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Tate St Ives museum in United Kingdom reopens with “The Studio and the Sea”

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April 7, 2017

Tate St Ives museum in United Kingdom reopens with “The Studio and the Sea”

First announced in 2015, the Tate St Ives Project is two-fold: refurbish the existing art gallery, which opened in 1993, adding learning and visitors facilities in a cone-shaped room atop the original gallery; and build an extension that will double the venue’s exhibition space and accommodate larger-scale artworks and installations. After shutting its doors for 18 months, the Cornish-outpost of Britain’s iconic museum has reopened.

Tate St Ives reopened with “The Studio and the Sea,” on March 31, a program that consists of two exhibitions about the ocean, the landscape and the ceramics studio.

In the venue’s ocean-facing galleries will be large-scale paintings, films and sculptures by British artist Jessica Warboys, for whom the coast and landscape are a source of inspiration. The show will include two specially commissioned works: “Sea Painting, Zennor 2015,” made by casting mineral pigments onto a damp, folded canvas, then submerging it in the sea; and “Hill of Dreams,” a film drawing from a book by Welsh fantasy writer Arthur Machen.

The second exhibition will explore 100 years of studio pottery via 80 works from Europe, Japan and North America. “That Continuous Thing: Artists and the Ceramics Studio, 1920 – Today” looks at the rise of studio pottery and the new generation of UK-based artists.

When complete, the smaller galleries of the original building will lead into the vast new exhibition space, topped with a roof garden and a walkway with views of the ocean. The project’s first phase is now complete, as the existing gallery prepares to reopen ahead of the busy summer season.

“The Studio and the Sea” runs through September 3.

For more information, visit Tate St Ives.

Luxury watches for her: Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces Sonatina Large into the Rendez-Vous collection

Sasiwimon S.

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April 7, 2017

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Luxury watches for her: Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces Sonatina Large into the Rendez-Vous collection

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Sonatina Large in pink gold

Despite the Rendez-Vous being a relatively new collection for Jaeger-LeCoultre, women’s watches have been a regular fixture for the brand since as early as 1938, with the famous Calibre 101. While this latest chapter in mechanical watches for women began in 2012, it includes and builds upon the story that began with Calibre 101.

For the moment, there are a few cardinal rules with all the variants here, which are worth remembering. First of all, the Rendez-Vous collection only features watches made for women; there are no models here that are directly based on men’s watches. Second, every Rendez-Vous watch is powered by an automatic movement, whatever complications it might boast.

We are looking specifically at the Rendez-Vous Sonatina Large, but Jaeger-LeCoultre has plenty going on here, including the Rendez-Vous Night & Day (Large and Medium) and the Rendez-Vous Moon.

The Sonatina Large is an intriguing timepiece that sounds out time at selected hours, sort of like a poetic alarm. The manufacture says the function serves as a gentle reminder of a forthcoming rendezvous, so it is indeed an alarm of sorts. No doubt Jaeger-LeCoultre intends to draw a distinction here between a simple calendar reminder that everyone might have via a smart device and something entirely more special.

The little star on the dial — a regular motif in the Rendez-Vous collection — marks the appointed hour and is configured via the top crown at two o’clock. As usual, there is a day/night indicator at six o’clock; this feature speaks to the Night & Day identity that defines the entire collection. Alongside a choice between white and pink gold, there are matching dial options, with silvered guilloché for the pink gold option and amethyst guilloché and grained dial for the white gold model. The watch is proposed in a 38.2-millimetres size, which is not very large at all despite the promise of the name!

Specifications

Movement Self-winding Calibre 735 with alarm function; 40-hour power reserve
Case 38.2 millimetres in white gold or pink gold; water resistant to 50 metres
Strap Alligator leather
Price Unavailable

This article was originally published in WOW.

Lagoon Seventy 7 Catamaran by Beneteau Group will premiere in Hong Kong in May

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April 7, 2017

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Lagoon Seventy 7 Catamaran by Beneteau Group will premiere in Hong Kong in May

We reported in Yacht Style issue 36 that one of the first Lagoon Seventy 7s has been sold to a yachtsman in the Philippines, and there is apparently much interest in other parts of Asia. This vessel will be officially premiered in Hong Kong in May, and will then continue across the South China Sea.

