This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Geoff York
Following three flights and two long stopovers, I finally lumber into a cloudy, wet Tiksi in a packed plane. Staring at the pile of unsecured baggage to my front and side, it is one of the few landings I feel like clapping for. It is all self service in the North, so I wait with the plane load of passengers as two people start to hand out bags. I quickly spy two men in the blue expedition gear, our leader Ola Skinnarmo and the famous Russian arctic explorer Victor Boyarsky. Following a warm welcome, we are off to “town”.
Tiksi is a Soviet era settlement on the eastern side of the Lena delta. In its heyday, it was a community of 15,000, but now is closer to 3,000. Many of the large concrete buildings are empty and boarded over. You can feel the uncertainty of the place. The surrounding landscape is attractive and familiar to my Alaskan eyes: rolling tundra hills, river, and ocean. I am very glad to be here as it has been only a plan, a word, until today.
We change vehicles in town and join three very friendly men who will help us with some final provisioning: local reindeer and whitefish. Following a short drive into what looks like an old barracks, we stop in front of a wooden shed. Inside is a stump with a broad axe stuck in it, another door, and a very modern digital scale. Behind the interior door is a series of corridors that are cut into the permafrost hillside.
The floor and walls become ice and we find ourselves in one of the local “freezers” replete with fish and meat – a technique the Inuit have used for generations. A quick, but fascinating look into local life and I can’t help but think of climate change again. Warming temperatures are already thawing permafrost around the Arctic, putting centuries-old traditions like this at risk of failure within my lifetime.
The port is quiet save for the loading of scrap iron of which there is plenty in the area. Our new friends drop us at the waiting Explorer where I meet the rest of the crew and quickly the boat. Within an hour of arriving, I am oriented, unpacked, and we are under way.
Tag Archives: Northeast Passage expedition
Northeast Passage: Our polar bear expert joins the expedition
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Geoff York
WWF senior programme officer for polar bear conservation, Geoff York, with a polar bear cub
So begins my small part in the 2009 expedition to successfully sail through the Northeast Passage, retracing the route of the famous explorer Nordenskiöld. I am replacing Neil Hamilton, director of the WWF Arctic Programme, and plan to go on with this blog as the journey continues across the Laptev, Chukchi, and Bering seas!
I am the senior programme officer for polar bear conservation at WWF, and a long time Alaskan. My entries will often reflect back on matters relating to arctic wildlife and the people who rely on this resource for their livelihood and culture. This is my background, the lens from which I view this amazing part of the world we call the Arctic.
As I depart Moscow for Yakutsk, I am anxious to be in Tiksi. The boat has waited an extra day for my arrival as I was delayed by paperwork and the crew a bit ahead of schedule. I know they will be ready to keep moving east as the summer quickly draws to a close in the far North. It will take nearly nine hours of flight to reach Tiksi by tomorrow evening, and I will begin this adventure with a good dose of jetlag.
Even though temperatures are beginning to cool, the sea ice will continue to melt through mid September, and it is melting fast. From 2005-2008, temperatures in the central Arctic were 5 C above the level expected. The summer sea ice extent has decreased by 40 percent since the 70s, forcing walrus to abandon prime feeding areas and leaving polar bears to choose between a summer on the distant ice or on land, neither of which is their preferred habitat (more on that later). Significant permafrost, ice sheet, and glacial melting have also already taken place. These changes are driven by greenhouse gas emissions – a byproduct of our modern lives.
Due to the reductions in sea ice extent driven by climate change, it is now possible to challenge the Northeast Passage by small sailboat without the support of an icebreaker. This is perhaps one of the last times such an expedition will be a real challenge. In the future, the melting ice will make sailing through the Passage easier and easier, and not just for small boats. Decreasing sea ice extent and thinning of the ice will open up the Arctic for unprecedented increases in transport, tourism and resource development in this vulnerable region.
As I race to meet the crew in Tiksi, I know we are all also in a race for the survival of our planet as we now know it today. In a few short months, the nations of the world will come together in Copenhagen to negotiate a new deal on climate change. This will be a crucial first step of many needed to ensure we collectively and quickly reduce our green house gas emissions, aggressively develop renewable sources of energy, and challenge ourselves to live sustainably in all aspects of our lives. Much like our sailing expedition, this will require careful planning and there will be many uncertainties along the way. Stabilising the global climate will require extraordinary commitment by all of us and it will not be easy.
I hope you will join me on both adventures starting today.
Northeast Passage: Reflections
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Neil Hamilton
Google Map showing the location of Tiksi, a port settlement in Bulunsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia
This will be my last blog from ‘Explorer of Sweden’ as I leave the boat tomorrow morning at Tiksi, and will be replaced by Geoff York a day later. I thought therefore that I should reflect on what I have seen and learned, and what lessons others may find useful.
