ARCTIC PHOTOGRAPHY SPECIAL Tall ship expedition voyage around Svalbard -Spitsbergen

Spitsbergen Summer 2012

Adventure Sailing on Tall Ship in Spitsbergen

Barquentine ‘Antigua’ runs regular 11 day summer sailing and wildlife expeditions to Spitsbergen. There are wildlife experts on board with considerable arctic experience to help you spot polar bears, walrus, cetaceans both at sea and ashore and it is a bird watchers paradise. Nothing beats being able to climb the rigging or go out on the bowsprit netting and watch this magnificent sailing ship as it slips silently through the water. Her voyages start from Longyearbyen in Spitsbergen / Svalbard so you maximise your time in the Arctic Circle.

The price is fixed in euros and includes all sailing training, accomodation aboard, meals and guided wildlife and cultural trips ashore. Give us a ring for a sterling quote on 01872 580022.

Antigua is licensed for worldwide charter and can take 32 guest crew. For more on the ship and photos see the vessel tab above.

You are encouraged to join the watches and take part in sailing, so this is a great activity holiday in the style of polar explorers from a by gone era.

Spitsbergen / Svalbard

In 1596 Willem Barentsz discovered snow covered mountains 600 miles further north than Norway and called it Spitzbergen. The archipelago is now called Svalbard. Once the haunt of whalers it draws wilderness lovers to its immense glaciers and intrepid sailors to its long fjords once the coastline is free of ice.

Square Rigger in the Arctic Circle

Deep in the Arctic Circle only 1000km from the North Pole, this raw, beautiful archipelago is enclosed in pack ice for most the year. In the Arctic summer the ice retreats and it teems with wildlife and flowers, the sun shines for 24hours.  Enjoy remote anchorages, walks ashore with experienced wildlife guides and sailing amongst different types of ice depending on the voyage dates.

Polar Bears & Walrus
Sixty percent of the land is glaciated but clinging to seacliffs are enormous breeding colonies of seabirds. On land arctic foxes, reindeer and polar bears roam (guides carry rifles as a precaution). At sea many types of whales, walrus and seals can be sighted. Antigua has a library and regular lectures are held in the lounge to learn more.

Special themed Photography Voyage in September 2012

See also our 8 day Photography Special in September where the nights are darker and you have more chance of seeing the Northern Lights (Aurora borealis), and the days have very special low light that makes the landscape photography opportunities quite awesome.  Combine this with living on a tall ship with blocks and tackles, a chance for action sailing shots all around you and the bonus of a birds eye view of wildlife from high up in the rigging and you can capture some really professional looking images.  On the September voyages there will be a specialist photographer with plenty of experience to teach you about taking wildlife and landscape photos.