Check out the yard’s online video of the vessel. “Have you ever wished you could visit every nook and cranny of the Seventy 7”, they ask. “Board the new Lagoon flagship without leaving your screen, thanks to our Seventy 7 360 degree tour. From her owner’s suite overhanging water thanks to her private beach to her elegant and comfortable salon with a panoramic view of the sea, this yacht is a legend in the making. Twenty-three metres of reinvented refinement, elegance and prestige”.

Lagoon has long had a standard range from 38 to 52 feet. Models are known as the 380, 39, 400, 42, 450S, 450F, 52S and 52F. Above that are the 560 and 620, and now the new Seventy 7 claiming premier place in the hierarchy. There are also Lagoon Motor Yachts, custom Lagoons, and many former production models in marinas around the world.

For yachtsmen still trapped in the ancient era of monohull sailing, they have this to say: “Many of our customers have switched from a monohull boat, whereas the opposite is rarely the case.

“It’s true, once a cruise yacht lover has sampled the incomparable comfort, space, ergonomics, safety and simplicity — of living and manoeuvring, for example — afforded aboard a catamaran, there are not many who would go back to sailing a monohull, nor to the amount of heeling when sailing close-hauled.

“So, the catamaran certainly has quite a few qualities in its favour, and we think the owners themselves are the best people to talk about this since, with each new voyage, they are the ones that experience the difference”.

For boating buffs, before continuing our own pictorial tour of the Seventy 7, we should note for the record that Lagoon was founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of Jeanneau Technologies Avancées (JTA), Jeanneau’s “racing department”. JTA gained a reputation for producing single and multihulled offshore racing boats (Pierre 1er, the Fleury Michon series, etc.) that won an unequalled string of victories. Lagoon has also been involved in more unusual projects such as building trimarans for the film Waterworld.

Lagoon is now part of CNB, a division of the Beneteau Group, the world leader in pleasure sailing craft construction. CNB offers a full and well-structured range of cruising catamarans designed by naval architects Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) who have notched up an incomparable record of victories in multihull events. One of their most recent designs was the famous trimaran Oracle, winner of the 2010 America’s Cup.

A first generation series of catamarans was built between 1987 and 1996, the Lagoon 55, 47, 57 and 67 models, and these were intended for offshore cruising under private ownership. The Lagoon 37 and 42 models were designed for chartering. The key strengths of the Lagoon brand are its guiding principles: good design, high-quality construction and better-than-average performance.

Then in 1996, we saw the arrival of a new generation of Lagoon boats that quickly made their mark thanks to space-efficient layouts, greater comfort and attention to customer feedback.

Since 2003, Lagoon has been the world leader in the construction of cruising catamarans. They have a full and innovative range of boats and the support of a comprehensive distribution network. Indeed, Lagoon has more than 80 distributors throughout the world who are passionate catamaran specialists.

After 2010, when VPLP’s Oracle won the America’s Cup, Nauta Design (another great name in naval architecture) has been working with Lagoon to design the interiors of new models. In 2013, the new Lagoon 39 and 52 signalled a major change in the architecture of cruising catamaran: their rigs with the mast moved amidships, stemming directly from VPLP naval architects’ expertise in respect of large racing multihulls, brought about a substantial and beneficial change in relation to the conventional parameters of a cruising catamaran. By 2014, Lagoon’s return to motor yacht construction attracted a great deal of attention, with the arrival of the superb 630 MY and the 40 MY.

Then in 2016, the shipyard launched the 42, which was a great success with customers by virtue of the combination of performance and comfort provided by this 42-footer. The same year, Lagoon launched its new range: Seventy. This new high-end range sees the birth of the sailing catamaran, the Seventy 7 and its motor version, the Seventy 8.

Lagoons are built at two sites in France, and being part of CNB, a division of Beneteau Group, the company has access to industrial capacity, R&D facilities, commercial outreaches, human resources and a reliable financial structure.

The infusion moulding technique enables the yard not only to optimise the proportion of resin in the fibreglass, comparable to the pre-impregnated technique but also to improve the bonding properties of the composite.

