Saturday, August 11, 2018 | At sea sailing through the Arctic Ocean pack ice | Forecast: 0-5°C, 32-41°F Light winds E 8-9 knots | Midnight Sun (no sunrise or sunset)

We went to bed last night with views of the open ocean, as far as the eye could see. Upon waking, the sea ice still lay ahead, but the world had closed in around us with a heavy fog. Just as we reached the edge of the ice, the fog lifted and we were on the hunt for the ruler of the Arctic – the polar bear. While seals, beluga and narwhals are all potentially out here, it is the polar bear that reign supreme. After an hour of searching, the word we were all waiting for came – “bear.” The entire ship needed to be quiet, including no announcements, no whispers, not a camera lens dropping, not a beep. I cannot imagine the ship with over 500 onboard could remain quiet for anything, but we did for the bear. Poised with binoculars, telescopes and cameras, we knelt and stood on the helipad, the top deck and the bridge. All eyes scanning the sea ice for the cream color spot of the bear. Once in view, the Captain expertly maneuvered the ship amongst the ice pack for a better look. We were still and silent aside from the camera shutters as we saw a male polar bear on the end of a kill. He had finished all edible parts by the time we could see him with the naked eye. His yellowed fur coat was scattered with black scars, especially on his neck and face. The scars help determine a bear’s age, stories of battle wounds from breeding season in the spring. Male bears fight ferociously with other males in competition for breeding females. We watched for some time as the bear moved about the ice, jumping between floes, slipping into the water only to appear minutes later hauling himself back up onto the ice.

Today we traveled over 80°N. Remember, the equator is 0°, the South Pole is 90°S and the North Pole is 90°N. To be exact we reached 82’41°N – a new record reaching the farthest north the ship has ever traveled. We are about 400 nautical miles from the North Pole, almost close enough to see Santa.

 

I have a feeling the Captain will choose tomorrow morning for the Polar Plunge.