Transportation back to Longyearbyen

The return trip of the team was planned to be over two days with one group going on Friday June 8 with part of the equipment and materials. Finally the rest of the team and the remaining equipment and materials should go back to Longyearbyen on June 9. Terje had arranged that the M/S Farm should leave Longyearbyen on Friday at 00:00 hrs and was expected to arrive at Poolepynten around 07:00 hrs. 

On Wednesday and Thursday we had extremely nice weather condition with blue sky, the sun heating everything up and a very calm sea that looked like a mirror. We ensured each other that we could expect a pleasant departure from the island under these conditions. However, the Arctic showed its real habits and around Thursday midnight, the weather changed rapidly and we ended up in extremely bad weather conditions with strong Southern winds, snow and very high waves. You do not need to be an expert to understand that this would create a serious problem for our departure. We were expected to see to chartered boat around 06:00 hrs at the horizon but this did not happen. Most of the team was sitting and waiting in the lavvu tent. With the existing bad weather, no clue about transport, no extensive food supply, one starts to think what’s going to happen next and how long it may take before a ship is going to collect us. To prepare for the worst, Gerben PA5NT was elected to be eaten first. 

Around 12:00 we were a bit concerned about the transport and decided to contact a Scandinavian amateur to make a phone call to Longyearbyen. We got in contact with the club station SK3LH and asked the operator to contact Longyearbyen to collect information about our boat. However, JW5DW asked SK3LH to relay a message because he could not contact us directly. Our chartered boat had engine problems and was unable to collect us. Instead the skipper arranged for another vessel to pick us up at 20:00 hrs the same day. That was excellent news. 

The Isbjørn II at anchor at Poolepynten, ready to pick us up.

At 16:00 hrs we started to dismantle the camp which resulted in people running around, teamwork, pieces of equipment scattered around but finally resulting in a pile of cargo on the beach waiting for transport, We did not dismantle the lavvu so we could use it for necessary shelter. It was hard work in heavy wind, snow and low temperatures. At 19:00 hrs, the vessel could be seen on the horizon, so we could finally dismantle also the lavvu tent because we were sure to be leaving the island within a few hours. 

Somewhat later we contacted the vessel by VHF and discussed the landing area. It was decided to choose an area on the leeward side of our camp and started to carry all materials to the new landing place. This was extremely hard work and we all were exhausted. At 19:45 hrs the vessel anchored on the leeward side of the peninsula and set out an aluminum zodiac to collect materials and persons from the beach. This was still a risky operation due to the waves that were hitting the boat. It took 5 journeys (see picture on the left) with the zodiac to get everything aboard the vessel. The crew of the vessel helped us to stow all cargo in special storage areas. It was around 21:30 hrs that we lifted anchor and started our journey back to Longyearbyen. Once safe on the vessel and being sure to return back home, references were made to the quotes of previous expeditions: “We made it”.

We then experienced the nice and warm environment of a perfect tourist vessel (The Isbjørn II is normally used for tourist cruises in the Svalbard waters). Most of us went to lay down on a nice bed in a warm hut and tried to sleep. It took us about 8 hours to reach Longyearbyen. During this trip we clearly understood why the crew did so much work to secure our cargo on deck. Waves were high and the vessel moved by the sea as if it was a small dingy. At 05:30 hrs (June 9) we arrived at the harbor of Longyearbyen.

The Italian team was just in time to pay a brief visit to the motel after which they left for the airport to catch the plane to Italy. The rest of the team offloaded the vessel and transported all the equipment to a storage facility at Longyearbyen. Finally we went to the motel for check-in and to take a long awaited hot shower, a fantastic breakfast and some rest. Marc and Gerben used their time to fix the famous ON4AMX dipole between the buildings of the motel and made some brief operations JW/. By Monday, all members had left Svalbard and returned safely at home.

Being back home, it is nice to experience the luxury of facilities such as running water, toilet, shower, etc. and enjoy the pleasant temperatures but none of the team would have missed this fantastic experience in the Arctic. This is also confirmed by the fact that discussions are continuing about the next DXpedition in the Arctic region.