The fog lies grey, heavy and impenetrable over the oily calm sea. Only the swell makes the Dagmar Aaen roll gently back and forth. We have reached Bear Island. Our problem: we can't see the island, which was declared a nature reserve in 2002 at 74 degrees north. The fog has the island firmly in its grip. Only the cries of seabirds tell us that the shore can't be far away.

The journey from Hammerfest to the north took around 48 hours. First through an area with gusts of up to 30 knots and strong swell - exhausting but fast sailing. Then the south-easterly wind gradually abated and we had the opportunity to continue collecting data for scientific purposes. The depth sounder was used once again. Drift buoys from the French weather authority France Meteo were successfully deployed at 73 and 74 degrees latitude.

We almost had a rendezvous with the German research vessel Polarstern. Its captain sent us an invitation on board the well-known ship late at night. He suggested a position at 73 degrees 30 minutes north as the location for the meeting at sea. But by the time the message reached us, we were already quite a bit further north. Turning round would have been too time-consuming for both sides. Tough luck.

So now it's Bear Island: with radar support, we make a blind round through Sörhamna, an anchorage bay in the south-east. Every now and then the fog lifts and we can see the jagged, rocky shore - it would not have been possible to land there anyway.
We have better luck a little further north. The Damar Aaen anchors off Kvalrossbugta. With great care, the dinghy takes to the water in the choppy sea. Wrapped up in dry suits and equipped with a compass, radio, mobile echo sounder and AIS transmitter, Ole, Thomas and Matze set off on an exploratory tour. They land on a sandy beach without any problems.

An impressive place. Fragments of wooden structures, a huge boiler and a rusty winch are relics of a whaling station from the early 20th century.
A few nautical miles to the north, the Dagmar Aaen drops anchor again. The Norwegians call the bay off the former settlement of Tunheim, where coal was mined from 1916 to 1925, Siloodden. While the crew explore the area with the remains of the former coal loading station, Arved calls the weather station in the north of the island, which is closed to tourists.

We have official authorisation from the responsible Sysselmann - the area administrator of Svalbard (Spitsbergen) - to stay here. The crew from the weather station are the only people who live on Bear Island. And they are delighted to hear from us. "You are more than welcome" they tell us by radio. So it remains exciting...