The ship left Moffen Island late in the afternoon and headed South thru the Hinlopen Strait between Spitzbergen Island & Nordaustlandet Island. In the middle of the night it was determined from the ice charts (published by the Norwegian government several times a day & available via satellite communication) that we would not be able to reach our intended destination so we went to plan "B". In the morning the ship was "parked" in front of a Kapp Fanshawe cliff where hundreds of thousands of guillimonts & kittiwakes made their nests on tiny ledges of the vertical cliffs that dropped to the sea. Because these are ground nesters, this location provides perfect protection of eggs & chicks from roaming arctic foxes. Even marauding Skua gulls are detered by the large number of nesters.
For 20 minutes, the ship remained bow first toward the cliff while the captain used a combination of rudders and bow thrusters to "crab" sideways along the cliff face so rhe "guests" could view & photograph the birds. Because this is a National Geographic cruise with a heavy emphasis on photography, the array of highest quality cameras & lenses should have really impressed the birds - or made them nervous about their privacy.
Finally, the ship headed North again bound for Lågøya Island.
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