| | | | | Arrive | Depart |
| 1st01 | AugAug | 202222 | 1 night accommodation before your cruise, staying in Anchorage, Alaska | | |
| 2nd02 | AugAug | 202222 | Nome, Alaska, United States, embark on the Sylvia Earle | | |
Nome is located on the edge of the Bering Sea, on the southwest side of the Seward Peninsula. Unlike other towns which are named for explorers, heroes or politicians, Nome was named as a result of a 50 year-old spelling error. In the 1850's an officer on a British ship off the coast of Alaska noted on a manuscript map that a nearby prominent point was not identified. He wrote "? Name" next to the point. When the map was recopied, another draftsman thought that the “?” was a C and that the “a” in "Name" was an o, and thus a map-maker in the British Admiralty christened "Cape Nome." The area has an amazing history dating back 10,000 years of Inupiaq Eskimo use for subsistence living. Modern history started in 1898 when "Three Lucky Swedes”, Jafet Lindberg, Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson, discovered gold in Anvil Creek…the rush was on! In 1899 the population of Nome swelled from a handful to 28,000. Today the population is just over 3,500. Much of Nome's gold rush architecture remains. Transfer to Anchorage airport, board our charter flight to Nome and embark the Sylvia Earle. After boarding, there’s time to settle into your cabin before our important safety briefings. This evening meet your expedition team and crew at the Captain’s Welcome Dinner. In the evening, meet the expedition team and crew at the Captain’s Welcome Dinner. |
| 3rd03 | AugAug | 202222 | Provideniya, Russia | | |
Provideniya is a former Soviet military port at the southern limit of the Arctic ice pack. With slightly less than 2000 inhabitants, many of whom are Yupik, it is the largest town and administrative center of the Providensky District. Started as a depot for the Northeast Passage traffic, it now is a port of entry to the Russian Far East and since the decline of the Soviet Union eco-tourism has boosted the local economy. The town has a Technical School and a fascinating museum with interesting and well-presented exhibits about the natural history and wildlife of the region. Additionally, displays highlight the housing styles and clothing of local Chukotka people from various villages in the area. Informative briefings prepare you for upcoming landings, and sightings of beluga and grey whales enchant as you cross Bering Strait to Chukotka. In Provideniya, the administrative centre, you’ll be cleared into Russia and if time allows, visit the museum of history and culture, and perhaps take in a traditional Yupik dance performance. |
| 4th04 | AugAug | 202222 | Lorino, Russia | | |
Chukchi villagers warmly-welcome you into Lorino with traditional dance, samples of local delicacies and the chance to observe life in this outpost of reindeer herders and marine mammal hunters. |
| 4th04 | AugAug | 202222 | Cape Dezhnev, Russia | | |
Located between the Chuchki Sea and the Bering Sea, Cape Dezhnev comprises the easternmost mainland point in all of Eurasia. The cape was originally named East Cape by Captail James Cook, but has since been renamed for Semyon Dezhnev, the first recorded European to round its peninsula. The cape is the edge of a rocky headland with steep, carved-looking cliffs. Ashore can be found one of Russia’s most famous lighthouses and the monument honouring Dezhnev. The cape was a center for trade between American and European whalers, as well as fur traders. The abandoned village of Naukan is located here, where there are mysteriously erected whalebones and rock formations on land in view of the water. Weather and sea permitting, you land at Cape Dezhnev, Eurasia’s easternmost point, to explore the ancient Inuit settlement of Naukan, and remains of a Soviet-era research centre (both now abandoned). Note the massive whale bones, somehow brought up the cliffs for building material. |
| 5th05 | AugAug | 202222 | At Sea | | |
| 6th06 | AugAug | 202222 | Wrangel Island, Russia | | |
Your exploration of Wrangel and Herald Islands depends on ice and weather conditions. Whether searching pack ice for polar bears, ringed seals and walrus, or Zodiac cruising beneath slopes dotted with polar bears (adults and cubs) and walrus haulouts, you’ll be joined by local rangers keen to share their knowledge and love of this special place. |
| 7th07 | AugAug | 202222 | Wrangel Island, Russia | | |
| 8th08 | AugAug | 202222 | Herald Island, Russia | | |
Ostrov Gerald is a small, isolated granitic island in the Chukchi Sea, less than 40 nautical miles to the east of Wrangel Island. It was named after a survey vessel, the HMS Herald, which visited the island in 1849 while searching for the vanished expedition of Sir John Franklin, and it’s English name is in fact, Herald Island. Steep cliffs ring the island in all but one slim area of accessible shoreline at the northwestern point of the island. Here the cliffs have eroded into piles of rock and one can find the only possible landing spot on this unglaciated, remote, and uninhabited island. Since 1976, both Herald and Wrangel Islands belong to the Russian’s Wrangel Island Wildlife Preserve. In 2004, Herald Island, Wrangel Island, and the waters surrounding them were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Follow them across a vast landscape in search of reindeer, musk oxen and Arctic fox. Search for fossilised remains of woolly mammoth, a kaleidoscope of wildflowers and listen to tales of Inuit and Chukchi hunters, the first European explorers and the survivors of the Karluk disaster. |
| 9th09 | AugAug | 202222 | Herald Island, Russia | | |
Ostrov Gerald is a small, isolated granitic island in the Chukchi Sea, less than 40 nautical miles to the east of Wrangel Island. It was named after a survey vessel, the HMS Herald, which visited the island in 1849 while searching for the vanished expedition of Sir John Franklin, and it’s English name is in fact, Herald Island. Steep cliffs ring the island in all but one slim area of accessible shoreline at the northwestern point of the island. Here the cliffs have eroded into piles of rock and one can find the only possible landing spot on this unglaciated, remote, and uninhabited island. Since 1976, both Herald and Wrangel Islands belong to the Russian’s Wrangel Island Wildlife Preserve. In 2004, Herald Island, Wrangel Island, and the waters surrounding them were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. |
