SCOTLAND - FAROES - JAN MAYEN - BEAR ISLAND - SPITSBERGEN

A Marine Adventure in the North Atlantic & Arctic

With Oceanwide Expeditions and WildWings, whale & dolphin charity Organisation Cetacea (ORCA), have put together this unmissable 12-day cruise to the Arctic aboard the ‘MV Grigoriy Mikheev’

MV Grigoriy Mikheev © Oceanwide Expeditions

Whale-watching for Fin, Blue, Sperm, N Bottlenose and many more Top-quality ORCA guide, plus full-time cetacean surveyer recording sightings Lectures and presentations, survey techniques and identification skills remote, rarely-visited Atlantic and Arctic islands Polar Bear in spectacular icy Spitsbergen fjords under the Midnight Sun Reindeer, Arctic Fox and seals - Bearded, Ringed & Harp Seabird cliffs with Puffin, Little Auk, and Brünnich’s Guillemot Ivory Gull, Grey Phalarope & King Eider all possible what’s more ORCA receives a percentage of the tour cost . . . read on then come and join us!

Our Vessel is the Dutch-owned ‘Grigoriy Mikheev’ a modern and comfortable former research vessel built in 1990 in Finland. With an ice-strengthened hull, and manned by an enthusiastic and highly experienced Russian crew of around 20, it carries 55 passengers. There’s a large bridge (where you are almost always welcome), excellent open deck-viewing areas, and great food, prepared by international chefs, is served in the dining room, which also acts as the lecture room. Other public areas include a lounge and bar, small library, infirmary, and sauna. Each morning the ship’s English-speaking professional team will tell us about the day’s planned activities and the wildlife we can expect to see. Using the four large Zodiacs, we’ll approach beautiful fjords and the pack-ice, and make safe, easy shore landings. Usually there will be excursions of about 3-4 hours, both morning and afternoon, and later in the trip, in case we encounter a Polar Bear, we’ll need to be close to one of our armed guides!

A full-colour brochure is available about the ship.

Day 1
We board our ice-hardened research vessel, the ‘Grigoriy Mikheev’ in the attractive small harbour town of Oban on the Scottish west coast, and from here journey out through a panorama of beautiful inner Hebridean isles. The sounds and channels can be excellent for Minke Whales and Harbour Porpoise, birds such as Manx Shearwater and Storm Petrel, plus over the coming days there’s a good chance of Orca, Common and Risso’s Dolphins.

Day 2
North Rona, north-east of the Western Isles of Scotland is the most remote island in Britain to have ever been permanently inhabited, and we’ll land to see the seabird colonies and Grey Seals, plus Leach’s Petrels may be heard calling from their nesting burrows in the ruined walls of a small church in the ‘village’. Venturing farther into the Atlantic, remote Sula Sgeir lies more than forty miles north of Lewis and is best known for its large Gannet colony, which in recent years has been joined by a lone Black-browed Albatross.

Bearded Seal © Ian Rowlands

Day 3
Today we arrive at Thorshavn, the capital and cultural centre of the Faroe Islands. The Islands are stunning - rising steeply and dramatically from the sea – and in the harbour the small Faroese boats are a reminder of the Viking origins of the islanders. There’s a chance to explore, look for endemic Faroe Island’s Wren, shop, and visit the museum. Keen walkers can make an exciting foray across the hills to Kirkjubøer where they there’s a medieval cathedral. Tucked away at the head of a fjord is Saksun, and in the early evening we’ll try to land at this superb natural harbour which is now filled by sand. Continuing along the north side of Streymoy, we pass huge cliffs filled with Guillemot, Black Guillemot, Razorbill, and Gannet, whilst Puffins appear to blacken the sky! There are also chances for Pilot Whale, and White-sided Dolphins.

Days 4 & 5
We now have two days at sea – for whale-watchers this will be an exciting time - as we sail north along the deeper waters of the Norwegian basin to Jan Mayen, situated 300 nautical miles north-east of Iceland. We’ll be watching for whale blows as these little-surveyed waters hold numbers of Fin Whales, plus the possibility of encounters with Sperm and even Blue Whale. Perhaps we might run into a pod of Orcas, and this is an excellent area to discover groups of Northern Bottlenose Whales, which are often very curious about boats such as ours.

