Journal Entry - Tromsö to Northeastland

We were due in Tromsö at 2.30p.m. on Friday July 26th, and the advance party of Sandy, Andrew and David came down in “Polar” to meet us, but we were all in having our lunch; they were furious, climbing up the rigging and shouting and blowing horns but getting no response. As soon as “Irma” tied up, “Polar” came alongside and we handed the baggage over from one ship to the other. We then went up to the hotel and talked while the others had their lunch. A bit of sorting out of luggage at the Customs and then Brownie and I went up to the Nordlysobservatoriet; we took a taxi and it’s a good thing we did, for it’s a long way up and when we did get there Dr Harang, whom we wanted to see, had gone away and there was only a young lad there who could only speak Norwegian and we couldn’t make ourselves understood. However there was no good in staying since Harang had gone, so we had a look around and saw the ionosphere apparatus that we had seen earlier at Slough. It’s wonderful up at the top of the hill there, with smallish trees and buttercups and other purple flowers in the fields and fine mountains all round in the distance.

We had a dinner at night at the hotel with the captain and mate of ‘Polar” as guests, also Consul Carl Saether who has done such a tremendous amount for us, and Captain Hansen who was with Amundsen on the N.W. passage and the South Pole, and with Binney on the first crossing of Northeastland from E. to W. We slept and had breakfast on board and afterwards went ashore to visit the meteorological office. We have arranged to send them three weather reports daily if our small wireless transmitter can reach either Bear Island or Tromsö. After that four of us got the dogs on board from an old Russian ship: we had to catch them and put then in a rowing boat and then get them on to “Polar”. They are not fierce at all: you just catch them at the back of the neck as you would a cat, and carry them - except that they are very heavy. We got them all over in three boat loads and then washed. Then lunch, a lot of good-byes, and away we sailed.

“Polar” is a wooden sealing ship 70ft long, with a semi-diesel motor of 80H.P.and a crew of 8. There is great congestion as the saloon is 7ftx7ft and 10 of us are expected to live or have our headquarters there: two of us sleep there, three in cabins round it, two in the capt’s cabin on the bridge - where also live Merratark and her puppy - and the rest with the crew in the foc’sle. The ship was absolutely full and even after we had taken some things off to be brought on later, there were only a few inches of freeboard and the ship was heavily overladen. The dogs are roaming all over the deck - 22 of them: they are nice beasts but timid and dirty. Luckily they won’t face the stairs down to the saloon, but they will stick their faces in the door, so that when you go up, you just stick your face in theirs, and nothing will move them. The food is indescribably awful, and the ship provides no washing facilities, so apart from our teeth we haven’t washed for nearly a week now. We are very low in the water, but it is just out of reach.

It was lovely all Saturday evening threading our way between the islands and we had a glorious sunset - we were wondering whether the sun would set, and in the end it didn’t quite, but crept along just above the horizon for an incredibly long time and then rose again; all the time there was a glorious red light on the islands - rocky hills with snow in patches. We were then getting out to sea and retired to bed. A gale rose during the night and by the morning the ship was moving through amazing angles. Breakfast was only eaten by few, and before long all of us were ill. All Sunday and Monday the gale continued; it rained at times and they kept on encouraging us by saying it would improve, but it continued unabated for two days. if you crept on deck - banging your head no end of times on the way up on doors, booms etc - it was impossible to stand and the sea was coming over the deck every minute, and we were slowed down considerably as each time the ship pitched forward the screw came out of the water. We lost one dog washed overboard - and were lucky only to lose the one.

At last by Tuesday morning it began to get calmer, and we crept out of our bunks and wobbled about on weak knees and began to take a little nourishment. Quickly it became calmer, colder and the sun came out and quite ice was reported from the crow’s nest, and we ran into it about noon. In all there were three long strips of drift ice about 400 yards broad and stretching to the horizon in both directions. We were soon through the first but anchored in the middle of the second and ran about on the bigger floes and took in fresh water. There was a small iceberg too that was probably aground. It was fine to be able to run about a bit. After that we pushed on, and after getting through another strip it became rougher and we saw no more. We reached South Cape, Spitzbergen, that night, and all Wednesday we sailed up the west coast about 20 miles from it. It was dull weather but it was a beautiful sight with rows and rows of rocky mountains and with glaciers coming down to the sea.

