GUNNAR ISACHSEN. M.-N. Kl. 



When, sailing southwards from Ice Fjord, a vessel finds ice at and 

 outside the mouth of the fjord, a lane will as a rule be found on the west 

 side of Prince Charles Foreland, running in a north-westerly direction out 

 to open water to the south. 



The West Side of Prince Charles Foreland, 



Off Saddle Point lie Salskj^" (Saddle Rocks), and there are said to 

 be other dangerous shoals here. Farther west lie the so-called Plankehli^ 

 (Plank Islets), with several smaller islands surrounding them. These is- 

 lands have received their name from the great quantity of planks found 

 there in the sixties and seventies of last century. They came from the 

 wreck of a vessel laden with wood goods that was driven ashore here in 

 1864 1. The vessel came from Petchora, had been wrecked off the north 

 of Norway and deserted by her crew, and had afterwards drifted up to 

 Spitsbergen. 



Along the coast between Saddle Rocks and Plank Islets there are 

 sunken rocks extending from 2 to 3 miles out from the coast; and between 

 them are deep channels, which are continued as clefts in the coast be- 

 tween Saddle Point and Black Point. Within these clefts in the coast 

 there are good havens for boats. 



To the north and north-west of Plank Islets are more islets and shoals, 

 right up to Whitson Bay. North of this bay lie Foreland Islands, or Edin- 

 burgh Isles, as Bruce calls them. They consist of Nordöya (North Island), 

 Storöya (Great Island) and farthest south Söröya (South Island) or Rocks- 

 oya (Rocks Island), besides a few smaller islands. There is anchorage on 

 the north-east side of Nordöya, where there is from 8 to 10 metres of 

 water over an even rock-bottom. In going in, the vessel must keep well 

 clear of Nordöya, from which reefs jut out. 



About 4 miles SW of Cape Cold, the British Admiralty chart shows 

 a shallow. Goshawk Rock, with 6 metres of water. Captain I. Svendsen 

 has searched for this shallow at the place stated, but found depths of up 

 to 100 metres. Other arctic traders, however, have seen breakers there 

 in heavy weather. About 5 miles WNW of Cape Cold, the German Reichs- 

 Marine-Amt chart of Barents Sea shows a shallow, Habicht Fels, with 

 nearly 6 metres of water, where breakers have also been observed. 



With the exception of the last-mentioned two shallows — or possibly 

 only one — concerning the existence of which there is some doubt, Nor- 



1 James Lamoxt, Yachting in the Arctic Seas. London, 1876. Ill, p. 229. 



