Black-legged Kittiwakes circling above and the occasional pair of Horned Puffins perched on ledges. We saw a solo Polar Bear on the beach, and then another in a snow cave just above the beach that we watched for a long time. Bear and people observed each other for a quite a while, with the Bear becoming bored with the whole business and laying its huge head back on its paws to continue the nap we had disturbed. We drove off happy that our encounter had left the bear snoozing as we had found him.
After lunch Vasily gave us a lecture on ‘Snow Geese and Other Wildlife of Wrangel Island’. Wrangel Island is the main breeding area for the species in Russia and Asia. There were approximately 150,000 birds on Wrangel, and about 60,000 nests in a good year.
In the afternoon we headed off to Dragi Bay back on Wrangel Island. As we were cruising in the Zodiacs we spotted two bears resting next to each other along the top of the ridge jutting out into the bay. Then a young bear, a female it was thought, began a cautious walk down a steep path to the shore where it began to feed on a walrus skin. Another bear came down the slope and displaced the younger one at the food, and it was joined by a third adult bear. Despite some cautious supplication gestures by the younger bear, she apparently was given no encouraging sign by the larger ones and the nervous youngster decided to leave the beach and swim around the point. We got some excellent group photographs of all three bears, but then left them to their snack and motored on into the harbour and pulled up on a long beach. Some of the Wrangel Island staff got off first to check out the landing, and with the all clear sign given, we climbed up the beach and into amazing tundra, patterned with irregular polygons from the frost heaving of the soil. The centers of the various shapes were clay and mud, and the borders were packed with moss and all kinds of flowering plants. Pieces of White Worm Lichens were strewn all over the tundra, looking more like bits of bleached twigs and sticks than a living organism.
In the evening the ship headed out of Dragi Bay, around the island towards the west side where there might be pack ice with wildlife.
3rd August, 2011: Cape Florence
During the night at 0243 the ship reached the most northerly position it would on the voyage.
On the bridge our ever-vigilant wildlife spotter, Morton, reported eleven bears in the tundra and on the sea ice, as well as some walrus. Ahead of the ship the ice stretched farther out to sea. Small flocks of Snow Geese flew by, seals popped their heads out of the open water in front of the ship, and on the distant edge of the ice floes walrus were hauled out enjoying the sunshine. We anchored at Cape Florence among the floating pieces of pack ice and loaded all five Zodiacs for a stealthy approach to the estimated 300 or so walrus we had viewed from the bridge on the ice and in the water. We approached several groups and got great views and photographs of walrus interactions and could hear them snorting at one another, and probably at us. As we were leaving the walrus, we pulled up onto a large, solid ice floe for a little walkabout before heading back to the ship.
After a taco buffet lunch, Morton implored us to come to the bridge for a glorious afternoon cruising by the mountainous western coast of Wrangel. We had made our way around the island again to Cape Blossom and into Long Strait. The sun was brilliant on the sea and on the ice, with high, snow-dusted mountains in the distance, an altogether glorious sight. The pack ice that remained up against the shore precluded shore landings so Sergei offered to present a talk on what life was like on Wrangel Island, ‘Living side by side: Humans and Wildlife on Wrangel Island’. Sergei remarked that instead of noisy traffic, people on Wrangel have a continually changing National Geographic view of the world outside their windows everyday.
Eventually the ship rounded Cape Blossom where a small shelter and marker were visible back from the beach; this was the famed “field of bones”. This area got its name from the decades of accumulated walrus remains that polar bears occasionally snacked on when little else was available. Because it is a strict protected area we could not land on the Cape proper, but just a little farther down the coast we went onshore for some planned long and short walks. However, the plan changed as a group of Musk oxen were spotted and the Wrangel Island staff led the whole group on a slow, quiet approach to get as close as possible for photos and observation. We got within far telephoto range of the herd of about 15 animals, that included some young that looked like perfect miniatures of the adults. We crouched and sat for a long while with great views of them alternately grazing and standing and staring back at us. They eventually moved on and our attention switched to a young Arctic fox that was seen trotting towards us, but then changed course. In the tundra vegetation someone discovered the tip of a mammoth tusk protruding above the moss and we wondered if the rest of the mammoth was somewhere below it, still attached. Small flocks of Snow Geese appeared in the sky, on their way somewhere in a hurry. The evening light on the tundra was magnificent and our shadows grew longer and longer as the angle of the sun decreased. Soon it was time to hike back to the Zodiacs and return to the ship for a late dinner and early bedtime for most.
