So many encounters with wildlife in Svalbard. After the polar bears, the crew had the chance to observe two whales in the north of Spitsbergen. These fleeting moments are a reminder of the importance of preserving these wild places, threatened by increasing climate changes.
July 29, 2020 (Day 52) "Heading for Ny-Ålesund - a former mining town converted into an international research center. Chunks of ice float in the fjord making navigation a bit more difficult. But what a beautiful scenery! We have the chance to observe a bearded seal lying on a lump of ice drifting near the [...]
"At the anchorage near the Nordenskiöldbreen glacier (Svalbard) for one night and the following day, we had the chance to observe a mother bear swimming with her cub. After a few minutes, the two ursidae reached the mainland and found another two and a half year old bear. Alone in front of the glacier, [...]
A few days ago, the naturalist artist Pierre Baumgart joined the crew of the Mauritius in Tromsø as part of a personal project: the quest of the narwhal, a symbol of the Arctic world. An opportunity to discover the backstage of this part of the expedition through a short visit at his workshop in Geneva.
July 19, 2020 (42nd day) "After a crossing of two and a half days from Tromsø, we reach Bjørnøya - Bear Island in the middle of the morning. Located 120 miles south of Svalbard, Bear Island was once a landmark for whale and walrus hunting, as evidenced by an old radio station converted into a [...]
July 16, 2020 (39th day) "After a stopover in the arctic city of Tromsø in Norway to change crew, the sailship Mauritius cast off and headed even further north, towards Bear Island and the Svalbard archipelago. The emotion of sailing towards higher latitudes makes us stagger with impatience, and it is full of enthusiasm that [...]
A little over a week ago, our sailboat the Mauritius reached the city of Tromsø, in the north of Norway. Our next step is crossing the Barents Sea towards Svalbard, our last stop before Greenland.
We're happy to introduce you to our scientific partner Prof. Daniel McGinnis, Head of Aquatic Physics Group at Université de Genève, who is in charge of our monitoring program on climate change of The Arctic Expedition. An extension of the pioneering and successful initiative we launched in 2017 as part of our previous Ocean Mapping [...]
June 26, 2020 (19th day) "We take the direction of the bay of Sila to let pass a strong depression. Hardly the boat anchored and the breakfast swallowed, it is time for Samuel, Thibault and Yaiza to swim. The water, very cool (12 degrees!), does not discourage them! We take advantage of being at [...]
June 23, 2020 (16th day) "As we sail north, the nights get shorter and brighter and are adorned with lights worthy of the greatest painters. Being on night watch and being able to admire these colors from the shore softens the difficulty of waking up and plunges us into a gentle contemplation of the horizon. [...]