On Thursday afternoon we reached the N.W. corner of Spitzbergen and stopped at South Gat to pick up a boat and some wood from a hunter Schmidt. There were five of them living there - Schmidt, who had been with Binney and with Ahlmann in Northeastland, Ritter, the ex-Austrian cavalry officer and three others. We had three hours ashore there while the crew took on the stuff: some went hunting seals for the dogs, but only saw one; some shot a dozen or so birds for ourselves and the dogs; and Brownie, Robert and I went ashore for exercise. It was a nuisance our having to leave things behind in Tromsö for I had not got my climbing boots with me and had to go about on rope soles. The clouds were down on the hills at about 600ft; at first we had a bit of clambering over rocks and then we got on to the glacier which at first was quite a gentle gradient, and with soft snow on top: it was the first glacier I had been on! After ascending it for a bit it split up into five branches coming down the mountain. It was much steeper here and slippery on top and hard ice just below, and I couldn’t manage it. The others put on crampons and went up into the clouds. I went round another way climbing up the rocks, which was good warming exercise; when I got up to the top of the part I was climbing the mists lifted at times and one could see a glorious blue sky above and the mountain rocks up to the summit rising high above the glacier. In the distance the others were visible as two specks climbing up the glacier face, and looking down the glacier one could see the ship in the strait looking like a rather large rowing boat, and a smaller boat going to and fro between the ship and the shore. Getting down was not so easy, but I got down before the others, and soon afterwards “Polar” started off again, sailing along the North coast of Spitzbergen.

Next day there was fog when we woke up and the ship was among ice. We could see quite a long way, but not as far as the coast, and the skipper didn’t know where we were. They all just steer by observation and guesswork, and on the way up used to get alarmed when John took our position and found us off the course. There were a number of seals about - big Storkobers - and Archie got one with a beautiful shot, and before the end of the day we had collected three in all.

In the evening the fog began to lift and when we could first see land, to our astonishment we were just about in the mouth of Brandy Bay - which was now our destination as we definitely couldn’t get to Rijps Bay as it’s a late ice year. The mists hung round Cape Hansteen, but it cleared everywhere else, and it was indescribably beautiful with the sun shining on Cape Rubin and on all the sea and ice-floes floating about of all colours from white to very green. The water became clearer and clearer as we got in, but after a bit we ran into solid bay ice, and we had to break into this. This is great fun. The ship takes a run at it and runs over the ice till its weight cracks the ice and opens up channels until it gets stopped; then the ship reverses to get up speed and run through the opened up channels. We fought our way through about 500yds of ice in this way, but it was solid for another three miles, and with the skipper muttering about shortage of oil, it looked as if we would never reach the intended site for the base camp. Karl jumped about on the ice to inspect it near the shore, and we all had a long talk on deck, everybody suggesting what should be done, and then we all went to sleep about midnight.

An hour later I was awakened and Sandy, Andrew, Brownie, Karl and I went ashore on the east side of the bay to investigate a site there. For us it seemed very suitable from a wireless point of view, and beautifully situated under high cliffs of good rock, with thousands of birds living there, a stream conveniently near, and an abundance of driftwood. The terrain consisted of granite boulders, but there were some mossy places. So we went on board again and woke up everybody for a conference, and it was decided that we should land.

Journal Entry - From Bergen to Tromsö

d.s. Irma

image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DS_Irma_ved_Åndalsnes.jpg

We left Bergen on the D.S. “Irma” at 7 p.m. on Monday evening, and reached Tromsö at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The “Irma” is a coal burning vessel of about 2000 tons, 30 years old and built in England. It was on the Bergen-Newcastle route until replaced by “Venus”. She is a pleasant boat, though very unsteady: the cargo is not systematically placed, so the ship has a permanent list to starboard, which is being gradually rectified as they burn away coal. One day when she stopped out at sea to take on a few passengers from a rowing boat, it looked as if she would topple over when all the passengers went over to one side. She only coals at Tromsö, on the back and forward journey and people who complain of the dirtiness of coal burning ships should come on board, for she is spotlessly clean. We have 3rd class tickets but eat and sit 1st class. The cabin is minute and contains four of us - Bentgssen, John, Robert and myself, a wash basin and enough room for one person to stand up. The bunks are most comfortable, and although we are right in the stern of the ship, there is absolutely no vibration, so little that I have often not woken up when the ship stops and starts again at night. The first evening we had a foretaste of the amusement we were to get out of Karl’s pronunciation of English - we were all talking about bears, while Karl was leaning against the door: when there was a pause he woke up a little and said ‘Ach, the beer, it is very strong’ - we all thought he’d had just a bit too much of it, but after a pause he went on - ‘with its great leg it will smash anything’.

