8/8/26: No Bear

Today was the day we had planned to go ashore and do our polar bear practice and some hiking. After 7 days at sea, which is not a lot compared to lots of passages, but still substantial especially in the cold, we, but especially Helene and Nathan, were itching to stretch our legs and feel some solid ground. First, however, we needed to clean up the boat after seven days of neglect. This involved vacuuming and scrubbing everything and an engine service. Something which felt as though it dragged on a painfully long time with the promise of land so close. Afterwards we had a smoky sausage breakfast and started getting ready to go ashore. Everyone was bustling about and getting excited, all of which came to a screeching halt as Nathan yelled "BEAR!" Suddenly the excitement to go ashore was replaced with a new excitement as everyone dropped their freshly packed gear to push and shove their way up the companionway to see the brilliant white polar bear wandering its way around the shore not more than 50 meters from us. Upon first glance we all thought it might be a cub and were waiting to see the mother bear make its way around the corner. As it got closer, around 30 meters, we were able to see that it was more likely a smaller female than a cub. We were all quiet as we sat on the deck and watched, passing around the pair of binoculars and gawking every time the bear moved. Nathan later recounted the story of his spotting the bear, which involved him sitting on deck and reporting to Skip as he came on deck "no bear," only to turn around about 15 seconds later to produce the shouting we had all heard from down below. As spectacular as the bear was, it did come with a downside, which was that there would be no going ashore today. As a poor substitute, we did go for a dinghy ride to explore some of the islands, but it did little to satisfy the desire for solid ground. What we did see of the islands still looked inhospitable and there was a strong wind and current everywhere but our little anchorage. Jennifer made an excellent beef stew for dinner and we all went to bed again looking to make it ashore tomorrow.