To the Edge
Yachting World|April 2022
Taking a luxury cruiser to the margins of arctic ice, photographer Mike Jones experienced true wilderness sailing
By Mike Jones. Photography by Mike Jones
To the Edge

A single walrus raised its frosted head, eyeing Firebird as we dropped anchor at Tynarebukta on the Isfjorden. Rugged mountains were enveloped by a glacier that spilled out onto the sea ice filling the bay. This was the crew’s first stop after setting out from Longyearbyen, the capital of Svalbard, and the most northerly city in the world. We retired to our bunks that evening with the blinds firmly closed, blotting out the still glowing sunlight reflecting on the snow late into the evening – this far north, there is 24 hours of daylight in July.

The following morning we gathered extra layers, skis and boot crampons, ice axes, shovels, and probes, carefully loading the Zodiac tender. Skis, poles and our essential guide, Massimo Candolini, went ashore in the first run, after captain Peter Madej and first mate Tim found the best landing spot and checked for bears. We landed the Zodiac on a black sand beach, where a small tide had cleared just a metre or so of snow away from the water’s edge.

After scrambling to the top of the snow ‘beach’, we clipped into our skis and took a moment to take in the beauty of this white world. A constant flutter of birds surrounded us, including geese and guillemots, as we began the long climb to the summit of Sten De Geerfjellet. The building wind picked up loose snow, creating dramatic whirls and vortices. As we climbed, the wind increased further and we donned ski crampons for the final pitch. Then, the descent, swooping back down to Firebird through a landscape that looked like it had been torn from a fairy tale book.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2022 من Yachting World.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2022 من Yachting World.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من YACHTING WORLD مشاهدة الكل
wallywind 110 launches
Yachting World

wallywind 110 launches

The first example of Wally Yacht's new wallywind performance cruising range launched this summer, during the iconic Italian brand's 30th anniversary year - and in time for its debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Irish skipper wins Figaro
Yachting World

Irish skipper wins Figaro

Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan took a historic victory in this year's La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, winning the solo multistage offshore race overall only the third non-French competitor ever to do so.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
Youth AC puts on a show
Yachting World

Youth AC puts on a show

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's team won the UniCredit Youth America's Cup after a highly absorbing series comprising 12 international teams racing the one-design AC40s off Barcelona.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
ATLANTIC BEYOND
Yachting World

ATLANTIC BEYOND

SAILING THE SECOND EXPLORATION 60 ON A WEST-TO-EAST ATLANTIC CROSSING WAS IDEAL FOR A RIGOROUS TEST OF GARCIA'S NEW NOWHERE YOU CAN'T GO FLAGSHIP

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
UNCONTROLLED
Yachting World

UNCONTROLLED

HELPLESSLY APPROACHING AN UNINHABITED ISLAND IN THE GALAPAGOS WITHOUT ENGINE OR ELECTRONICS, JON VAN TAMELEN FEARED BEING IMMINENTLY SHIPWRECKED

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
SECRET ISLAND
Yachting World

SECRET ISLAND

BEYOND THE FORBIDDING ENTRY RULES OF TAIWAN IS A CULTURE RICH IN SEAFARING HISTORY AND STUNNING LANDSCAPES, FINDS CAMERON DUECK

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2024
LAND OF THE BIRDS
Yachting World

LAND OF THE BIRDS

SKIP NOVAK DESCRIBES THE PERILS, CHALLENGES AND JOYS OF A CRITICAL EXPEDITION VOAYGE TO SURVEY SOUTH GEORGIA'S ENDANGERED WANDERING ALBATROSS

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
FIRST STEPS TO BLUEWATER
Yachting World

FIRST STEPS TO BLUEWATER

YOU CAN GET INTO WORLD CRUISING FROM A STANDING START AND EXPERIENCE THINGS NO OTHER TRAVELLERS DO. CATHERINE LAWSON AND DAVID BRISTOW TALK TO FOUR COUPLES WHO PROVE IT

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
HARD CHOICES
Yachting World

HARD CHOICES

IN AN EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT FROM HER NEW BOOK, PIP HARE REVEALS WHAT DROVE HER ON WHILE RACING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN OCEAN IN THE 2020 VENDÉE GLOBE.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
INTO BATTLE
Yachting World

INTO BATTLE

COULD THIS BE THE MOST COMPETITIVE VENDÉE GLOBE EVER? HELEN FRETTER FINDS OUT WHAT THE SKIPPERS WILL BE FACING.

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2024