4th August, 2011: Cape Hawaii
We headed east all night along the southern shore of Wrangel Island and morning found us anchored east of the town of Ushakovskoye at a place called Cape Hawaii. Calm seas prevailed and after breakfast we shuttled to shore to explore. Our walks took us along the edge of a river where we were not disappointed with the morning’s sightings: Snowy owls, Arctic fox, polar bear, and several lemmings, one of which sat at its burrow’s entrance under a rock ledge and posed for nearly an hour of endless photo taking by engrossed observers. A species of coltsfoot, in the daisy family with large triangular leaves was common in amongst the tundra mosses and other vegetation.
In the afternoon we came ashore at Rodgers Inlet and the town of Ushakovskoye, another former Wrangel Island community. It was obvious why it had been sited here in 1926 because the inlet provided a calm and sheltered harbor for the town. At its busiest, the town had about 200 residents, but with the break up of the Soviet Union, support and resupply of it, along with many other arctic settlements -- slowed and then stopped. Ushakovskoye persisted for a number of years on its collective stores, but eventually the residents had to leave.
On shore we were introduced to Grisha Kaurgin who has lived on the island for 50 years, since he was seven years old. He has herded reindeer, hunted marine mammals, traveled the length and breadth of the island by dog sled, writes poetry, dances, and sings. He worked for the preserve for many years, and now is employed at the meteorological station. The station was once the largest in the Arctic, and there are weather records from this location stretching back many decades.
Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, there was never a gulag, or prison labor camp, on Wrangel. In 1981, however, when Vasily first came to Ushakovskoye, he might have felt as if he had been sent to one: “... but after the first five years, it wasn’t too bad ....” he told us. He gave us a personal account of life in the town in better days. There was a school, a preschool, library, post office, and a market where every family could buy one bottle of vodka on Saturdays. There was also a “club” where films were shown, and dances and other community events were held. Ushakovskoye was now a bleak, cheerless jumble of structures in various stages of collapse, with piles of empty fuel barrels, metal scraps, and household items literally everywhere. Just outside of town, however, we were again in unspoiled tundra. Morton led a stealthy approach towards a Snowy Owl and everyone was able to get a photo of the bird.
Back in the center of the settlement there was a collection of skulls and bones and a mammoth tusk recovered from the tundra. Irina brought out a traditional reindeer garment and Grisha modeled it for us, explaining that the fur was worn on the inside in winter, and on the outside in summer. He was asked to demonstrate some of the dances we assumed he had learned as a boy, and he gave a spontaneous presentation of a couple hunting scenarios that we really enjoyed and appreciated. Grisha’s dog, Chuk, joined in at one point as well, apparently also enjoying the show.
We returned to the Zodiacs for the short ride out of Rodgers Inlet and back to the ship. A recap of the day’s activities was followed in the lounge, by Aaron sharing some interesting observations of the rocks he had found onshore. They included a piece of slate and another composed of slate and sandstone with a seam of white quartz running through it. The sedimentary layers had originally formed on the sea floor, but had been heated and pressed and tilted by geologic forces over the ages with the later intrusion of the quartz. Next followed a question-and-answer session with the Wrangel Island staff who would be leaving us the next day. Aaron then concluded with a brief “precap” of the next day’s activities, and it was off to another great meal prepared by super chefs Nicki and Simon.
5th August, 2011: Doubtful Spit and Bay
Morning found the Spirit of Enderby anchored again off Doubtful Spit for a morning excursion. After breakfast we were promptly loaded into the Zodiacs and motored off only to come up short of the shore by the nearby blow of a Gray Whale. It had likely been feeding in the area, but after seeing us began to swim back and forth in front of the line of boats. Some of the boats were able to get closer, perhaps as the whale grew a little more confident we meant no harm. Adrian and Johanna later commented that it was the closest whale encounter that either of them had ever experienced.
Once on shore Vasily provided an introduction to the site, explaining that a hunter had lived there in the 1960s and 1970s before the island became a protected area. The house in which he lived had been removed, but scattered fuel drums, walrus skulls and bones, and a pile of rusting leg-hold traps told of a long occupation of the site.
With the rangers leading the way, we approached a flock of about a dozen Black Brent Geese feeding on the far side of a small lake. We got fairly close as they calmed down after each quiet advance. Finally they flew off and we divided up with a couple rangers leading each group on a short tundra walk and a longer hike down the beach and to the far side of another body of water. The tundra walkers came upon two Dunlins and two Red-necked Stints feeding in the mud of a wet patch of tundra. They poked their bills repeatedly in the mud, searching for tiny creatures to eat, and Morton explained how different species of waders with different bill lengths divided up the resources at a single feeding spot. We also saw some Ruddy Turnstones, and Laurie pointed out the striking oyster plant growing in the gravel with its dusky blue-gray leaves and long, spreading flower stalks with clusters of dark blue flowers at their ends.
