Our course from Bear Island was slightly more to the northwest, towards South Cape of Spitsbergen (76°27'N 16°38'E), 123 nautical miles away. Half that distance was sailed in ten hours, but then the wind died leaving the boat tumbling in rough sea. Nearly a whole day passed with nothing but fog and a gentle breeze. The sea was rough nevertheless, and the vessel was rolling heavily, which took us to the brink of madness. It was a great relief when wind finally returned, and the fog lifted somewhat. We were now west of South Cape, but the land was still concealed in fog. Here areas of pack ice began to appear, too. One man was sent to the bow to give directions through areas of ice.

Land was again seen in the 124th hour of our voyage, which by our peculiar day reckoning was equivalent to the 16th day. We were approaching Hornsund, the southernmost major fjord of the west coast. We had decided to visit it, because this fjord would probably offer the best chance to spot polar bears. The bears, which are more plentiful at the eastern coast of Spitsbergen, are often carried by ice round South Cape and enter the fjord.

There was much ice near the southern side of the fjord. We intended to anchor in Gåshamna, but this bay was full of ice. We therefore proceeded further into the fjord towards Treskelbukta, a bay on the northern side in the inner parts of the fjord. Its access was free of ice, but the ice remained a worry. A change of wind direction could change the situation completely in less than an hour, and the fjord is notorious for severe weather. Eastern gales and storms are common here, even when when conditions are calm south or north of the mouth. In winter, wild hurricanes sweep through. In windy conditions calf ice from the glacier fronts can fill up the fjord and be a serious danger to anchored vessels. However, as we were coming further into the fjord, these worries were soon replaced by the wonder of the stunning beauty of this place. The weather at the mouth was grey and dull, but there was bright sunshine in the inner fjord. To the south steep, pointed mountains rise high through the glaciers whose fronts all reach water. To the east, the fjord ends at a wide front of a large, snowy glacier that covers all land seen eastwards, except a few nunataks. Only smaller glaciers meet the fjord on the northern side. We anchored in Treskelbukta, a beautiful spot.

The skipper Arne, Jos and I took the dinghy to explore the nearby glaciers and to scan the inner fjord for bears. We were away for a few hours and saw no bears. Back in the boat we discussed the plans for the following days, and agreed that we all first should get some proper sleep here, which none of us had had in a week. I was to watch the anchor the two first hours. I began my watch scanning the fjord with binoculars for movements in the ice. I did not like what I saw, and I noticed that the wind had changed. It was now southerly. I alarmed Karl-Peter who hadn't yet gone to rest, and the skipper. We agreed that Karl-Peter and I should go into the dinghy and examine the conditions in the fjord at once. As we were getting out of the bay we saw that ice was filling up the fjord and we grew anxious. We radioed the skipper and suggested that he should wake the rest and get the boat ready to flee the bay while we were investigating the situation further. It was not a very welcome suggestion since we were all fatigued by lack of sleep. In the middle of the fjord, however, we found it completely full of pack ice with some scattered calf ice as well. We could get no further with the dinghy and it was clear that the boat would have no chance either. We radioed back to report that we had no other choice but to wait and see. We then returned.

There was not much we could do. We were trapped, and it could take a day, an hour or a week before the ice would clear. We failed to make contact with Svalbard Radio for a weather forecast, but we made contact with a meteorologist at the Polish research station located near the mouth of the fjord. We asked what kind of conditions he was expecting for the next 24 hours, and he simply replied that he could not see into the future. Instead, he spoke of the weather last year, and continued explaining that he was thinking that the weather next year would be better. The information wasn't too helpful for us now. Although isolated in this fjord, we had at least a channel of communication to the outside world. Pack ice was soon filling up our bay. This was no threat. Our concerns were that if calf ice would begin to push into the bay, it could wreck the boat. So far, however, no calf ice was making it into the bay.

I had just fallen asleep after I finished my watch when the skipper called for everyone to get on deck. He had made a decision. It seemed that the ice had scattered further out in the fjord, so we lifted anchor in a hurry to make an attempt to get through. I was sceptical about doing this without having sent somebody out to investigate the ice situation, since it could be difficult to get back into the bay once left. We took the boat slowly through the pack ice in the bay with no great difficulties and got a better view of the fjord. Indeed, the ice was scattered now, and the chances of finding a way out seemed very good. The pack ice was mostly gone. It had piled up at places on the northern side, and it was easy to cross the calf ice by zig-zagging our way through.

We cleared the last blocks of ice and the weather was fairly calm. Then in less than five minutes a fresh gale was upon us. Rain and spray were stinging our faces. We had left the bay in a rush and there were many things which now had to be properly secured. Occasionally, a deep rumbling sound echoed across the fjord. The glaciers were calving.

We took shelter in Gåshamna, which now was ice free. We anchored there and got some rest while the gale was raging. Before we set out again we went ashore to renew our water supplies.

We left Hornsund in fog, and the wind was good for sailing. We believed that the dramatic events of Hornsund were over. However, leaving the mouth in the fog, we sailed straight into a dense ice belt. We immediately furled the sails, but were already completely surrounded by ice and unable to see the shortest way out of it. It took us an hour to get out by moving slowly and pushing away ice cakes with poles.