Fine Whale © Graeme Cresswell

Day 6
Jan Mayen is a volcanic island of breathtaking beauty and mystique, with unique lichens, mosses and flora, dominated by the 2300m volcano Mt Beerenberg, from whose slopes impressive glaciers spill into the sea. Until recently the island was rarely visited by tourists being off-limits as a military base, but we hope to visit with permission from the Norwegian authorities. We’ll walk across the island to Kvalrossbukta to look at, and reflect on, the remains of a 17th century Dutch whaling station. We’ll see thousands of Fulmars, and plan to sail by Koksletta where, watched over by piratical Glaucous Gulls, thousands of Little Auks and Brünnich’s Guillemots breed close to a glacier.

Days 7 & 8
More watching for whales is in store, as we spend two more days at sea, entering the deeper waters of the Greenland Sea. There will be opportunities to learn more about cetacean biology, whale and dolphin identification, and techniques used to survey populations.

Day 9
We reach Bjørnøya - Bear Island – on the edge of the Barent’s Sea where Arctic and Great Skuas can be seen during a walk across the desolate hills and tundra, as we visit Kvalrossbukta and it’s long-abandoned whaling station. Depending upon the weather we will either sail along the west coast, where one of the largest seabird colonies in the North Atlantic teems with Little Auks, Brünnich’s Guillemots, Common Guillemots and Kittiwakes, or alternatively we will sail along the east coast to visit Tunheim, to explore ashore at an abandoned mining settlement. Sailing north, we approach the sea-ice at the southern tip of Spitsbergen, where we are likely to encounter moulting Harp Seals and pods of White-beaked Dolphins - right up to the ice edge.

Zodiacs in Hornsund © Ian Rowlands

Day 10
The maze of fjords in the spectacular Hornsund area of southern Spitsbergen is a place of wonder. Ringed by towering mountain peaks, which show why early Dutch explorers gave the name ‘Spitsbergen’ (pointed mountains) to the island, there are also 14 magnificent glaciers which spill into the sea. We shall be especially vigilant because the combination of glaciers and sea-ice attracts Bearded and Ringed Seals, and so the top predator and very symbol of the Arctic - Polar Bear. The bears are drawn by ice-movements and prey to this area and we’ve had some wonderful encounters here, including mothers with cubs. Ivory Gulls, Arctic Terns and dark phase Fulmars are all likely too.

Polar Bear © Ian Rowlands

We may be able to visit the Polish research station, where incredible numbers of Little Auk nest amongst the boulder fields allowing close approach and their squealing cries fill the air. Elsewhere cliffs are lined with colonies of Brünnich’s Guillemots and Kittiwakes, and, on the tundra, we’ll have opportunities to se foraging Barnacle and Pink-footed Geese.

Day 11
Bones of Beluga Whales at Kapp Toscana beach on Ahlstrandhalvøya, at the mouth of Van Keulenfjord, are a reminder of the 20th century exploitation of these small white whales, but numbers are now recovering and, if we look hard, there’s a possibility of spotting small groups in the area. A walk on the fragile tundra should reveal short-legged Svalbard Reindeer, there’s an outside possibility of Arctic Fox, birds such as Long-tailed Duck and Snow Bunting, plus maybe King Eider and Grey Phalarope. We may also explore at Midterhuken - the weather will determine which good options will be chosen in this area.

Day 12
Finally we disembark at Longyearbyen, the administrative centre of Spitsbergen, for flights south to Norway and onward to home. Alternatively there is an option to stay on the ship and continue the voyage to North Spitsbergen (ask for details).
NB The ship’s itinerary is subject to weather, ice and local conditions throughout the voyage.

Just some of what we hope to see:
Fin Whale
Northern Bottlenose Whale
Pilot Whale
Sperm Whale
Minke Whale
(Blue Whale)
(Beluga Whale)
(Humpback Whale)
Killer Whale
White-beaked Dolphin
Harbour Porpoise
Polar Bear
Svalbard Reindeer
(Arctic Fox)
Ringed Seal
Bearded Seal
Harp Seal
Puffin
Little Auk
Brünnich’s Guillemot
Ivory Gull
Grey Phalarope
Arctic Skua
Great Skua
(Long-tailed Skua)
Storm Petrel
(Leach’s Petrel)
(King Eider)
Snow Bunting
(Black-browed Albatross)

Note that the ship's itinerary is subject to weather, ice and local conditions throughout the voyage

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WildWings
0117 9658 333
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Website: www.wildwings.co.uk

577-579 Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol. BS16 3AF. UK
Strand Travel Limited trading as: WildWings and WildOceans. ATOL 5429