The ship is very full - lots of people get on and off at every port - and we have had such a nice little Norwegian horse on deck, and a few pigs down in the hold too! The ship can do 15 knots, but keeps up a steady 13: she is one of a daily service and goes on after Tromsö, beyond North Cape, and takes 11 days for the to and fro journey from Bergen. It’s a good service and has kept up to time very well, - indeed, we had often stayed longer at the ports than scheduled since we are going so well - but it must be very difficult in the winter when it is dark and misty.

Time passes very quickly - much too quickly, in fact. Brownie gives us two morse lessons a day, and we play a sort of deck billiards (Cambridge beat Oxford 8-1), a little chess, and with occasional writing the odd minutes get filled up. But most of the time we stand in the bows, or elsewhere, admiring the view. Every day it gets better and better: at first the hills were quite low and the islands rocky but rather flat, but gradually they got higher and rougher, and now wherever you look you see jagged peaks, with snow in patches all over the mountain sides. Yesterday evening just before midnight we had to go through a long narrow channel between islands in the Lofoten group, with great mountains high on either side. We are well in the Arctic circle now, and could easily have read even in the cabin at midnight last night, even though it was cloudy outside. The weather has been very disappointing all the time - many of the mountain peaks have been enveloped in clouds and the sun has shone only for a few minutes all the time.

Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim

image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nidaros_Cathedral

We have stopped many times on the way - usually just for a few moments at smaller places when it was not worth getting off, but sometimes for an hour or more. Aalesund is a very pretty town, with a great rock of a hill rising up behind it. Karl took me round the village a bit - it has the largest sealing fleet in Norway but it is out just now. Then Trondhjem is a nice old town - the old capital. I wandered about with Robert but not in the best part of the town. However when we got back to the ship they had postponed the time of sailing and this time we found the centre of the city and the magnificent cathedral. It is built of granite, and reminded me very much of Salisbury, but it must have been built during different periods, for it has a full norman door, and some parts are very decorated. We had an hour in Bodö yesterday: most of us went off in cars to a viewpoint, but Brownie and I, feeling the want of exercise, climbed a ridge at great speed instead and got just as good a view. A short stay of 20 minutes at Stamsund gave us time to walk round a factory where fish heads and backbones are converted into cattle food and fertiliser. A curious factory: there were a few people working in it but nobody seemed to be in charge of anything. All the villages round here have curious rocks for drying fish on, and all have very big petrol tanks painted silver on an island in the neighbourhood which really look most attractive.

We’re due at Tromsö soon: I will be very sorry to leave the “Irma”.

Journal Entry - August 22nd 1935

This morning we had to collect our snow-gauges from the Geophyske Institute, but Mr Holmboe was out when we got there. A very German sort of building: equipped with everything, but with nobody about. At last we found somebody, but Mr Holmboe was out. We left our address, however, and he soon followed us to the hotel. He is a very nice man, speaking English well, has been on a short expedition to the Antarctic, and had spent 8 months in Wellington NZ which he enjoyed very much. The others had all gone out by the time we had finished this business, so Robert and I started climbing up the hill to Fløien at the top of a steep hill at the foot of which lie the docks. On the way up one got fine views of the town: of the old fortress by the quay, the town and all the hills around, and water in all directions. After lunch at the restaurant we climbed on up to the wireless station: unfortunately the clouds began to settle on the top and by the time we reached it we were walking about in a mist, and couldn’t see the top of the masts. So we walked back to Fløien, and to save time went back into the town by the rope railway. Then a bit of shopping - almost everybody speaks English - collecting things at the hotel, and then off to “Irma”.

Journal Entry - August 21st 1935

M/S Venus

image source: http://www.warsailors.com/homefleetsingles/venus.html

“Everybody hates the ‘Venus’”. Had a horrid crossing and didn’t get in till 6 p.m. to-day. I was of course, ill quite soon and then slept from midnight till 5 p.m.! We had no cabins, and the ship rolled so much that all the shoes were shooting all over the floor and we slipped from one end to the other of the slippery seat. It rained in torrents too. Archie, Dan with fiancée and sister, John, Robert, Brownie and self all on board: the others have gone on ahead. Have been for a short walk: Bergen is really delightful with picturesque houses and surrounded by wooded hills. I had no idea it was so far from the open sea: it took us ages coming up the fjords. As you walk along the “Tygsbrygge” you have the quays on one side and old fashioned houses, like so many in Hamburg, on the other - Bergen was one of the old Hanseatic towns and had much trade with Hamburg, Lübeck etc. A big fire in 1916 destroyed some 400 houses, and now there are wide streets and handsome big business buildings.

image source: http://www.warsailors.com/norships/seimstrand2.jpg