The isolation of each balsa square by mechanical ties between the inner and outer skins improves the quality and reliability of the structure and saves weight too. The systematic use of a very high-quality anti-osmotic resin ensures durability for all Lagoon catamarans, say the makers.

Buoyancy is a guarantee of safety. All Lagoon catamarans comply with CE standards governing the unsinkability of multihull vessels. The fore and aft compartments of each hull are separated from the boat’s living accommodation by watertight bulkheads. The density of materials used, and the absence of ballast increase buoyancy. Even after a collision, a Lagoon will still be able to sail.

The furniture and interior fittings are designed by engineers working in the Lagoon design office. Advanced CAD software enables skilled craftsmen to assess new design features in real time. Thus each item of equipment and each piece of furniture is easily installed because the constraints relating to the boat’s complex architecture were resolved in the design stage. In the interests of sustainable development, all partitions and furniture panels on Lagoon catamarans are made using Alpi reconstituted wood.

Dubbed the “Gentle Giant” by multihull enthusiasts who virtually blockaded the boat in Cannes, one of the first reviewers to be granted a test sail was Philippe Echelle of the leading magazine Multihulls World. His lengthy and very detailed report released in February says in part: “Our boat was the three-cabin owner’s version, with three separate heads. Its size allows it to have a real flybridge, without impinging too much on the actual lines. The flybridge houses two big helm stations, with all the necessary instruments, and great positioning of the engine controls and bow thruster. The panoramic view from the deck and mast is excellent.

“Tastefully fitted furniture here gave an almost nomadic atmosphere, with comfortable light upholstery which was perfect to use. A meal for 10 people could easily be fitted on the deck salon, with an additional table serving for drinks or for children to sit at. “A guest suite to starboard is accessed via a private stairway at the entrance to the salon. Thick carpet, attractive bathroom, small corner desk, and natural and indirect electric lighting which creates a luxurious, but not flashy, atmosphere.

“The port forward cabin offers exactly the same, except that the bed is oriented athwartships. A large pivoting door in the topsides opens up to become a balcony, fenced by guard wires on carbon stanchions, creating an amazing relaxation area. This original idea really breaks away from the norm”.

Naval Architect Marc Van Peteghem comments: “The design of the Seventy 7 had to set the boat clearly in the yacht category, by being fully part of the Lagoon family, centred around living on board, while maintaining performances which allow 220 mile days.

“It was important to maintain the Lagoon values – family, enjoyable, welcoming. But above all, not to be ostentatious. The first comments we got from owners visiting the boat at Cannes indicated that together we – the yard, Nauta and ourselves – had succeeded in creating this balance. If I had to choose two words to describe the Lagoon Seventy 7, they would be gentle giant”. The phrase was coined, and it has stuck.

Exterior design was by Patrick Le Quément, and interior styling by Nauta. The vessel carries a 193 sqm mainsail, 130 sqm furling genoa and 81 sqm furling staysail, plus a 500 sqm asymmetric spinnaker.

Two 180 or 230 HP motors with shaft driven props are the options. The price of the model tested by Philippe, with literally all options such as air-con, two generators, two watermakers, dinghy, media centre, Brookes nav-pack, 4G wifi internet connectivity, reversing cameras, DFI sails, spinnaker and so on was €4,340,147 excluding tax.

This story was first published in Yacht Style 37.

Solar-powered watches: Casio Oceanus OCW-G1100S timepiece pays tribute to the exosphere

Sasiwimon S.

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April 7, 2017

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Solar-powered watches: Casio Oceanus OCW-G1100S timepiece pays tribute to the exosphere

Worldtimer with auto switching and radio-controlled solar calibre — just some of the features of the Casio Oceanus OCW-G1100S

The Casio Oceanus OCW-G1100S is not a reference to Oceanus, the figure in Greco-Roman mythology who represented the world-ocean surrounding the world. On the other hand, there is a connection of sorts here. The OCW-G1100S celebrates the exosphere, otherwise known as the space between our earthly atmosphere and outer space. The blue here represents the blue edge of the boundary between our terrestrial space and the inky blackness of outer space. In fact, just as the mythical Oceanus surrounded the world, so too does the exosphere.

