Images

Image

Polar Plungers

An impromptu group developed on board the Plancius.

The group was started by our Chairman and President, an Australian travel blogger. He asked around who would be willing to plunge into the Arctic Ocean and started gathering names, including mine.

He asked our expedition leader about the possibility of a Polar Plunge and we got the green light.

So at the end of our visit to the bird cliffs at Hornsund, at 5 (17:00) the self-chosen few gathered on the rocky beach to begin this Polar right of passage.

The bird cliffs at Horsund.

Those who have plunged in both the Arctic and Antarctic are known as Bi-Polar Plungers.

A light drizzle stared and the temperature hovered around 34 degrees.

My body and mind said “no” but if Dr. Rock was going in, then so was I. My biggest concern was not the plunge, you had to put your head under to make it official, but undressing and dressing with my multi layers in the wind, rain, and cold. And then there was the Zodiac ride back to the Plancius. The sloped rocky beach didn’t make walking to the water in bare feet any easier.

As I was contemplating the cold waters a Dutch member of our tribe (let’s call her Mary), stripped off, ran towards the water, jumped in, and started doing laps.

Well this was a challenge. Bring it on! I divested myself of four layers and hobbled down the pebble beach to the Arctic waters.

Up to the ankle it wasn’t so bad but I wasn’t sure if I could feel my toes. I turned to the crowds on the beach and Christlike, fell backwards for the full immersion.

I’m not sure if I really did a lap but it was more a splashing Polar paddle and before I knew it I was hobbling up the rocky beach to my now damp towel.

After the plunge, Dr. Jon (Ship’s Doctor), gave me a certificate that reads:

This is to certify that

Corvidsketcher

Defied death by surviving a swim in the frigid Arctic waters in Hornsund, Svalbard

This twenty fifth day of June, 2024

Witnessed and certified as still living by

Dr. Jon

Ship’s Doctor

MV Plancius

Footnote: Dr. Jon also joined us as a member of the Polar Plungers!

I self-elected myself with the task of designing the Polar Pluggers logo. I thought the walrus would be a good mascot for the group, albeit an icy blue one!

Image

Arctic Fox And Svalbard Reindeer

A key arctic mammal that I had missed out on in Iceland last summer was the fox of the north, the Arctic Fox. I know that I would have good chances of seeing this species in Svalbard.

Another mammal that I was also hoping to see was the reindeer subspecies, the Svalbard Reindeer, which is the smallest subspecies or reindeer or caribou.

And on a landing to Russebukta, I had the chance to see both. On our landing I chose to join the medium hiking group that was led by our expedition leader Phillipp. It always pays to be near the leader because he has the knowledge of the land and the rifle (poplar bear protection).

We walked by some ponds that yielded some avian Arctic breeders: the stunning king eider, pink-footed geese, purple sandpiper, snow bunting, and red phalarope. I pointed out red phalarope and Phillipp told me that is now known as the gray phalarope, red in breeding season and grey in non-breeding. Of course this is what the phalarope is called in Europe (grey) but is called red in North America. There is is only one name we can agree on, it’s scientific name: Phalaropus fulicarius, which does not change, unlike there varied common name.

The stunning breeding plumage of the red or gray phalarope.

We crested a rise and on the tundra I saw my first Svalbard reindeer! After taking a few pictures we hiked on. At one stop, we were waiting for the camera horde to catch up, I spotted what I thought was a far off reindeer. But it was moving like a reindeer that had had one too many espressos. What I was looking at was not a reindeer, but an Arctic fox! Our guide noted that it was great to have a birder in the group because we are so good at spotting wildlife, even the mammalian variety.

The fox was not clearly visible to the naked eye so we turned back to shore and the Planicus. We were at the crest of a small rise near a line of rock. We were stopped again waiting for our photo stragglers. I looked off to my right and a fox appeared among the rocks, “Arctic Fox!” I exclaimed.

An Arctic fox with most of it’s winter plumage. A snow bunting above for scale.

