• Trip experience with sailboat – experienced and locally familiar skipper/instructor on board
• Extra co-skipper and guide/crew onboard
• Our Comfort Package which consists of accommodation onboard in a shared double cabin (bunk or double bed) with a ready-made bed (warm and nice duvets and pillows!)
• All the food we eat onboard during the trip
• An environmentally friendly, local, sustainable, unique, exotic and exclusive Norwegian adventure holiday
• A shared experience and friendship with like-minded adventurers from around the world
• A lot of time outdoors – raw and honest nature experiences
• Use of our shared trip-equipment: dinghy, kayaks, fishing equipment, etc.
• All boat-related expenses such as diesel, gas, harbour fees, etc.
• Personal safety equipment; Helly Hansen inflatable lifejacket
• Survival Suit and Search and Rescue insurance for everyone on board
• Teaching, advice, and guidance about boat life and sailing

• Travel to and from the start/end location
• Optional meals at cafés/restaurants
• Entrance to galleries, museums, and similar, or other activities that you/we may come up with along the way
• Drinks like wine, beer or cider and other luxury (yes, we drink beer and wine on board, bring your own)
• Travel/cancellation insurance – optional, but recommended

Safety is taken seriously on our trips, and staff are trained in handling different situations that can occur at sea. On board a boat and on trips, everyone must know what to do in potentially dangerous situations. It is important that as a guest and participant, you are trained quickly enough to be a participant – not a passenger. It contributes to learning, a sense of achievement, and increased safety for all. It’s also why our trips are considered to be sailing courses: you are trained to be one of the crew members on board. Feel free to contact us to discuss the risk.

Expedition

On our expedition trips, we often spend multiple days on sea-crossings, and we sail into areas far from people and with extra risk factors, such as sea ice and unreliable navigation charts. This requires our crew to have extra focus and awareness of the potential situations that might arise. We sail in these areas only in the most optimal seasons and use only our largest and most sturdy boats, which are both equipped and dimensioned to cope with this type of expedition sailing. We are fully aware that sailing is the safest and most accessible way to visit these very inaccessible places. However, sailing in general, and especially sailing in the Arctic and over the high seas, involves a certain risk that you must be willing to take. Feel free to contact us for a chat and guidance regarding risk.

Food and Cooking

On trips, you will be part of the crew onboard and get the chance to participate in all aspects of the running of the sailboat. This includes the cooking, where everyone is taking turns in the galley! Skippers and guides assist as much as they can along the way. Before the trip, set up a menu and purchase what is needed. Great menu options are offered, with healthy “boat-friendly” food. If you have allergies or preferences, let us know in the registration form and it will be taken into account. During the trip, possibly sail by a good restaurant or two to stop and eat at.

Accommodation

Accommodation on the boat is part of the fun. The accommodation is generally in shared cabins, some of which have a double bed and some of which have bunk beds. Figuring out who sleeps where can be a bit of a puzzle, but we do believe we’ve gotten quite good at it. Let us know if you have any special needs or reservations.

You must arrange any accommodation before and after the trip on your own. If you have any doubts about where to stay, we’re happy to give you some recommendations.

What We Expect From You

Guests are encouraged to take part in the routines onboard the sailboat, whether it is sailing, docking, navigating, looking for whales and icebergs, washing up, cooking, cleaning the boat, or contributing in other ways when required.

You will be split into a watch team, with the teams working in rotations of 4 hours on and 8 hours off, with a rotating system to make sure that the night shifts are divided equally among all watch teams.

Our trips require a little work from the participants – and you must be open to contribute and open up a bit socially. We have many different people with us on our trips, and most people get along very well. Our experience is that doing things with others out in nature, and not least doing things with new people with different personalities than one might be used to, is what creates the best, most interesting and memorable stories.

Life On Board

Life on board a sailboat is social and pleasant, but for some, it can be perceived as quite intimate and crowded, which one should be prepared for. On board, everyone participates in the operation of the sailboat and everyone is considered crew. We would like to get to know you well and hope that you will get to know everyone else on the boat as soon as possible. It requires some patience, generosity, and an open mind to thrive, but the new acquaintances and completely raw nature experiences will take your focus as soon as you become comfortable with life at sea.

We have plenty of heating and good food on the boat, but not always an abundance of fresh water. This means it will not be possible to shower every day, but more or less every other day when in a harbour or when sailing through a place with available showers. A morning swim in the sea is also available all year round!

Who You’ll Meet. How Many On Board?

Many come alone, some travel as couples, and others travel as a group of friends. The common denominator for everyone is that these are fun and interesting people you will become friends with almost no matter what. Sharing grand experiences creates strong ties! Many people wonder about the age composition of our trips, but this isn’t so important to us. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old as long as you want to go on a trip and intend to do your part in making this a great trip for everyone. The number of participants varies from trip to trip. If we have many participants, we will expand with more boats and skippers.

Environment and Sustainability

In general, sailing is an environmentally friendly activity, with skippers sailing as much as possible and using the engine as little as possible. Crew and participants are encouraged to travel as environmentally friendly as possible, and local ingredients and resources are used as much as possible.

We believe that sailing is an exercise in sustainability: we move with the wind and we have limitations on things like water, diesel, electricity and food. To run sustainably, knowledge, patience, flexibility, and hard work are required. The same can be said about many other things that one tries to do in a sustainable way.

Fly to Svalbard Airport in Longyearbyen.

Fly from Ísafjörður Airport to Reykjavik Airport (domestic). Drive to Reykjavik south on Route 60 then onto the Ring Road. Ferry to Denmark via the Faroe Islands.

