Sunday 26 October 2014

Bear Islands -- almost a disaster





 Another very spooky thing.  In "Acts of God" there is an episode which involves a vast iceberg breaking up near the shore of the Bear Islands -- with tragic consequences for those who are caught in the resulting waves as they rush shorewards.  I came across this, in a travel log from 2007, which mirrors the situation almost exactly.........

From Markus Ziebell's travel log:
http://www.travel-fever.com/script/parsesets.php?sdir=0803002&set=01 
He stopped off at the Bear Islands in 2007 during what was to be a single-handed kayak circumnavigation of Milne Land.  The trip could not be completed because of technical problems with a vessel which should have brought him additional supplies, and because of adverse ice conditions.

After a few kilometers, I reach open water and set course straight for Bear Island, which is 45 km away. As the mountain slopes are much steeper here, I intend to land at a bay with a hut indicated on my map. I'm hoping to find good landing conditions and drinking water there. Just before the bay, I pass another huge iceberg that appears quite brittle even from a distance. I have just pulled the boat onto the protruding rocks of the sheltered bay and unloaded the first two bags, when I am startled by a loud cracking sound. I watch as 800 m away from me a broad wall of ice plunges down the iceberg into the depths. A tall, breaking wave develops in front of the iceberg, and quickly turns into a flat swell that approaches fast. I have barely a minute to prepare for it. I can't pull the boat higher onto the rocks because of its weight. So I just stand next to the boat in my drysuit with the tow rope in my hand and wait. The first wave is still slowed down by the protruding rocks. But the next four breakers crash over them, and I stand in the surf up to my hips while the boat is being thrown from left to right against the rocks. I am lucky, and my sturdy PE- boat doesn't get damaged.

 http://actsofgod.weebly.com/




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