The fox’s body was white with a darker face and legs. It superficially looked like a wolf in sheep’s clothing!

Image

Walrus Herd Sketcher

High on my pinniped wishlist was the Arctic toothwalker: the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus).

We saw our first walrus on the pack ice on our third day. It was a large male resting on its cool floating bed. The walrus did not seem alarmed by a large ship in its vicinity. He looked up, surveyed the ship, and then returned to its nap. Over the next few hours we saw four more walruses including a female with calf (they were more skittish and disappeared under water).

This was not to be our best walrus sightings of the voyage, our best experience was saved for our last full day on the western side of Spitsbergen. This was in the fjord Bellsund.

A guide spotted about 20 walruses hauled out on a sandspit so our afternoon landing plans changed as our focus was getting great looks at a mass of walruses (known as a herd).

The Zodiacs dropped us upwind and was quietly walked towards the end of the sandspit and the resting walruses.

Once we were about 50 yards from the herd, the guides had us form in a line so all could have an unobstructed view of this iconic Arctic marine mammal.

We slowly crept closer and the walrus herd was not perturbed in the slightest. This is a beast that the ice bear has a hard time preying upon, so a pack of camera wielding nature lovers was nothing!

A wall of walrus at Bellsund.

This was a great time for a sketch. So I took out my small Hahnemühle sketchbook and started sketching walrus.

Image

Bamsubu

On our morning shore visit our Zodiacs headed to the hunter cabin and beluga carnage at Bamsubu.

I was on the first Zodiac ashore and I planned to sketch the hunting cabin amid the bones. The rustic cabin, built by Arctic necessity rather than true craftsmanship, stood on a rise and I sketched it in with my brush pen.

I was originally told that I would have little time to sketch during landings because the group had to keep moving and we didn’t have prolonged stops. But it was the photographers that slowed up the groups not a lone Corvidsketcher with sketchbook and pen.

Within ten minutes I had finished two sketches, one of the cabin and the other a beluga whale skull.

We arranged ourselves into three different hiking groups, I chose the medium hike led by our expedition leader Phillipp.

We headed up the hill to look at a stone cairn, once a lookout for belugas. Phillipp announced to the group that he had something to show us and we headed inland, away from the cabin and carnage. Here we came upon some other carnage. This time younger bones and hair. White hair. It could he from the Svalbard reindeer but the claw spoke of the ice bear.

Well I had finally seen a polar bear. . . Ish. The bears live by feast and famine with a high mortality rate for the young ones and the rising temperatures at the poles are diminishing their hunting platforms, sea ice, for their favorite meal, the bearded seal.

After reflecting on the former bear we headed uphill to a rocky outcrop with a commanding view of the fjord. Once at the top, Phillipp had a challenge for us: find a spot, sit quietly for five minutes, and take in the sounds of the Arctic. In outdoor ed terms this is called a silent sit.

I reinterpreted it as a silent sketch. Challenge accepted.

Enjoying the view with the Plancius at anchor in the fjord.
Image

Sketching the Plancius, Part 2

There was plenty of free time and unlimited polar daylight to sketch while aboard the Plancius.

There were two sketches I pre visualize before the trip. Sketching the bow-view of the Plancius and sketching from the bridge.

I sketched the bow view while we were moving through the pack ice. On the Plancius they have an open bridge policy which means you are invited to visit the bridge and enjoy the views. I used this time to sketch the bridge and our captain.

Aside from my berth, there was one part of the ship that I spent most of my time: the lounge. Here was 24 hour coffee, the bar, the library, and amazing views. This was a great place to mingle with other passengers.

It was also where the guide’s lectures were held, ranging in topics such as Svalbard reindeer, Arctic fox, walrus, geology, history, Polar mirages, and sea ice. It was also here where we were briefed about the previous day’s landings.

Before the Arctic Fox lecture I sketched a view of the lounge and its inhabitants.

Image

Sketching the Plancius, Part 1

I first caught sight of the Plancius, my home for a week, in Longyearbyen Harbor.