The trip has been easier than I expected, much easier. Some of this can be put down to the professionalism of Ola and the team, but the reality is that we have had dream conditions. The sea has been completely calm (so calm in fact that we could not sail for much of the way and had to use the motor), the weather warm (we had days of 15 degrees at 75 North!), and there has been only one short episode of sea ice. This has added up to a much more relaxed trip that anybody anticipated.
The amount of ice we have seen so far is exactly what I had anticipated, a short traverse across Cape Chelyuskin. This is a massive tragedy: The entire expanse of the Barents, Kara, and Laptev seas is completely ice free this summer. We are certain to come very close to breaking the all time record low of 2007 that shocked the world. I hope this puts to rest, at long long last, the spurious and unsupportable claims of the sceptics once and for all. It’s too late for obfuscation and ‘half truths’ now, we have a real challenge to address.
Beyond the sea ice, we have also seen unmistakable evidence of the effects of melting permafrost where we landed, the landslides, slips, and coastal erosion all exposing huge slabs of underground ice. I expect Geoff will see a lot more of this as the boat proceeds westwards.
The arctic seas are much, much emptier than I expected. You really feel alone! If you exclude the Barents sea, there simply is no shipping beyond a couple of coastal supply ships, two ice breakers, a tiny number of research vessels, and the Norilsk nickel transport form Dudinka. Oh yes, and the eight private vessels making the transit of the North Esst Passage this summer. This lack of shipping partly reflects the vast unpopulated spaces of the Russian north, but also the fact that this is a ‘new sea’: a place where shipping could not pass on a systematic basis until now. When you look at the maps and charts, the settlements are many many hundreds of kilometres apart, and when you land you know that you are a very long way from anywhere.
Finally, I feel optimistic that we can make a difference to whate is happening here. The damage can be repaired, the ice can return, if we reduce carbon emissions at home. The consequences of failing to do this break my heart. The Arctic is the greatest wake up call we have ever had.
Northeast Passage: The Laptev Sea
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
Google Map of the Laptev Sea
By Neil Hamilton
Now that we are ‘on the road’ again I can give you some impressions of the third legendary sea we are travelling through, the Laptev Sea. It is named after Dimitry Laptev, one of the leaders of the famous Russian Great Arctic Expedition. Lying between the Taimyr peninsula and the New Siberian islands, the Laptev is, like the Barents and the Kara, part of the huge Russian arctic continental shelf. It is also, like the Kara, shallow (we haven’t been through water deeper than 25 metres yet!), and very, very empty.
This is one of the remotest places you can be. To the south lies the Sakha Republic / Yahkutia, the biggest and least inhabited part of Russia; to the west the Taimyr peninsula (which is complete wilderness); to the north, nothing but ice. We are aware of two seismic survey vessels but to our knowledge there are no other ships in the entire sea.
The Laptev is also a bit different for us, too. For the first time since leaving Murmansk we have an ocean swell, up to 2 metres high. It gives the ‘Explorer’ a pleasant new motion, but makes keeping things on the table pretty interesting. It also brings new weather for us: having basked in 15 degrees on the Taimyr, we now have zero degrees: the swell comes straight from the North! At least the sun is shining and visibility is good, which is critical for us as there are big logs in the water.
Where do these come from? My legendary river, the Lena. We are travelling eastwards towards the delta of the river that brought me here in the first place, from which a constant and enormous supply of timber is delivered into the arctic ocean. It travels with the trans-polar drift westwards, ending up on the coast of Svalbard and northern Norway. An incredible thought.
My part in this amazing expedition shortly comes to a close, as I leave ‘Explorer’ and her crew in Tiksi, on the eastern margins of the Lena Delta. Geoff York, WWF’s polar bear coordinator, takes over shortly afterwards and will continue this blog.
Northeast Passage: Weather or climate?
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Neil Hamilton
We have been anchored for a day in the calm and beautiful Bukta Pronchishchevoy, basking in 15 degree temperatures and bright sunshine. It’s ideal for filming the rarely seen Laptev walrus (which Frederik is doing) and adjusting to the 6 hour time change between Murmansk and Tiksi which we chose to’ implement’ on ‘ship time’ here.
Such amazing weather here, plus the ice we encountered in the Vilkitsky Strait around Cape Chelyuskin, prompted several questions from the crew about how we can say that climate change is affecting the Arctic. Couldn’t it just be natural variations in weather?
The answer isn’t simple: first you need to understand the difference between climate and weather. Someone once said to me that “climate is what you want, but weather is what you get”. In other words weather is what actually happens on a given day, whereas climate is the long term average of weather over say 20 or more years. I’m sure you ‘know’ what the summer is supposed to be like at your home, or favourite beach holiday place: in a sense that is climate; but what actually occurs this year at that place is weather.