| 10th10 | AugAug | 202222 | At Sea | | |
| 11th11 | AugAug | 202222 | Kolyuchin Island, Russia | | |
Kolyuchin Island is a small island in the Chukchi Sea that is uninhabited and covered with tundra vegetation. The island is the site of a famous rescue operation after a Russian icebreaker was crushed by ice nearby. Located close to the Siberian shore this island has been used as the base for a now-abandoned meteorological station at its western end, while walrus hunters had a few huts on the eastern side. The island has steep, dramatic bird cliffs teeming with Pelagic Cormorants, Thick-billed Murres and kittiwakes. Horned and Tufted Puffins might be another highlight for birders and photographers. Visitors may also see the walrus herds that frequent the shore and water surrounding Kolyuchin. Weather permitting and with a wary eye for polar bears, you land on Kolyuchin Island, with its abandoned meteorological station and some of the Arctic’s most spectacular bird cliffs, where nesting puffins, guillemots and gulls are easily photographed. |
| 11th11 | AugAug | 202222 | Kolyuchin Island, Russia | | |
Kolyuchin Island is a small island in the Chukchi Sea that is uninhabited and covered with tundra vegetation. The island is the site of a famous rescue operation after a Russian icebreaker was crushed by ice nearby. Located close to the Siberian shore this island has been used as the base for a now-abandoned meteorological station at its western end, while walrus hunters had a few huts on the eastern side. The island has steep, dramatic bird cliffs teeming with Pelagic Cormorants, Thick-billed Murres and kittiwakes. Horned and Tufted Puffins might be another highlight for birders and photographers. Visitors may also see the walrus herds that frequent the shore and water surrounding Kolyuchin. The tidal estuary of Kolyuchin Inlet offers wildflowers and a host of birds from yellow- billed loons to endemic emperor geese, as well as remains of dwelling mounds and graves of past inhabitants. |
| 12th12 | AugAug | 202222 | Arakamchechen Island, Russia | | |
Humpback, grey and bowhead whales feed in the waters around Arakamchechen Island, while on land is the chance to quietly approach a walrus haulout. Sea cliffs on nearby Nuneangan Island are home to guillemots, tufted puffins and crested auklets. |
| 12th12 | AugAug | 202222 | Penkigney, Russia | | |
Penkigngey Bay, a long fjord, offers tundra wildflower walks and a scenic dip in hot springs. |
| 13th13 | AugAug | 202222 | Provideniya, Russia | | |
Provideniya is a former Soviet military port at the southern limit of the Arctic ice pack. With slightly less than 2000 inhabitants, many of whom are Yupik, it is the largest town and administrative center of the Providensky District. Started as a depot for the Northeast Passage traffic, it now is a port of entry to the Russian Far East and since the decline of the Soviet Union eco-tourism has boosted the local economy. The town has a Technical School and a fascinating museum with interesting and well-presented exhibits about the natural history and wildlife of the region. Additionally, displays highlight the housing styles and clothing of local Chukotka people from various villages in the area. In Provideniya, bid a fond farewell to Russia and begin the return voyage across the Bering Sea. |
| 13th13 | AugAug | 202222 | Yttygran Island, Russia | | |
Yttygran offers a unique natural history experience on this voyage. An array of bowhead whale bones and rock arrangements is stunning – it is a place of great archaeological importance combined with natural beauty. An early morning landing will add to the magic and mystery of the place due to the soft hues and the muffled light conditions. For the more energetic passengers a hike up the steep nearby hill provides an excellent leg stretch. On Ytytygran Island, visit Whale Bone Alley, where bones are thickly strewn for half a kilometre along the beach, and ‘meat pits’ attest to a busy Chukchi whaling camp. Still standing, immense bowhead whale jawbones and ribs form a monumental, ceremonial archway, while just offshore grey whales are frequently seen feeding. |
| 14th14 | AugAug | 202222 | King Island, Alaska, United States | | |
As we pass through Bering Strait, separating Russia and North America by only 100 kilometres / 60 miles, we hope to see beluga and grey whales. Conditions permitting, we land at King Island and explore the eerie, ancient village Ukivok, now abandoned after a tragic run of events. Murres and kittiwakes frequent the surrounding sea cliffs. As we depart, we celebrate the voyage end with a farewell dinner. |
| 15th15 | AugAug | 202222 | Nome, Alaska, United States, disembark the Sylvia Earle | | |
Nome is located on the edge of the Bering Sea, on the southwest side of the Seward Peninsula. Unlike other towns which are named for explorers, heroes or politicians, Nome was named as a result of a 50 year-old spelling error. In the 1850's an officer on a British ship off the coast of Alaska noted on a manuscript map that a nearby prominent point was not identified. He wrote "? Name" next to the point. When the map was recopied, another draftsman thought that the “?” was a C and that the “a” in "Name" was an o, and thus a map-maker in the British Admiralty christened "Cape Nome." The area has an amazing history dating back 10,000 years of Inupiaq Eskimo use for subsistence living. Modern history started in 1898 when "Three Lucky Swedes”, Jafet Lindberg, Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson, discovered gold in Anvil Creek…the rush was on! In 1899 the population of Nome swelled from a handful to 28,000. Today the population is just over 3,500. Much of Nome's gold rush architecture remains. Disembark in Nome, transfer to the airport and board our charter flight to Anchorage, where we spend the night. |
| 15th15 | AugAug | 202222 | 1 night accommodation following your cruise, staying in Anchorage, Alaska | | |
| 16th16 | AugAug | 202222 | Check out of accommodation | | |