As we were returning to the ship, Rodney and Katya were making final preparations for leaving it for a month’s stay on Wrangel Island. We wished them and the Wrangel Island staff, who were also getting off here at Doubtful, the best of luck.
‘Everything Walrus’ was presented by Morton in the bar as an informal talk along with a question-and-answer session. Evening drinks and a recap followed, along with the next day’s expedition briefing by Aaron. Dinner was duly announced and we moved to the dining rooms to continue sharing our experiences of the day.
6th August, 2011: Southbound
The rough seas that rocked us in our bunks all night would likely continue and our planned landing after breakfast was not possible, so we continued heading south and hopefully, out of the worst of the weather. The first part of the BBC documentary, Spy on the Ice, was shown in the lecture room, after which Morton led another natural history discussion, this time about Polar Bears. The high interest level was measured by how long we sat in the bar, engrossed by the fascinating details of their life on the ice, the threats they face, and management issues. The Russian approach is to allow no rifles and insist on behavior that puts neither people nor Polar Bears in harm’s way. In Svalbard, Canada, and the United States there is a totally different mindset and rifles are standard issue. Morton is working to change what he and many other enlightened Polar Bear biologists perceive as mismanagement of Polar Bear-human interactions, but concedes that it is not an easy thing to do.
After lunch we viewed one of the BBC’s Wild Arctic series’ documentaries on Wrangel Island. Later on Laurie and the ‘Enderby Ladies’ Botanical Society’ held a plant identification workshop in the bar to research and put names to some of the different flowers that were seen and photographed during the voyage.
At recap, Adrian talked about the Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiold’s exploration of this area, and Marie conducted a short course on latitude and longitude, and how to measure distances and timings from charts on the bridge. The best recap of the evening, however, was a summarisation of the day’s sailing by Erik with the traditional mariner’s saying “We joined the Navy to see the world and what did we see, we saw the sea.”
Dinner by Nicki and Simon was again a sumptuous feast, but how they ever managed to prepare such meals in a rolling galley was nothing short of miraculous.
7th August, 2011: South of Kolyuchin Inlet
After breakfast, the weather conditions made for a bit of a wet ride, but all five Zodiacs made it ashore at Kolyuchin Inlet where we anchored one in the sand and tied the others together just in case the wind picked up. The shoreline just up from the stoney beach was thick with a grass that looked like a stalk of wheat. Just inland, however, the landscape changed to peaty clumps of moss and grass, scattered flowers, mostly in the Compositae plant family that includes Daisies, Goldenrod, and Dandelions and relatively bare elevated areas that were colonised by Lichens, some Mushrooms, Cloudberry, Crowberry, and willows. Looking the length of the spit we could make out ribbons of vegetation in long, sweeping arches that delineated the outlines of old beach dune formations. On the far side of a more distant water body we spotted one Polar Bear and kept a watch on its movements, but he never headed in our direction. We later heard and then saw a beautiful pair of Sandhill cranes lift off from the ground and wing their way just above the tundra and out in front of the sea.
After making a large loop around the narrow peninsula on which we landed, we returned by picking our way down a muddy gully to the beach and back to the boats. The beach was littered with large pieces of kelp, small sponges that had been scraped off their moorings, and mussel shells. Once again in the Zodiacs we moved a little distance down the coast towards a navigation marker and small house, and pulled up on the beach again. Morton put the scope on a small flock of Emperor geese and we all had good views of this strikingly colored goose. A few White-billed divers were on the water, and several were seen flying in from the sea, honking softly as they flew. Some of the group decided they had walked enough for one morning and returned to the ship while the rest of the group walked farther along the shore of the lagoon. Along with a few more bird sightings we also saw two people walking out to meet us at the boats. They were Aleksey and his wife Natalia who lived in the small house we saw and have been doing walrus and other marine mammal counts in the area of the inlet and Kolyuchin Island since May. We were giving Natalia a ride to Anadyr from where she was flying to St. Petersburg. Aleksey would continue to work the whole season in the area.
