Welcome to the WWF Arctic Blog.

The wind and seas ease as we approach Anadyr. We pick up a local pilot as we enter the long bay that leads to the city. He’s a friendly retired captain who spent 20 years in charge of big ships along Russia’s eastern and northern coasts. Anders takes the wheel so I go down and cook up a hearty brunch of potatoes, eggs, and a mystery ham-like product we picked up in Pevek. It actually turns out to be very good and the pilot happily shares our meal. I wish I could speak Russian so I could truly visit with this interesting man.

Life at 20 degrees … I fell asleep last night to a boat pitching against a head wind – raising me up and then dropping me in my bunk. Luckily for me, I am very good at sleeping! I awoke this morning curled comfortably on the wall of my berth.

The surrounding landscape is mountainous and beautiful. New snow covers the higher elevation in what is called “termination dust” back home in Anchorage. I mix up some excellent Swedish hot chocolate to keep warm while I pass the time in the cool, quiet wheelhouse.

Our local climate has changed dramatically in the past day. The sea temperature is now above 6 C. We have turned the corner this morning and are now in the Bering Strait, heading south. The one thing we should have seen much more of this trip was summer sea ice, but other than the occasional patch of drift ice encountered, the main pack is far to our north. We are approaching the annual sea ice minimum, generally around mid September, and I will be interested to see if the winds we’ve experienced change the final outcome. The last report I heard anticipated significant loss, but likely not another record year as in 2007.

We arrive at the village of Vankarem at midday. This is a traditional Chukchi settlement of about 200 people and is reminiscent of the Alaskan villages I have visited. A cluster of neat one story homes sit together near the shore with boats pulled up on the tundra and fishing nets stretched in the water.

The boat is moving so slowly and in calm waters as I take my watch with Anders. Ryrkaipiy is in sight, but it is still dark and too early to approach, so we reduce speed to a mere 2 knots and make a very gradual arrival. From a distance we begin to see the tell tale signs of a former military base- abandoned structures and debris. In the middle of this however, is what appears to be well maintained and colourfully painted buildings.

It was a bouncy night as we pushed our way into a head wind, especially for the two of us in the bow! I have a digestive biscuit and coffee to start the watch then take an interview via satellite phone with the Guardian newspaper. Modern technology is truly amazing.

The first time I saw one I couldn’t believe my eyes. I checked the charts, looked through the binoculars and asked the crew to double check what I was seeing. A small island had suddenly grown by a few hundred metres, towering high on the horizon miles away.

The winds have finally let down as I sit alone in the dark boat for my anchor watch. The outside temperature is -1 C. My ship mates are sleeping soundly after two straight days and nights of rough seas. The boat is sitting across the bay from Pevek and the town is lit up much like any modern town, except this is truly remote country. I watch the lights of a vehicle on the outskirts of the settlement. As I look across the water, I am again struck by the commonalities of northern communities across the Arctic and among northern people. Though indigenous people perfected living strategies for this region, for most of us, live in the north would be a tremendous challenge.

After being in the ice twice now, yesterday for several hours, I am struck by what we are not seeing. Other than the odd seagull and a few small seabirds, we see no signs of life whatsoever. In other parts of the Arctic we would see numerous seabirds and sea ducks, seals, walrus, whales, and possibly polar bears. In the coastal waters of the New Siberian Sea, we make few observations of marine mammals at all, save for two ringed seal on the 30th.