Prince Leopold Island and Fury Beach: August 24 - 25, 2026
Updated: Sep 29
This early morning between 4:00 to 5:00 I wandered around the ship. On the port side the sunrise was just beginning to shine through the clouds. I returned to our room just before 5:00 am and found the photo I wanted on our balcony on the starboard side. Most of the image is blue but an orange band of the sunrise was visible behind Prince Leopold Island.
A little later in the morning, the ship stationed itself quite near Prince Leopold Island. The side of the island, starboard, was a sheer sedimentary rock wall face. At the peak of the season, there are about 500,000 sea birds nesting in wall crevices. We saw Fulmars, Glaucous Gulls, Murres, and Kittiwakes either on the wall, flying, or floating on the sea.
The rock face was glowing as the morning sun hit it. I was on deck 7 to get a better view when someone asked if I had seen the polar bear near the shoreline. When I finally spotted it with binoculars, it was so far away it looked like a white animal cracker. Even severely cropped, the bear still an animal cracker.
A zodiac took us near the island for a closer look at the birds—the polar bear seemed to be gone. Fog was beginning to fall.
Tonight we met the sister ship, Roald Amundsen nose-to-nose for an exchange of supplies/equipment. (US certified zodiacs and life vests). The Amundsen began the Northwest Passage at Nome on the same day as we began in Nuuk. One difference is that while our ship, Fridtjof Nansen, was turning our clocks back and gaining time, the Amundsen was turning its clocks forward and losing time.
The sea was like glass--so calm--waterski calm.
Photos below: (L) This is my photo of our ship's photographer, Timo Heinz, in the zodiac. (R)The amazing nose-to-nose photo was taken by photographer Timo Heinz.
The next morning we stopped at Fury Beach on the southeastern side of Somerset Island. The beach got its name because it is where the Arctic Exploration ship HMS Fury after being damaged by heavy ice pack while overwintering was abandoned and the crew rescued by the HMS Hecla on August 25, 1825, which was exactly 101 years before we set foot on Fury Beach. No ice pack so far along the Northwest Passage.
One hundred and one years later, there wasn't much going on at the Fury Beach. There were some fox tracks, bear tracks, and unfortunately, a dead polar bear. The small plants were wearing their fall colors. The first three plants are Arctic Willows, a tree, but in arctic conditions, they grow to no more than 2-3 inches high. The last plant is an Entireleaf Mountain-Avens. It is in the rose family and in the spring it has small, white flowers.
Tomorrow: we pass through Bellot Strait.
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