Country Images Magazine North Edition December 2016 | Page 17

Into the
Realm of the Ice Bear

Part Two
By Brian Spencer

It took us all night to sail north with the G Expedition in
order to meet the polar ice flow, a weird fog shrouded bleak
mass with no other humans for at least a thousand miles. Even
Ursus Maritimus, (ice or polar bears) were not around, so it
was decided to land on the ice and take a short stroll. Captain
Nesterov edged the G Expedition deep into the ice, relying on
its recently re-enforced steel bows. The ship reverberated with
the sound of ice against the hull and the occasional rumble of
bow thrusters.
By now we were almost as experienced at boarding the Zodiacs as members of the
Special Boat Squadron and the sudden thump as we rode up on to the ice was of no
consequence. To stand on the flow was a strange experience. There were no waves and
below us were thousands of feet of icy cold sea water and to make matters worse, our
mother ship and safety seemed to have disappeared. Fortunately it was only hidden by a
mini-ice berg, but it was strange to feel out of touch with safety and comfort. For all we
knew there was a bear just waiting round the next corner.
The guide in charge of each boat was armed with a huge flare pistol as the first line
of defence against bear attack. If that failed there was a high-powered rifle to bring
home the point that we did not welcome the immediate presence of a hungry bear.
Fortunately and because the landing area was carefully checked, the use of either flare
gun or rifle was never needed.

Roald Amundsen. Arctic explorer.