PAGE SEVEN
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| (Left) Huge chunks of ice 6-8' thick break
and tip up as we go by. (Right) In addition to fuel consumption (Dranitsyn 400 tons/day, Yamal 10 oz/day), Dranitsyn shows why nuclear is better. |
| (Left) A place which temporarily stopped
Yamal, a pressure ridge across our path perhaps 12-15' thick. (Right) Seals often make their holes in the bottom of these beautiful blue meltwater pools. |
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| (Above left) The helicopter
flies small groups of us off the ship and lands out on the ice, where
we disembark. (Above right) The ship sails off into
the mist and we are left alone in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. (Below
left) As the ship disappears, we walk around and consider
what we would do if it didn't come back. (Below middle) The
captain of Yamal welcomes King Neptune and his retinue aboard and
seeks his approval for us to continue to the Pole. (Below right) Flags are broken out as we approach the North Pole. |
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| Passengers crowd onto the bridge for the last few miles to the Pole. The no drinking on the bridge rule was temporarily suspended. The GPS indicator indicates a distance of 120 feet to 90° N! |
| Having escaped the fate of
being the first vessel towed to the North Pole, the Kapitan
Dranitsyn pulls up behind us. Flags are flown, horns blow, and the gangplank is lowered. We are there. My wife becomes one of the few people in the world to receive a telephone call from the top of the world. |
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| PAGE SIX |
Visit my main website at:
www.calflora.net |