UNDER PRESSURE
Grey and barren, Bear Island appeared on the horizon, jumping out of the Barents Sea. The almost heart-shaped rock, part of the Svalbard archipelago, lies at 74° north, and was discovered by the Dutch cartographer and polar explorer, Willem Barentsz. When he and Jacob van Heemskerck approached the little island on 10 June 1596, a polar bear swam past them. They were discoverers, seized the moment and named the jagged rock Bear Island, known as Bjørnøya in Norwegian.
No polar bear swam past us as we sailed towards the island’s southern tip. The chance of seeing a polar bear in summertime is sadly very rare these days. Climate change has made sure of it. Nonetheless, all visitors must be armed with a gun, and know how to use it at all times when on shore.
We had sailed 500 miles from Tromsø in Norway to Bear Island, waiting a few hours in Vanvåg, one of the last ports on mainland Norway, before sailing into the Barents Sea. Our Jan Kiærulf-designed custom-built 45ft aluminium expedition sailing boat, , was carrying a crew of five; the course was due north and the wind