So I sketched it.

The Palancius at anchor At Longyearbyen Harbor.

I was aware of a man with a camera milling about. After my sketch he told me he took my picture while I was sketching. He told me that he was part of an expedition to the North Pole. Svalbard is certainly the starting point of Polar adventures.

The m/v Plancius was built in 1976 as a research vessel for the Royal Dutch Navy and was christened “Hr. Ms. Tydeman”. She was purchased by Oceanwide Expeditions in 2004 and rebuilt as a passenger vessel. She was renamed Plancius after the Dutch astronomer and cartographer.

I had plenty of other opportunities to sketch the Plancius from shore. My favorite Plancius sketch was on a hike at Bamsebu. We headed up the slope with amazing views of the fjord with Plancius anchored in the middle.

It was here that our guide had a challenge: sit for five minutes quietly and take in the sights and sounds of the Arctic. This is called a silent sit but I did a silent sketch instead (featuring sketch). This was an easy challenge for me but about three minutes in I heard the tell-tale sounds of cameras.

When we made Zodiac landfall we had to always remember that we were in the land of the world’s largest carnivore, the polar bear.

Before any passengers made a landing, the landing site was surveyed both from the bridge and by Zodiac to make sure there were no recent signs of polar bear activity.

Once we landed, all guides were armed with a flare gun and a high caliber rifle. Keeping passengers safe was important but no guide wants to kill a bear. The first option if a bear was heading towards a group, was to use a flair gun in an attempt to scare the bear away. The rifle was the very last resort and none of our guides had ever had to use one in the field.

I’m not sure how reassuring this was, I hoped they were good shots but our lead guide assured me they regularly practice.

Luckily, no rifles were fired on our week-long adventure. But unluckily, spoiler alert, we saw no polar bears.

Image

The Great Auks and the Natural History Museum

In Iceland last summer I saw the last domain of the now extinct great auk. I have never seen a specimen before and Oslo’s Natural History Museum had two. But the irony is that once 19th Century naturalists knew that the great auk was nearing extinction, there was a mad rush to add a specimen to their museum’s collection thus pushing the auk to full extinction.

The museum had an extensive collection of mounts featuring animals from around the world. One mount caught my attention, it was an animal from Tasmania. This was the extinct Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger.

Unfortunately a natural history museum is one of the only places to see extinct animals such as the great auk and thylacine.

Another part of the museum that I was drawn to was the Svalbard section, featuring animals that I was looking forward to seeing.

Two species topping my list: ivory gull and polar bear.

I sketched one of the two polar bear mounts in my small sketchbook, and yes the bear’s tongue was really sticking out.

Unfortunately polar bear mounts are all over Scandinavia and I saw many in museums. There was even one in the Longyearbyen Airport baggage claim. Finding a real live bear, outside of a zoo, proved to be a real challenge.

Image

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

On Wednesday morning I took the T-Bane (the subway) out to see and sketch the Holmenkollen Ski Jump.

Public transportation in Oslo is so easy to use and you can get anywhere you need to go in or around Oslo. A few stops after Central Station we were no longer underground. Our train was not even on elevated tracks like the Bay Area’s BART. Indeed the 1 train was running at grade level with an exposed third rail! You got to love a people that can deal with accessible high voltage without doing something stupid.

The ride was pleasant with even crossing gates (for a subway!!) and as we climbed the hill towards Holmenkollen, the views of Oslo Fjord were stunning.

The little suburban stations that passed by reminded me of British branch line stations, small but homey. After about a 20 minute ride, I detained at the station and then walked 10 minutes up hill to the ski jump.

In someway this journey was a pilgrimage for my father, he introduced me to skiing and some of the best memories of my life are skiing with him over fresh powder. I really own my life to skiing because my parents met at the South Bay Ski Club.

The Holmenkollen Ski Jump is a functional work of art. When I first found a vantage point I had to add its serpentine curves to my sketchbook. (Featured sketch).

Best laid plans: this truck backed into my sketch so I had to patiently wait to finish my sketch.

