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In 1926, when Umberto Nobile crossed the Arctic via the North Pole, aboard the Norge airship that he designed himself, he became the first man in the world to undertake this crossing. It was an exploit that many would subsequently attempt to repeat. For, behind the idea of exploring our planet’s last latitudes, there lies the prospect of raising our spirit, of matching our thirst for the unknown with our deep desire to gain a greater understanding of the world in which we live.
Le Commandant Charcot, a ship of scientific opportunity, follows in the tradition of Nobile, a pioneer and a tireless architect of polar discovery, in order to discover some of the Arctic’s secrets during a dedicated research mission at the highest point of the north.
The ship, the latest addition to the company’s fleet, shaped for polar exploration, is preparing to sail, a never travelled, transpolar maritime route, that is inaccessible to traditional ships. From the legendary Bering Strait, a link between the East and the West, to the ice-covered land of Svalbard, Le Commandant Charcot will carve out a path through the ice floes, exploring the ice of the Beaufort Sea, and use open water leads to attempt to reach the elusive Magnetic and Geographic North Poles.
Like a pioneer, you will cross these ice-covered landscapes of the Arctic by sea. During your exploration, you will discover the research projects that are part of the scientific mission taking place on board. This is a unique opportunity to clarify your knowledge alongside a multi-disciplinary team of around twenty researchers on board, to understand their investigations and closely follow their work. Also accompanied by our expert naturalists, you will discover unique ecosystems while sharpening your perception of the polar world and comprehending the stakes of their transformation. Use this journey to grant yourself an initiatory immersion: the rare occasion to take part in an adventure that is making a contribution to scientific research.
Taking an all-new route means pledging to enter an unexplored world with respect, taking the time to observe and understand, as a conscious witness, the unfolding show. With your senses awakened, with the ice floe as your travel companion, you will move through an ever-changing environment, its hypnotic panoramas of raw beauty sculpted by sea winds and plays on light. In the heart of the drifting ice, you will savour the constantly renewed poetry of the elements.
| TRAVEL DATE | PRICE | TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| September 6, 2024 | from $47,030 USD | Per Person |
| DAY | DATE | PLACE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fri Sep 6 | NOME, ALASKA |
| 2 | Sat Sep 7 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 3 | Sun Sep 8 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 4 | Mon Sep 9 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 5 | Tue Sep 10 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 6 | Wed Sep 11 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 7 | Thu Sep 12 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 8 | Fri Sep 13 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 9 | Sat Sep 14 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 10 | Sun Sep 15 | GEOGRAPHIC NORTH POLE |
| 11 | Mon Sep 16 | EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA |
| 12 | Tue Sep 17 | MAGNETIC NORTH POLE |
| 13 | Wed Sep 18 | NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE |
| 14 | Thu Sep 19 | NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE |
| 15 | Fri Sep 20 | NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE |
| 16 | Sat Sep 21 | NORDAUST-SVALBARD NATURE RESERVE |
| 17 | Sun Sep 22 | SAILING IN THE HINLOPEN STRAIT |
| 18 | Mon Sep 23 | SORAUST-SVALBARD NATURE RESERVE |
| 19 | Tue Sep 24 | HORNSUND |
| 20 | Wed Sep 25 | ISFJORDEN |
| 21 | Thu Sep 26 | LONGYEARBYEN, SPITSBERGEN |
SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 – NOME, ALASKA
Embarkation 9/6/2024 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Departure 9/6/2024 at 6:00 PM
Located along the Bering Strait at the westernmost point of Alaska, Nome offers the rustic charm of a former gold-mining town, set in the middle of magnificent wilderness. As you weave in and out of the brightly coloured houses, you will discover the pioneering legacy that still marks local traditions. Fishing, reindeer rearing, sledge-racing… People here live from their manual labour. The surrounding plains provide stunning vantage points for observing Arctic fauna.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2024 – SEPTEMBER 14, 2024 – EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA
Arrival 9/7/2024
Departure 9/14/2024
Bordering the north coasts of Alaska and Canada, the Beaufort Sea was feared for centuries because of its extreme climatic conditions. Covered for most of the year with a thick layer of ice, and unexplored until 1914, this part of the Arctic Ocean, named in honour of the British Admiral Francis Beaufort, will reveal its magnificent icy landscapes to you. With a bit of luck, maybe you will cross the path of some polar bears, since the region is renowned for sheltering the Lord of the Arctic.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2024 – GEOGRAPHIC NORTH POLE
Arrival 9/15/2024
Departure 9/15/2024
Defined by a 90° North latitude, the Geographic North Pole lies on the Earth’s rotational axis, at the intersection of all meridians. Plunged into darkness for six months of the year, then lit by the sun for the following six months, this mythical site, permanently covered in ice and remote from any land, has fascinated generations of explorers. So far, only a very few people have ever reached it: an exploit which is now accessible to you aboard Le Commandant Charcot.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 – EXPLORING SEA ICE IN BEAUFORT SEA
Arrival 9/16/2024
Departure 9/16/2024
Bordering the north coasts of Alaska and Canada, the Beaufort Sea was feared for centuries because of its extreme climatic conditions. Covered for most of the year with a thick layer of ice, and unexplored until 1914, this part of the Arctic Ocean, named in honour of the British Admiral Francis Beaufort, will reveal its magnificent icy landscapes to you. With a bit of luck, maybe you will cross the path of some polar bears, since the region is renowned for sheltering the Lord of the Arctic.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 – MAGNETIC NORTH POLE
Arrival 9/17/2024
Departure 9/17/2024
The convergence point for the field lines of the Earth’s magnetic field, the Magnetic North Pole attracts the magnetic needle of the compass. While the Geographic North Pole is the Earth’s northernmost fixed point, marking the intersection of the Globe’s rotation axis with the Earth’s surface, the Magnetic North Pole moves over time. In fact, it is linked to the Earth’s magnetic field which originates in the Earth’s outer core, which is made up of molten metal and is subject to convection movements. Localised for the first time in 1831, in the Canadian Arctic, it has since moved towards Siberia and thus become closer to the Geographic North Pole. Set off in search of the Magnetic North Pole, try to get closer to it and, if luck allows it, attempt to reach it!
SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 – SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 – NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE
Arrival 9/18/2024
Departure 9/20/2024
Enjoy the absolutely unique experience of sailing to the heart of the ice floe, this vast expanse of virgin, immaculate ice. The landscapes are constantly changing, shifting from a smooth, flat wilderness to a chaos of ice, then to channels of open water. Your ship will sail along these naturally open channels and through the areas where the frozen layer is thinnest, offering you the chance to experience magic maritime moments in the midst of drifting sea ice. It will also often be an opportunity to see a particular kind of fauna, totally dependent on the ice floe.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2024 – NORDAUST-SVALBARD NATURE RESERVE
Arrival 9/21/2024
Departure 9/21/2024
The Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve has been protecting the northernmost and coldest part of the archipelago, Nordaustlandet (North East Land), since 1973. This vast polar desert covered by two ice caps is the second largest island in the Svalbard archipelago. Protected by the Gulf Stream, the fjords and cliffs in the west and north are home to large colonies of birds and walruses. The landscapes in the colder east and south are dominated by imposing glaciers that calve majestic icebergs in the vast Hinlopen Strait. Large colonies of thick-billed murres have taken up residence on the sheer cliffs*. You may even get the chance to see a bear or an Arctic fox roaming in the vicinity.
*depending on nesting and migration period
SEPTEMBER 22, 2024 – SAILING IN THE HINLOPEN STRAIT
Arrival 9/22/2024
Departure 9/22/2024
Sailing in the Hinlopen Strait, in the heart of the Arctic Ocean, between the Norwegian islands of Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet promises an unforgettable experience. This territory of the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve offers breathtaking panoramas, with magnificent basalt formations and the ice cap stretching as far as the eye can see, diving into the sea. The shore line cut by the fjords moving inland composes a magical landscape in which icebergs float here and there, the result of the calving of the surrounding glaciers. This place, today a popular spot to observe the seabirds nesting in the enormous cliffs, polar bears and walruses, was once intrinsically linked to the history of the whalers who frequented the region from the 17th century. Indeed, it was one of them, Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen, then director of a Dutch whaling company, who gave the strait its name. Later on, Russian trappers, European explorers, scientists and even mountaineers roamed this region, as hostile as it is sublime.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 – SORAUST-SVALBARD NATURE RESERVE
Arrival 9/23/2024
Departure 9/23/2024
The Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve is the second largest protected area in Norway. Established in 1973, this nature conservation area stretching over more than 21,000 km2 will offer you stunning panoramas including coastal landscapes, rocky islets, mountain plateaux, vast tundra plains, and ice floes. With a little luck, you will be able to observe a wide variety of seabirds, given the site is listed as an Important Bird Area, as well as cetaceans, Svalbard reindeer, or even Arctic foxes. Among other things, Edgeoya Island is renowned for providing shelter to a number of polar bears during the breeding season.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 – HORNSUND
Arrival 9/24/2024
Departure 9/24/2024
Nestling between millennial glaciers and carved mountains, and considered to be “the crown of Arctic Norway”, Spitsbergen is a place that never sees the night. Your ship will take you closer to this fascinating archipelago and, more particularly, the Hornsund fjord. Considered to be Svalbard’s southernmost fjord, it is especially reputed to be its most stunning: at the end of its vast bay, 8 great glaciers slowly make their way down to the sea before giving way to the many icebergs elegantly drifting along its cold and mysterious waters.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 – ISFJORDEN
Arrival 9/25/2024
Departure 9/25/2024
The vast Isfjorden is one of the main fjords in Svalbard. These different branches reach the heart of the island of Spitsbergen. Located deep inside the Billejforden, the Nordenskiöld Glacier with its front of ice, nearly 5 km wide, is one of the most spectacular in the Svalbard Archipelago. You will perhaps have the opportunity to discover the ghost town of Pyramiden. Constructed at the foot of a mountain in the form of a pyramid, this former mining town, founded by Sweden at the beginning of the 20th century before being sold a few years later to the Soviet Union, and abandoned in 1998, has conserved all the buildings from its glory days, when it lived off coal mining.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 – LONGYEARBYEN, SPITSBERGEN
Arrival 9/26/2024
Disembarkation 9/26/2024 at 8:00 AM
Longyearbyen is the capital of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago, located on Svalbard’s main island, and is the northernmost territorial capital on the planet. With winter temperatures dropping to below 40°C, the landscapes of this mining town are simply breathtaking. The glaciers, the mountains stretching as far as the eye can see and the untouched nature, make you feel like you’re in completely unexplored territory.
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