Position : Virgohamna 79°43N - 10°57E
The crossing to Trinityhamna, Magdalenafjorden was rather rough. The wind was reported at 20 knots but with the convergence related to the left coast with significant relief, 2 reefs in the mainsail and the staysail were enough! The first night was quite turbulent with strong katabatic winds and many growlers, escaped from the glaciers pouring into the fjord.
Monday 1st, the weather was rainy, without interruption from the crew's wake-up to bedtime! A day of reading on board, by the stove.
Tuesday after a hike along the fjord, under a timid sun we reached the anchorage of Danskeneset, by engine due to lack of wind.
We were initially decided on Bjornhamna, but Perrine, glued to her binoculars since departure, quickly noticed the bear, finishing its meal next to the carcass of a large animal! We approached slowly by engine, without it seeming disturbed. At the end of its feast, it took a little sea bath and entered the water less than 200 meters from Libertaire's bow! The emotion was real, for 3 weeks we have been thinking about the bear every time we prepare the rifle to go ashore... This first encounter, safely on board, was ideal. Finally, we joined the anchorage opposite so as not to disturb the many animals feeding on the carcass.
This morning we took advantage of the sun for a beautiful climb on the island with the surprise of discovering from the top, the ice pack far to the northwest and without encountering the king of the Arctic...
We have just arrived at Virgohamna, the place where the Andrée expedition departed in 1897 to reach the North Pole by airship. The expedition was a failure, the airship crashed on the ice pack. The bodies were found in 1930 on White Island by the Norwegian sealing vessel "Bratvaag".
There are relics of this expedition (airship hangar, gas production factory...) as well as graves of Dutch whalers dating from the 17th century that we will visit tomorrow.