I had a quick breakfast today and started getting my gear together when I heard the news. No diving today, ice pack had been blown over the dive site by the wind and was shifting around on the surface unpredictably. Ice is okay to dive under when it is stationary or predictable but loose pack is neither and very dangerous. Our surface boat could be cut off from us by closing ice and our exit from the water eliminated very quickly. So there would be no diving today. Paul and I set out in the boat to make sure and were both very disappointed to see the loose pack floating right on top of the dive site.

Back to the ship and another day of reading, playing the card game UNO, brushing up on my research and writing. Lucy and Tooni were on shore doing an archeological exploration on a site that used to be a center for land based whaling. Smeerenberg translates in Dutch to ‘blubbertown’ and contributed to the vast whaling networks that eliminated Greenland Right Whales from this part of the Arctic. The afternoon saw Lucy and Tooni head across the fjord to Virgohamna, a base for a particularly ambitious kind of polar exploration; by airship. In 1897 a team of explorers set out in a hydrogen balloon to be the first to reach the North Pole, unfortunately the group wasn’t seen for another 30 years when their remains were found by a fishing vessel. The next attempt was in 1906 when an American explorer made several attempts to reach the North Pole by air, none of which were successful. He, however, lived to tell the tale.

Tomorrow we set out south towards the walrus site. Last time we went there it was too rough to get close to the walrus, hopefully tomorrow the weather will cooperate and we can give it one more try. Goodnight.

To view all of Philippe’s video blogs from Oceans, visit EarthEcho’s Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/earthecho1

To learn more about the BBC/Discovery Channel co-production Oceans, visit: www.bbc.co.uk/oceans
These blogs are the express product of Philippe Cousteau and represent his own experiences and opinions during the expedition. The views and opinions within are in no way representative of the BBC and do not necessarily represent the views of the BBC.

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