By Boreal Yachting crew, Skippers and guides, Tromsø
Publication date not available
Northern lights sailing means using the boat to move away from town lights and cloud. Tromsø lies at 69.6°N, under the auroral oval, and the season runs from late September to late March. A boat can shift anchorage overnight to find the clearest sky.
Tromsø sits at 69°N, inside the auroral oval. Our northern lights sailing trips are small photo safaris, guided by local crews and anchored away from town lighting. Guests learn to photograph the aurora from the deck of a heated yacht.
The aurora season runs from September to March. The darkest, and often most active, displays occur between November and February.
Our skippers know the local weather patterns and choose anchorages with the least cloud cover, sheltered from wind and with a clear view of the sky. The yacht provides a warm base for watching and photographing.
Guides help with camera settings, composition and technique, whether on a DSLR or a smartphone.
Between displays, guests experience the polar night: the deep blue twilight that stands in for daylight through the darkest months. Coastal villages are lit against the dark, and snow-covered mountains form the backdrop.
Related experience: Northern Lights Sailing.
Where this sails: Sailing Tromsø.
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.
A Svalbard sailing expedition runs from Longyearbyen between June and September, when the fjords are largely ice-free and the sun does not set until late August. Voyages of one to two weeks reach tidewater glaciers, walrus haul-outs and bird cliffs, under Sysselmesteren regulations and AECO guidelines.
Ski and sail combines ski touring with a boat as basecamp. The yacht anchors below the mountain, the group skins up from sea level, and skis back to the water. In the Lyngen Alps this reaches summits between 850 and 1,834 metres, from February to May.
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