After lunch Adrian gave a talk in Swedish on Nordenskiold and his ship, the Vega, and then we viewed the second part of the “Spy on the Ice” documentary. Laurie’s lichen lecture was postponed a half hour because just at that time we passed closest to the point where 130 years earlier Nordenskiold got stuck in the ice. We gathered on deck to toast the Swedish explorer and to take photos of the coast and each other. Laurie’s presentation ‘Lichen Biology and Ecology’ then began in the lecture room and we learned some fascinating facts about these composite organisms that were a symbiosis between fungi and algae.
At recap Julia introduced Natalia to the whole group and briefly summarised the work she and her husband did censusing walrus and recording bird nesting and abundance in the area. Aaron briefed us on the next day’s plan, and then it was downstairs to the dining rooms. The seas were a little calmer this evening than the night before, and maybe tonight they would gently rock us to sleep and not out of our bunks.
8th August, 2011: Big Diomede (Ratmanova) Island
The ship dropped anchor off Big Diomede Island, known in Russia as Ostrov Ratmanova. The sun shone brilliantly in the sky with high clouds but a long, dense fog bank had settled in off to the east on the American side. By Janne’s estimate there were about thirty Gray whales blowing all around the ship where we anchored, this estimate was later revised to more than fifty. The steamy exhalations were visible everywhere, with an occasional sighting of a long, lumpy back and sometimes an arched tail and raised flukes signaling a deep feeding dive. The air and water were full of birds from the cliffs of Big Diomede.
There was one good walrus sighting, but an unfortunate one as it was a carcass that floated by on our port side. It still had its head and tusks, so likely died of natural causes.
The numbers of birds wheeling and darting overhead was astounding: Horned and Tufted puffins, Pigeon guillemots, Crested, Parakeet, and Least Auklets, Cormorants, and a flock of Harlequin ducks were among the more noteworthy. The cliff face of Big Diomede seemed to have more soil and vegetation than other bird cliffs we had seen, as well as evidence of seemingly recent landslides. A rusty-orange lichen coated the surface of most of the rock faces underneath the birds’ roosts, and Laurie pointed out that its abundance was likely due to its preference for sites with more nutrients.
Too soon, it seemed, we had to return to the ship to continue motoring south. On the way back, however, we had the additional pleasure of some close views of Gray whales that were feeding some distance from the ship, as well as right off the bow and gangway. We saw even more whales after lunch as the ship slowed to pass through an area where an estimated 100 Gray whales were having theirs. To the port, starboard, bow, and stern there were whale sightings, blows, long dark backs, and sometimes a pair of flukes. The tally for the day was an estimated 300 animals. Flying or floating among the diving and surfacing whales were Shearwaters, Kittiwakes, Phalaropes, and Fulmars. The water color in the area was a greenish brown, perhaps an algal bloom combined with the bottom sediments stirred up by all the feeding activity.
There was a lively crowd already in the bar in the early evening, and after everyone settled with drinks, recap followed with Aaron talking about a family label of wine, Morton speaking about Phalaropes, and Laurie with a note on permafrost and tundra CO2 losses contributing to global warming. The evening seemed shorter as indeed it was, with darkness coming earlier the farther south we traveled.
9th August, 2011: Southward
A bright blue sky and slightly rolling seas greeted us today as we motored westward, having sailed passed Provideniya during the night.
Breakfast was slightly later after which Aaron gave the expedition departure briefing in the lecture room. Nicki then presented a slide show she had put together with contributing staff members’ photographs and all set to music. It was really a nice presentation, and copies were available for purchase. One by one the staff took a minute and wished everyone onboard a safe journey home, and hoped to see us on a future voyage. Wildlife lists for the trip recorded 51 bird species, 11 species of marine mammals, and 73 polar bears!
The main activity keeping everyone busy in the afternoon seemed to be organising and packing. In the later afternoon a much needed break was offered by Dean and Tess for anyone interested in viewing a couple of short documentaries they had filmed on Macquarie Island.
At the regular social hour in the bar complimentary cocktails were served, a special drink prepared by Julia called “Border guard Knockout”. The seats were filled as everyone, it seemed, joined in around the tables for our last get-together before the voyage’s end tomorrow.
10th August, 2011: Anadyr
It was a bright, but overcast day for our departure. Anadirsky Liman was calm and the sun broke through the clouds every now and then and shined off the estuary’s waters, while a few belugas swam about the ship. After some last minute reorganisation of our luggage, we enjoyed an early breakfast and then left the ship in groups depending on our flights to Nome or Moscow. The Zodiacs shuttled us to shore and then we were off to the airport for our respective flights home.
