Polar bear

Nuclear Ninety North

Eclipse of the Midnight Sun

August 1st, 2008

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Farewell, Franz Josef Land

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2008-07-30 21:04 UTC Click images for enlargements. 79°42.76'N 57°45.22'E

With our landings completed, we headed south from Franz Josef Land to intercept the eclipse track west of Novaya Zemlya on August 1st.

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2008-07-30 21:04 UTC

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2008-07-30 21:05 UTC 79°42.32'N 57°44.70'E

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2008-07-30 21:05 UTC 79°42.30'N 57°44.68'E

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2008-07-30 21:05 UTC 79°42.26'N 57°44.64'E

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2008-08-01 20:40 UTC

With the rest of the expedition on the ship, it was time to return the Wellington boots loaned to passengers for the landings. Here is a part of the resulting “boot Hell”.

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2008-08-01 23:11 UTC

The Victory Bar, overlooking the bow from a perspective only one deck less Godlike than the bridge, was a popular place to review the adventures of the day. I referred to it as “Ten Forward”—so beam me a tribble!

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2008-08-01 23:12 UTC

The navigation plot was updated at noon daily with our course for the previous day. Note that most of the run through the ice back from the Pole took precisely the path we'd followed northward. Retracing the previously-broken path allows faster progress with less bashing of the ship.


by John Walker
August 20th, 2008
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This document is in the public domain.