In the Arctic there is no doubt that the climate is warming. It’s warming faster and further than anywhere else on Earth. From 60 degrees North (that’s south of Oslo!) to the Pole, the annual average air temperature has risen more than 2 degrees above the long term average. There is absolutely no question that Nordenskjold, Nansen, and all the other explorers undertook their expeditions in a much colder climate than we have. Seasonally it is now also much warmer, particularly in autumn. And some places in the Arctic, like the region we are entering now, are warming faster than other places.
But the Arctic has another attribute you don’t see in many other places: sea ice, which plays a dramatic role in both weather and climate. Sea ice forms in winter and covers much of the arctic ocean, and more than half of it melts each summer. The amount that is melting however is increasing dramatically, a fact we know from satellite imagery. What we experienced at Cape Chelyuskin was the sea ice equivalent of ‘weather’: a small (well, relatively speaking!) stream of ice broken off the pack around Severnaya Zemlya and pushed south by the wind. I would have been very surprised if there had been no ice there at all, as this is the northernmost continental point on the planet.
This is part of what I explained to my colleagues on the boat, together with an explanation of how we know what is natural and what is man made climate change. But that can wait for another blog.
Northeast Passage: Walrus 1, Bear 0
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Neil Hamilton
The amazing sight of 5 polar bears waiting around a large Laptev walrus rookery has given way to a more analytical look at what is actually happening there. We have noticed that almost all the bears are in relatively poor condition, and appear to be injured. What is going on here?
It’s pretty difficult to tell without spending a lot of time here or examining the bears more closely, which I certainly don’t want to do: a safe polar bear is one that is a long way away! But it is possible to piece together at least parts of the puzzle.
Firstly, we know that as a result of climate change there is no sea ice for many hundreds of kilometres from here. It now melts early, and returns late each year. That means that there are no ringed seals (the main food of the polar bear) around. The bears have probably been trapped at the coast since the sea ice disappeared in June or early July, wandering around looking for anything they can scavenge. They are faced with the inevitability of spending the next few months with no reliable food source. We know from several studies that bears in this position lose huge amounts of body weight, which translates directly into reproductive success: less weight, less surviving cubs next year.
Secondly, we know that a fully grown walrus is more than a match for a bear. I’ve seen many accounts of walrus fighting off bear attacks, and anyone who works on walrus can tell you how fast they can move when they want to. They might look like bags of blubber on land, but those bags can move like a rocket over short distances. And in water they are even more dangerous, thinking nothing of attacking a Zodiac. They are not known as ‘the hippo of the Arctic’ for nothing.
Thirdly, the injuries to the bears looked like puncture wounds, and several were in pairs about 30cm apart. many were on the back or the hind quarters of the bears, leaving substantial blood stains on the fur.
I’m sure you’re getting the picture by know. Starving bears, a walrus colony with young, and not a seal in sight. It might not be McDonalds, but the possibility of some tender young walrus just could be worth a tusk or two in the rump.
That’s climate change in the Arctic.
Northeast Passage: A handful of bears
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Neil Hamilton
A polar bear in Bukhta Pronchishchevoy
Well, what an utterly incredible day. Having just written a blog about why there have been no polar bear sightings today I saw five, all in a small area.
We have continued sailing south eastwards around the Taimyr peninsula, one of the largest and most remote wilderness regions on earth. This afternoon entered one of the few safe harbours in the region, called Bukhta Pronchishchevoy. It’s named after the wife of a Russian arctic explorer who travelled with him. Both died not far from here. The coast here shows signs of significant erosion due to permafrost melting, one of the symptoms of climate change. Big ice wedges and layers are visible in the erosion cliffs where the permafrost has become exposed. But there has been no sea ice here for several weeks at least.
On entering the harbour we saw walrus in the water, and then a walrus rookery on a shingle spit with perhaps 200 Laptev walrus. Three polar bears (probably a mother and two grown cubs) lay only metres from the walrus. Two more polar bears prowled the hills behind. The walrus with young were in the water, keeping safely out of reach of the bears.
Anders found a safe anchorage a couple of kilometres away next to an abandoned hydrometerological station (the only habitation of any sort for hundreds of miles). We returned to the walrus rookery in the Zodiac, keeping well off shore so not to disturb them, and watched. The large bear prowled around the walrus pack, then charged at some of the outlying walrus, trying to separate the young from their mothers. All escaped, this time. The rest of the walrus constantly bellow irrespective of threat and seemed more interested in squabbling than repelling the bear. The bear walked to the shoreline and sat, watching, sniffing, sizing us up.