Both the OCW-G1100 and the new OCW-G1100S are equipped with GPS and standard time signal reception technology, allowing both models to always supply the correct local time anywhere in the world. The nomenclature here tells us that the OCW-G1100S is an evolution of the original OCW-G1100. Of course, the new watch is packed with contemporary technology, including not only solar and GPS Hybrid Wave Ceptor but also a Dual Coil Motor.

This motor allows the hands at six o’clock to move at high speed both clockwise and anticlockwise. The display of time on the dial can thus change quickly whenever world time functions are used. In terms of user-friendliness, the right side of the moulded bezel indicates time zones ahead of UTC, accented in blue, while the left side indicates time zones behind UTC, rendered in black. This blue-black dichotomy continues on the dial, with an interesting touch at two o’clock representing stars. This is done with “recrystalised blue sapphires” (basically synthetic sapphires) and natural diamonds.

As part of the Oceanus line, the OCW-G1100S is cased in metal, here with a DLC coating.

Specifications

Movement Radio-controlled solar calibre, worldtimer with auto switching, direct access to UTC, chronograph, full auto calendar, low battery alert
Case 51.1 millimetres in titanium with ceramic bezel; water resistant to 100 metres
Strap Solid titanium bracelet
Price S$5,699

This article was originally published in WOW.

7 classic cars that took over the world, from Fiat 500 to the Volkswagen Beetle

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April 6, 2017

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7 classic cars that took over the world, from Fiat 500 to the Volkswagen Beetle

As the original Fiat 500 celebrates its 60th anniversary, we take a look back at the cars that took the automobile from expensive curiosity, well and truly into the mainstream. Some cars have been more innovative, some more popular and many have been better looking, but when it comes to bringing mobility to the people and to cementing the automobile’s place in our shared cultural history, the cars that follow are in a league of their own.

Ford Model T – 1908

The car itself may have been comfortably into its second decade of existence, but the Ford Model T is the vehicle that kick-started the automotive revolution. The first car was built on an automated assembly line to continually save costs, which were then passed onto potential byuers through smaller and smaller price tags. In production for 19 years, the car was built around the world and became owned by over half of all American drivers. By the time it was replaced by the Model A, Ford had built 14.68 million.

Austin 7 1922

The Cadillac Type 53 (1916) may have been the first car to hit upon the idea of a three-pedal box and gear lever, but the Austin Seven is the car that made the clutch, brake, accelerator pedal and handbrake positions the global standard. And that’s because even though it didn’t sell in particularly huge quantities, the design was licensed and replicated around the world. It also set the template for compact car packaging (it was just 1.9 meters long and 1.06 meters wide) that would persist until the Mini (also built by Austin) came along in 1959.

Volkswagen Beetle 1938

The Beetle was to Europe what the Ford Model T was to the US. An affordable, practical car for the masses. It was so good that even its connections with Hitler couldn’t stop it from being a hit. Its rear-mounted air-cooled engine layout would inspire the Fiat 500 and of course, provide the foundation on which the equally iconic Porsche 911 would be built. The car was built around the world and stayed in production until 2003 when example number 21,529,464 rolled off the production line in Mexico.

Citroen 2CV 1948

The story behind this car is almost as well known as the car itself. Designed specifically to meet the needs of rural France, the Citroen 2CV had to offer enough headroom so that it could be driven while wearing a hat. It had to accommodate a medium-sized farm animal in the rear and had to be able to offer a ride smooth enough as to not break a single egg, even when negotiating a freshly ploughed field. It also had to be simple enough to run so that it could be maintained with the typical tools found on a farmyard. The result was a French automotive icon that stayed in production with minor changes until 1990 and solidified Citroen‘s reputation as the world’s most innovative company when it comes to suspension systems.

Fiat 500 1957

Essentially the world’s first city car, the original Fiat 500 was built to compete with motorcycles and scooters and so had to be priced accordingly. Yet it was equal parts ingenious and affordable. Sticking a tiny air-cooled engine in the trunk meant that the car could actually seat four even though it was just 2.97 meters from nose to tail. That little 479cc two-cylinder engine was also extremely reliable because it was extremely simple and extremely familiar to many of its owners who were upgrading from two to four wheels.