After my sketch I visited the oldest ski museum in the world. For some reason it was under-lit as if the museum was in the possession of copies of the First Folio. It did not make for good sketching light.

Can’t beat the view!

I took the elevator to the top of the ski jump and the views of Oslo Fjord were stunning. So I had to sketch it of course.

A lot of sketcher’s shorthand was involved in this one. I left out all of the buildings, as I was really just trying to focus on capturing the form of the fjord and islands. This is a landscape not a cityscape.

Image

Vigeland Park

Vigeland park is one of the largest outdoor sculpture parks in the world. All of the sculptures are by Norway’s Gustav Vigeland.

This park is not for the prudish as it’s pure nudity in stone. There are over 200 of Vigeland’s sculptures and it can be an overwhelming place to visit for two reasons: first the sheer size of the collection, the unclothed human form in all sorts of poses and positions and secondly, Vigeland Park is one of Oslo’s top tourist sites. Tour buses disgorge camera-snapping hordes into the park and it’s hard to spend quality time with the art as you can be preoccupied with dodging selfie takers while trying not no wander into someone shot, well maybe I did a few times with purpose!

The plus side of sketching is that you don’t have to wait for the groups to get out of the way to do a sketch. Sometimes I even include them, for scale of course, in my sketch.

Vigeland Park is really a sketcher’s paradise. So many unmoving subjects everywhere you point your sketchbook.

I did three sketches in my two visits. Your constant companion is the park is the black-headed gull (more brown-headed). So I felt I had to include one in a sketch. To these gulls, this elevated art is simply a nice perch and the level of white-wash on the sculptures also turns the gulls into art critics.

At the highest point is the Monolith. This tower humans was carved out of a single piece of granite and two 20 years to finish.

While sketching the Monolith, I kept it loose, knowing that I was not going to draw every single human figure in the column. I just want to make a suggestion to the viewer without filling in every detail. In the end I am happy with the approach.

Some of the sculptures around the Monolith are very moving; so very human. I could sketch in this park for years and always find new subjects.

One of the most popular sculptures in the park, the number one sculptures most visitors want a selfie with is the Angry Boy. I sketch a version of the sculpture at the Vigeland Museum, near the park. This Angry Boy is not have a line in front of it so I was able to get a sketch in.

Sections of Monolith at the Vigeland Museum in Oslo. This museum gets much less visitors that the adjacent park.
Image

Norsk Folkemuseum

High on my sketch list was the traditional stave church at the Norwegian Folk Museum.

I took the first Bygdoy Ferry to the peninsula to visit this very popular outdoor museum, which is Norway’s largest outdoor museum.

The museum has over 140 buildings from different regions of Norway spanning an impressive span of time.

Once the gates opened at 10, I made my way to the stave church, using the map to navigate the large trail system. The church was so full of detail that I went with a very loose style, not focusing on every single shingle but choosing the form of the church.

Church, sketch, and a photobombing cat.

After my sketch I headed to another section and on the way I passed a robin statue-still on a sign. I was almost fooled into believing that this was a wooden carving until the red breast burst into life and shot off to forage in the underbrush. I add this experience to the other side of my spread.

I found a collection of house farmsteads with a living roof of green so I found a bench and started sketching. My sketch was interrupted by rain so I had to finish my sketch in stages while retreating to a nearby house.

For this sketch, featured sketch, I used a little real-time editing. Behind the buildings, huge cranes reached into the air, shattering the feeling of time travel and firmly placing me back in the 21 Century. The cranes where above the site of the Vikingshipshuset (Viking Ship Museum). This museum has one of the most iconic preserved Viking ships in existence, the Oseburg Ship. The museum was closed in September 2021 for a complete renovation. The new museum will reopen in 2027.

This section of the museum felt like I had travelled forward in time from the last two buildings I sketched. I was traveling from Norway’s rural countryside to more developed towns.

Sounds like I need to make another visit to the Bygdoy Peninsula some time in the future!