This year, we enjoyed the islands in northern Norway, sailing under a lovely sun to the 70th parallel. We discovered deserted fishing harbors and navigated fjords with drift ice. Porpoises accompanied us towards Tromsø, and in Skjervøy, we met a couple of French sailors who decided never to leave Norway. An appealing decision, we thought.
Something we might find even more appealing is Svalbard. Also Norwegian territory – though governed by the local Sysselmann – but far away from, well, everything, actually.
> View our Svalbard trip | Glaciers, fjords, and wildlife
Where is Svalbard located?
Svalbard (or Spitsbergen in Dutch) is located a little under 400 nautical miles, or 666 km, north of the North Cape. Between the 76th and 80th parallels, to be precise. And we’re heading there at the end of September!
As the days rapidly shorten, we plan to sail around the archipelago. Whether we succeed depends partly on ice formation and partly on wind direction and strength. With strong, northwesterly winds, ice can be blown from the North Pole towards the island group, and there’s a chance that the Hinlopen Strait on the east side (pretty much the only passage) could become blocked.
If that happens, we’ll have to tack and sail back along the west coast to Longyearbyen (the capital, or rather: the only town on Svalbard). We’re hoping for anything but northwesterly winds, as we are very curious about the deserted east side of the archipelago.
But even on the west side, we will see impressive fjords and glaciers, such as the Kongsfjord. Here lies Ny-Ålesund, the northernmost village in the world. Once founded for mining, it is now populated by a handful of scientists.
After 4 weeks of sailing in Svalbard, we will set course south to sail back to the Netherlands from Longyearbyen. Of course, we hope to spot the Northern Lights along the way, which promises to be a unique spectacle, especially on a dark and deserted Barents Sea.
(Northern Lights photo: Frode Bjorshol)
