20-Jul-2009 – We came from the Confluence Point 90°N back to Franz Joseph Land (Земля Франца-Иосифа) and we first visited Cape Norway where two Norwegian adventurers, Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen, spent the winter 1895/96 in a makeshift hut. Our ship then proceeded to the abandoned research station Sedov (Седова). After these visits I asked our expedition leader Mr. Jan Bryde if we could pass the Confluence Point 80°N 50°E during our way back to Russia. He promised to ask the Captain, but a brief look on the nautical chart showed that the point will likely be in shallow waters and thus not reachable for our ice breaker "50 Let Pobedy" ("50 Лет Победы", "50 Years of Victory") with her drought of 11 meters.

However during the voyage through the Mayer Channel, I looked closely on the GPS screen and hoped a visit within the 100 meters tolerance would be possible, but it turned out that the closest distance reached was 0.71 kilometers.

Although the local time was 2 o'clock (UTC+4h) in the morning, it was possible to take some photos: in the south view Northbrook Island (Остров Нортбрүка) can be seen. West of the point are Mabel Island (Остров Мейбел) and Bell Island (Остров Белл; guess which is Bell Island?). To the north Bruce Island (Остров Брюса) can be seen.

This was the last Confluence Point on an extraordinary journey through the Russian Arctic. I would like to thank the captain, the crew and the expedition staff for the unforgettable journey!