Mini 1959

It can’t claim to be the world’s first city car, nor the first with front-wheel drive. But it was the first car to feature a transversely mounted engine to save space and to come with the gearbox mounted under the engine. The Mini could carry four passengers plus luggage and was incredibly fun to drive. It was the final nail in the UK’s motorcycle industry which, until that point had been the world’s best, and was one of the first “classless” cars, just as likely to be driven by movie stars and singers as by people working on the factory floor.

Ford Mustang 1964

No list of cars that brought mobility to the masses would be complete without the original Ford Mustang. The first car to be marketed directly to teenagers as much as their parents, this car was so sensational upon its launch that Ford sold over a million within 18 months. No car has ever come close to bettering that record, even one available in more than one country.

Expedition on board the superyacht “Latitude”, exploring the Norwegian Arctic

Life
Travel

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April 6, 2017

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Expedition on board the superyacht “Latitude”, exploring the Norwegian Arctic

After two consecutive passages through the famed Northwest Passage in 2014 and 2015, I was completely fascinated by the wonder of the arctic regions. I had only heard about the Svalbard archipelago, but the more I read and learned about it, the more I became determined to spend at least one more summer in the arctic, but this time, the Norwegian Arctic.

We boarded Latitude on July 8, 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden and after a short cruise to Copenhagen, where we picked up a couple of guests, we cruised to Bergen in the south west of Norway. From Bergen we took the rest of the month of July to cruise slowly up the west coast of Norway, exploring fjords like the Geiranger fjord and the Trollfjord, through to the Lofoten archipelago, known for its distinctive landscape with dramatic mountains leading down to sheltered bays, and up to Tromsø in Northern Norway. Tromsø is known as the cultural hub above the Arctic Circle and is a popular destination for viewing the northern lights.

After a few days in Tromsø, we set out to cross the Northern Ocean to the Svalbard archipelago, also known as Spitzbergen. On the way to Svalbard, we stopped at a small island called Bjørnøya, also known as Bear Island. Bjørnøya is a natural bird sanctuary with high cliffs where you’ll find nesting colonies of Auks, Black legged Kittwakes, Guillemots and Puffins. Bjørnøya is rarely, if ever, visited by passing ships and there are no tourist trips to Bjørnøya. We did however, find the remains of a Russian fishing boat whose crew had been partying, then got drunk and grounded their boat, which is now a permanent part of the island.

After a two-day stop in Bjørnøya, mainly due to weather, we left for Svalbard and its main city of Longyearbyen where we arrived on August 3. Longyearbyen is considered the Capital of Svalbard, and with a population of just over 2,000, is definitely the centre of activity within the archipelago. There are museums, good shopping, galleries and a good infrastructure to support tourist activities. It is quite remarkable, considering the population size. There is even a Michelin starred restaurant and a pub that is rated as having the 6th best bar in the world! The high season must see a lot of tourists.

Some weeks prior to getting there, we had made contact with Jason Roberts who is based out of Svalbard and who has worked with Sir David Attenborough for the past 30 years or so to produce documentaries like Frozen Planet, Human Planet etc. Jason was most helpful and suggested we take one of his colleagues, Einaar, a young Norwegian, with us for the trip. This was the best decision we ever made because Einaar’s knowledge of the archipelago and its wildlife was indispensable. As an added bonus, he had a delightful personality and got along with everyone on board. For anyone planning to visit the Arctic, I would highly recommend making contact with Jason Roberts Productions in Svalbard.

We had some guests who had to leave us on August 9, so we broke up the cruise plan into two parts. The first was a five-day cruise up the west coast of the archipelago and back to Longyearbyen. The second was a 17- day anti-clockwise circumnavigation of the entire archipelago, including a side trip to a very seldom visited (we were told we were the third boat to ever visit) island called Kvitøya and a short visit up to the Arctic ice pack north of 81 degrees north latitude.

The first day took us to the Krossfjord in the Northwest Spitzbergen National Park. The Krossfjord is 30 km long with various branches, spectacular scenery with numerous glaciers and many attractive excursion sites. We spent the day exploring various neighboring fjords, the Möllerfjorden, Mayerbukta and even managed to climb onto an iceberg floating in the Fjortende branch.

