,
6 tweets,
4 min read
Read on Twitter
A little more about the trip! We sailed last month for Novaya Zemlya on the appropriately named Alter Ego, an 18-meter yacht devoted to Arctic expeditions. Here is it in early August at the port in Murmansk. Just out of frame at left is the nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin. 
The unflappable Mikhail Tekuchev was captain of our boat and a faithful pilot of the drone Zhuzha.
Andrey Ianushkevich, first mate, reigned as master of all things mechanical and shepherd of our small boat Mikhalych. He also speaks walrus.
Evgeny Fershter served as expedition leader. He's familiar with all the historical archaeological sites related to William Barents on Novaya Zemlya--and used to dealing with polar bears (he once encountered eight at one time).
Paragliding champion and deckhand Alexander Bogdanov adjusted sails on the fly, cooked way better than I do, and summoned wild animals by playing Tom Waits on his concertina.
And Tatiana Ponomareva, former director of the Vladimir Nabokov Museum in St. Petersburg, whom I was lucky enough to meet when working on my first book, accompanied me as an interpreter (much to my good fortune).
