July 19th 2013

Saving the Sarema!

From the Walrus Bay, we sailed only for a few hours to another, much

bigger Polar Station, this one still in use for meteorological studies. In

the past, there had been more than two hundred people living at the

station all year round but, according to the Station Head, then came

Glasnost and Perestroika and the station's downfall began. 

And what a downfall it had been: the whole place was like a giant scrap yard with

thousands of rusting barrels everywhere, some empty, some still leaking

chemicals, rusty vehicles, a bust aeroplane, dozens of buildings decaying

around once a beautiful lake, now full of waste. What a sad, sad place!

We were told that this station too would be tidied up and stored as a

museum but where is all that money coming from? And how many years would

it take to clean up a place like that, several decades at least would be

my guess!

While still anchored in front of the station, Lady Dana's captain

contacted us by VHF because he was worried that our boats were too close

to each other. While standing in their cockpits and discussing the matter,

the captains came to the conclusion that there was nothing to worry about.

Obviously the captains had not bothered to look around them as, about five

minutes later, we heard someone shout SAREMA, SAREMA!!! and when we rushed

up on deck, we saw a big bergy bit leaning against our bow.

By then, there were already two dinghies trying to push the ice away from

us, and soon a third dinghy joined in. Together they managed to turn the

iceberg so that it no more threatened our anchor. As I was watching the

ice slowly sliding past us, it suddenly hit me: What if we had been alone?

Oh yes, sailing in company does have its benefits!