From the Krossfjord, we cruised to Magdalenefjord, which cuts about 10 km straight into the coast. This fjord is generally accessible year round and was popular with whalers in the 17th century. It has a bay, Trinityhamna, sheltered by the Gravneset peninsula which provides good shelter for visiting ships. In 1977 an Austrian mountaineer was killed by a polar bear in Magdalenefjord and this is where we also saw a large male polar bear, clearly resting on his journey to the north where the ice pack had receded to. We took a trip in the tender to Amsterdamøya, named after the Dutch whalers, where we saw a large group of Walrus sunning themselves.

The next stop was the Raudfjord, the first fjord eastward as you follow Spitzbergen’s north coast from the western corner. It is about 20 km long with a number of side bays with calving glaciers and shallow water. We took the tender and landed at Alichamna, where we hiked for about 14 km over very rocky terrain to the other side of the fjord where we lit a huge bonfire with driftwood before the tender came around and picked us up. Everyone slept very well that night!

On August 7, we went to Trygghamna and took the tender to Alkepynten with its spectacular 100m high cliffs, ideal for nesting bird colonies. We went there to see if we could find and photograph the arctic fox, known to linger at the base of the cliffs to catch any young Guillemots or Auks attempting their maiden flight, but who fail to make it as far as the sea!

These birds provide the last chance for the foxes to stash some food for the winter. Unfortunately, we did not see any fox on that day, although we did run into quite a few reindeer.

On the last day, before heading back to Longyearbyen to drop off some departing guests, we stopped at Pyramiden, a deserted town originally built by the Russians for a coal mining operation. When coal mining became uneconomical, they simply abandoned this town in 1998 and it now stands like a ghost town but with an operating hotel with six Russians who live there. We actually went and had a drink of Russian vodka at the bar. From Pyramiden we visited a nearby glacier where we were able to climb up and walk through the body of the glacier in a melt water channel. It is quite a unique experience as one is surrounded by an ice-blue tunnel of glacial ice. From the other side we managed to get on top of the glacier from where we got some good drone footage and photos.

After our guests left on August 9, we remained in Longyearbyen for a couple of days because the weather on the East coast of the archipelago, where we were headed, had turned nasty. In Longyearbyen we took a few walks, visited the arctic museums, did some shopping, and tried out all their restaurants.

We left Longyearbyen on August 11 at 7 pm and arrived at Bellesund at 1:30 am. Bellesund is the entrance to a fjord system with several branches extending up to 80 km inland. We went for a long hike to two hunting cabins at Camp Milar. This was our lucky day for, in addition to many reindeer and some action with two Skewers who constantly attacked us and our drone aerially, we also ran into an arctic fox mother with three cubs. We spent several hours photographing them both with our cameras and the drone.

On August 13 we cruised to Hornsund, the southernmost fjord of the Svalbard archipelago and some think, the most beautiful. It has eight large glaciers with calving fronts backed by some very impressive mountains including Horsundtind, the third highest mountain of the archipelago. The combination of peaks and glaciers provide some spectacular landscapes. We took our tender and visited glaciers at Bergerbukta, Brepollen and Storbreen and hiked to an incredible formation of rocks that can only be described as an Arctic Stonehenge. Along the way we saw more reindeer and a fox.

The next day we were planning to go to the Island of Edgeøya which has some bird nesting cliffs where polar bears have been known to climb when food is scarce, to eat the eggs and chicks from the nests. Unfortunately, the weather was bad and we would not have found a safe anchorage at Edgeøya so we skipped it and went on to Barentsøya and Dorstbukta where we did see two polar bears walking on the shore.

One of the most memorable moments of the trip was the visit to Viberbukta and the trip through all the brash ice to the massive Brassvell glacier which is a part of a glacier system consisting of 170 km of ice cliffs. It had several huge waterfalls coming off the top of the glacier making for a truly unforgetful sight.

