At the last minute, three new friends that we met in Tromso decided to join us for the trip up to Longyearbyen. After doing the required extra provisioning that comes with having additional hungry bodies on board, we spent three days getting our new friends used to Snow Dragon and Angela, our beloved autopilot before venturing out on the open ocean.
From the moment we left Tromso, the wind was on the nose with the only redeeming quality being that it was strong and consistent enough to maintain a good tack angle. Once on the ocean, the sailing conditions deteriorated and the wind become completely erratic. Snow Dragon went from one intense hail and snow squall to the next followed by gaps of complete calm before getting slammed with another squall, making the crossing one of the more active for her crew. Trying to outwit the wind become our focus as we clawed our way north.
In an effort to get a handle on what the wind gods were planning to do, we sailed close to Bjornoya (Bear Island) and radioed the station there to see if they had a more dependable weather report. Though their report did not tell us anything new or even remotely accurate, the slight detour was well worth it, as we got a clear view of the normally cloud shrouded island basking in blue skies.
At the southern tip of Spitsbergan, we where greeted with our first batch of sea ice which had blown down from the east side of the island. With thirty miles still to go, we decided to go along the edge of the ice instead of picking our way through, watching schools of Harp seals hunt for food as we made our way along to Hornsund Fjord.
Five and a half days after leaving mainland Norway, we dropped anchor in Gashamna Bay and briefly took in our new surroundings before catching up on some much needed rest.