Day 1: Trip start in Longyearbyen

We meet at 12:00 on the harbor in Longyearbyen. We start with getting to know each other, before we go through the schedule for the week. We get to know the boat and the equipment, and finish packing provisions and equipments. The life onboard requires cooperation, and before departure we go through routines and procedures onboard, for sailing and emergency situations. We depart and start sailing out the Ice fjord this first evening.

Day 2 – 6: From Svalbard to East Greenland

It will be quite an ocean crossing from Svalbard to Greenland. We cross the Greenland Sea heading for Liverpool Land, the peninsula north of Scoresby Sund. The crossing itself is around 700 nautical miles and we will spend between 4 and 6 days. Of course depending on the weather, wind and waves. In addition, this is one of the coasts in Greenland with the most sea ice, so whether we get all the way to land north of Scoresby Sund also obviously depends on the sea ice.

Day 7 – 8: Exploration of uncharted fjords on Liverpool Land

It is a very wonderful experience to see Greenland’s jagged east coast rising out of the sea along the entire horizon to the west, as we approach after many days at sea. If there is little enough sea ice for us to get in, we sail among the fjords on Liverpool Land. An area very few people have been to, and not a place very many sail, especially not commercial players. Which is so little visited that there are almost no maps here. We will go hiking, have a bonfire on the beach and enjoy the desolate landscape!

Day 9 – 11: The fjord of Scoresby Sound

Scoresby Sound is worth several days exploration. The inlet to the fjord is 27 kilometers wide and there is an enormous system of fjords and glaciers. Here at the inlet of the fjord is also the eastern coast’s northernmost settlement; the village of Ittoqqortormiit. The site has more than 400 inhabitants, all living in small wooden houses in the coolest colors. We arrive at the warmest days of the year, and the residents spend most of the time outside and enjoy the sun before the tough winter returns.

Day 12 – 14: Sailing from Scoresby to Isafjordur on Iceland

We leave the huge fjord massif of Scoresby on track to return to Iceland in good time. Along the way we can expect to see more icebergs, but also whales that both sleep on the surface and swim and dive. Ísafjörður is a charming little port town where we will get the chance to rest both our bodies and souls: here we find both good swimming pools with both hot and cool water, as well as delicious restaurants and bars that we can check out. Well done, and welcome back ashore!

In Longyearbyen / on Iceland

We recommend everyone that is joining us on a trip to/from Longyearbyen to staying an extra day or two before traveling home/before the trip starts. Longyearbyen is a thriving little Arctic village, with the raw arctic natre It’s always smart to add time for some rest and calmness before and after such a trip, to relax and let the impressions sink in. The same goes for Iceland when we arrive there after this trip.

The program

The program should be seen as a rough itinerary that we can adapt to the weather and conditions. We also reserve the right to change and improve our itineraries. We will have a dinghy for beach trips and small expeditions, fishing gear for cod, and gear to hike or make bonfires on the beach on all our trips – we are ready for adventure! Are you?

As with all activities, there is plenty of specialised equipment and clothing for sailing. You are not expected to buy lots of new equipment to join any of our trips, so, use what you have, borrow what you need from a friend, try to purchase used equipment, and if you have to invest in new equipment – buy quality items that will last. What you need is something waterproof and windproof on the outside, and layered clothing underneath.

Some jackets may not be waterproof enough, or might not perform well in saltwater, so you might want to consider purchasing or renting a set of “oilskins” to use on the wettest days. Even in summer, it can be cold at sea, so bring both swimwear and warm clothing.

You will receive a detailed recommended packing list in good time before departure.

Packing

• Pack like a sailor; in a soft bag or backpack, NOT in a rigid suitcase
• Pack as little as possible, but bring what you need!
• The fewer items you bring, the faster you sail, and the less time you spend fooling around with your gear

Adventure-wear

• Woollen underwear – shirt and long johns/zip longs (bring two pairs so you have spare)
• Woollen socks (multiple pairs) and woollen soles (bring two pairs so you have spare)
• Woollen scarf/buff/high neck and hat (preferably warm and windproof)
• Mittens or gloves preferably with wind or water-resistant covers
• Woollen sweater, preferably a turtle-neck
• Warm pants, preferably multi-layered with warmer materials. (For use on the deck or while sailing)
• Warm winter jacket – down jacket or preferably Primaloft (as they can handle water)
• “Shore” clothing for exploring towns
• Sea/sailing/rain/rubber boots, preferably winter-style. Bring some big enough so that they breathe even with woollen socks and woollen soles
• Light shoes/sandals/crocs that breathe well. (For use indoors and on deck in nice weather)
• Trainers/deck shoes (no black-soled shoes please – they mark the deck)
• Sailwear/oilskin – jacket and pants (we rent out/sell good quality oilskins at reasonable prices, see separate information)
• Sailing gloves (not a must) and here you can also use skiing gloves or rubber/fishing gloves with wool liners

Other equipment

• Sunglasses (polarised lenses are ideal, but not essential)
• Sunscreen (water-resistant, SPF 30 or higher)
• Water bottle(s), minimum 0,75 – 1 litre, hydration reservoir (Camelbak)
• Small washing cloth and soap
• Towel and swimming gear
• Flask (insulated bottle) for hot water
• A head torch (preferably one with a dimming function/red (night) light)
• Walking boots, shoes for onshore, and trainers with good grip
• Sea Sickness and personal medication
• Camera
• We have enough life vests for everyone, but if you have a vest of your own that you want to use, then bring it! Make sure to unscrew the gas cylinder before checking in your bag at the airport

Electronics

• Onboard the boats there are USB (USB-B ‘regular’ USB, no USB-C) outlets for charging phones when we sail. 220V outlets are available when we’re docked
• We have cellular coverage most of the time in Mainland Norway

Note: This is a recommended packing list