On August 16 we started making our way to the “White Island,” Kvitøya but on the way we decided to make a stop on the northern tip of Storøya. These two islands are the remotest points of the archipelago, of which Storøya, the smaller island is only is 40 sq km in area. We arrived at 9:30 pm and went out for a little exploration with the tender. As it turned out, it was very timely because we spotted two polar bears and one of them quite near some walrus. It was so interesting, we did not return to Latitude till after 3 am. That was the advantage of the 24-hour sun, we could do whatever we wanted, anytime we wanted. We spent an extra day in Storoya before continuing to Kvitøya. Approximately 99 per cent of Kvitøya, which is 700 sq km in area, is covered with an ice cap and there are only three very small portions that are ice-free. We made our first stop at Andréeneset, one of the ice-free points but there was too much swell and, although we saw some walrus and one dead polar bear, we moved on to the north-eastern end of the island to Kræmerpynten where we spent two days.

While at Kvitøya, we did quite a bit of hiking and exploring with the tender. There was lots of brash ice in the water and many walrus mothers with their young babies. We also saw four polar bears (two of which stalked us when we were hiking on the glacier!) and also three dead polar bears. The bears either died of hunger or perhaps from injuries sustained while trying to attack the walruses. Walrus mothers with young can be very dangerous and will attack and wound or kill polar bears. At the end of one hike when we went right up to the topof the glacier, we came down to one of the ice-free areas on Kvitøya and lit a bonfire. It was so nice and warm with a blue sky, that we decided to have a barbecue dinner by the bonfire. The chef took the dinghy to go back to Latitude to get the food and supplies and, while we were waiting for him, a big male polar bear popped up quite close to us. He apparently came out of the water on the other side where he had probably been trying to hunt for walrus or seals. He became quite curious and started to approach us, so we had to abandon our plans for the barbecue dinner. He did provide some very nice photo opportunities over the next hour or so and then we returned to Latitude, as he climbed up the glacier on almost exactly the same path that we had taken coming down. Kvitøya was clearly the highlight of the trip and we were sorry to leave it but the weather started to change and we wanted to see if we could make it up to the polar ice shelf about a hundred miles north of the top of the Svalbard archipelago.

We left Kvitøya on August 20 in dense fog and very poor visibility. It was difficult going due to the presence of a lot of ice in the water. We made it to the polar ice shelf about 20 hours later and then spent two days in the ice. It is impossible to anchor up there as the water is too deep so we developed a technique where we would simply “hitch” ourselves to a large ice floe and then drift with it. We even managed to get out onto an ice floe and take some pictures, whilst the girls hula- hooped, and two people stood guard with rifles in case of a polar bear attack!! It was quite an amazing experience.

We left the ice shelf on August 23 and cruised to the Woodfjord area and into the Liefdefjord, which is very popular with visitors because of its extraordinary natural beauty and many excursion options. After anchoring near Sørdalsbukta, we visited the Monaco glacier and, after dinner, took the tender to an extraordinary “beach” under a huge Red mountain. We made a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and watched the changing colors as the sun moved slowly from one side to the other, without ever setting. While we were sitting by the fire, an Arctic fox popped his head up over the rise but was too shy to come any closer. The smell of the food was perhaps too much for him not to at least take a look. This bonfire under the red mountain was another one of the unforgettable events of the trip!

After leaving Liefdefjord on August 24, we ran into some pretty rough seas and bad weather, so we ducked in and took shelter in the Magdalenefjord on the West coast, where we had gone on the first part of the trip. Once the weather had improved, we left and made our way to Ny Alesund, one of the settlements which is still used by research stations set up by many countries including China, Japan, India, Italy and coordinated by the Norwegian Polar Institute. Ny Alesund is the highest point of human habitation on earth and is one of the most important sites in the history of exploration of the North Pole. During the summer, about 150 scientists from different countries work there collecting data on arctic ice and wildlife. The permanent population is only 40 people who stay there all year round.

After spending a little more than a day in Ny-Ålesund, we finally made our way back to Longyearbyen, very aware that we had just accomplished what few have done before: a complete circumnavigation of the Svalbard Archipelago with a stop at the Polar Ice shelf. Latitude has now been closer to the North Pole that any other private yacht. When we stopped on the ice floe, we were 400 miles from the North Pole.

This article was first published in Yacht Style 37.