By Boreal Yachting crew, Skippers and guides, Tromsø
Publication date not available
Liefdefjorden lies on the north coast of Spitsbergen, above 79°N, and needs about two weeks from Longyearbyen. The fjord ends at Monacobreen, a tidewater glacier several kilometres wide. Reaching it depends on the ice edge, which varies each season.
A two-week sailing expedition from Longyearbyen to the remote Liefdefjorden and back. The route visits the bird cliffs of 14. Juli Bukta, glaciers in Magdalenafjord, the historic balloon launch site at Virgohamna, and the Monaco Glacier, tracing a course through whaling history and polar wildlife.
Week 1: Depart Longyearbyen and sail north through Isfjorden, past the abandoned Russian mining town of Pyramiden, a Soviet ghost town frozen in time since 1998. Continue north along the west coast, stopping at Ny-Ålesund, the world's northernmost permanent settlement and a hub for international Arctic research.
Magdalenafjord is ringed by five glaciers and marked by the remains of 17th-century whaling stations. Guests walk the moraines of Waggonway Glacier and look for Arctic fox dens.
Virgohamna, or Virgin Bay, is the site from which Swedish engineer S.A. Andree attempted to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon in 1897. The rusted remains of the balloon hangar and the graves of early explorers still stand.
Week 2: The route pushes north to Liefdefjorden and the Monaco Glacier, a five-kilometre-wide tidewater glacier that calves regularly. The bird cliffs of 14. Juli Bukta hold tens of thousands of Brunnich's guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins, and polar bears are sighted often in this area.
The return journey follows the east coast of Prins Karls Forland, with stops at walrus haul-outs and seal colonies. Two weeks and roughly 600 nautical miles bring the yacht back into Longyearbyen.
Related experience: Summer Svalbard Expeditions.
Where this sails: Sailing Svalbard.
About the author
Skippers and guides, Tromsø
Written by the Boreal Yachting editorial team using operational knowledge from the skippers and guides who sail Northern Norway and Svalbard.
Tromsø to Lofoten is roughly 200 nautical miles of coast, normally sailed in ten days. The route runs south through Kvaløya, Senja and Vesterålen before crossing to Lofoten, with sheltered inside passages available in most weather.
A week of sailing and trekking in Lofoten pairs short passages between fishing villages with walks that start at the waterline. The boat carries the group to trailheads with no road, and the season runs from June to September under near-continuous daylight in midsummer.
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