A simply incredible experience. After an hour or so we left them and returned to the ship and watched the sunset (almost: it was midnight, and the sun barely goes below the horizon here). It is hard to believe that we have the privilege to experience such a place. I doubt any one has been here for ten years.
Northeast Passage: Where are the polar bears?
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Neil Hamilton
Last night we celebrated our successful passage past Cape Chelyuskin and the Taimyr peninsula with a wonderful dinner of reindeer, from the leg that we bought from the Nenets herders on Weygach Island. It has been hanging outside for the past few days aging perfectly and simply melted in the mouth. Culinary bliss on an expedition is a rare thing, but it does happen!
Now that we are cruising happily in the ice-free (apart from the beautiful but lone glacier iceberg from Servernaya Zemlya we passed 6 hours ago) Laptev Sea, it’s worth reflecting on what we didn’t see during our transit through the ice: polar bears. The most we saw were some old tracks on an ice floe.
There are definitely polar bears here: it is prime habitat, and we saw many seals on the way through the ice, resting on the ice or swimming in the water: ringed, bearded, and harp (or Greenland) seals. The IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group, the ‘peak body’ for assessing population trends and threats to the species, believes there are 500 to 1000 bears in the Laptev Sea region, and an unknown number in the Kara Sea.
I can only surmise that the bear population has already retreated northwards as the ice broke up weeks ago, so would be more visible around the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Any remaining bears would most likely be found slightly nearer to the coast than we sailed, in the broken but more dense ice that provides a better hunting ground.
Very little is known about both the Kara and Laptev region polar bear sub-populations. This reflects the intense remoteness of the area. It is unclear whether the numbers of bears is growing or shrinking, and the population estimates are not adequate for management purposes. This is a critical problem as the impacts of climate change on polar bears are expected to be severe, particularly in this region where the warming is intense (last autumn was 5 degrees above average here) and the ice is being lost so rapidly.
So we hope that as we move south eastwards along the Taimyr coast, across the Lena Delta, and into the Chukchi Sea we will have better opportunities to observe bears. Novaya Zemlya and perhaps most importantly Wrangel Island are in front of us. We also hope to see the elusive Laptev Sea walrus!
Northeast Passage: We’re through!
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Neil Hamilton
I guess we weren’t as lucky as I thought we might be. We spent all of yesterday negotiating our way through heavy drifting pack ice that had moved south from Severnaya Zemlya, trying every lead to see if any opened up. At one stage we moored to an ice floe and drifted for an hour to see exactly how fast the ice was moving, in which direction. I never doubted that we would make it through, but you do start making mental plans about what you will do if you do get stuck.
I can assure you that being an ice pilot under these conditions is not fun: standing still on the wheelhouse roof astride the boom for four hours with binoculars glued to your eyes every second, air temperature a few degrees below zero, water at -1.8. You start dancing to imaginary Abba songs just to keep your legs functional, and pretend you are a seagull to keep the blood flowing to your hands despite two pairs of gloves. Really cold. Much colder than I was at -30 at the North Pole, much colder than in a blizzard on Franz Josef Land.
Perseverance pays off. Early this morning Moscow time we passed Cape Chelyuskin, the northern most point of the Eurasian continent, in poor visibility and heavy drifting sea ice. We covered more distance in 2 hours than we had in the previous 24, heading steadily eastwards. We are not clear of the ice yet however, as I can still see floes all around us and in some directions the route is closed. Eastwards it looks really good, and the further we go into the Laptev Sea before turning south the better our passage will be. In some ways that is a pity as I would love to get close to the coast of the Lena delta.
Everyone is really tired now after several days continuous hard work. The boat is quiet, most people sleeping when they are not on watch. We know the hardest part of the journey is over and can look forward to more shore landings, more wildlife, and new and unexpected encounters with things natural and human.
PS: Unless someone corrects me, I’ll claim the crown of “First Australian to pass Cape Chelyuskin in a Sailing Yacht”. Any challengers?
Northeast Passage: Ice and rain
This summer, WWF is helping support two expeditions that will take on some of the world’s most difficult waters, to see first-hand the effects of Arctic climate change. One expedition is sailing across the top of Russia, a journey of 6000 nautical miles through the Northeast Passage, while another is attempting a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage, also by sailing boat, a journey of about 7,000 nautical miles.
Tom Arnbom of Sweden was on the ‘Explorer of Sweden’ though the Northeast Passage, as was WWF Arctic Programme Director Neil Hamilton for much of the trip, replaced near the end by WWF polar bear coordinator Geoff York. On the ‘Silent Sound’ Cameron Dueck of the Open Passage Expedition is filing regular stories from the Northwest passage. Come back for photos and stories throughout the summer, and follow the progress of the boats as they follow in the wake of some of history’s most intrepid explorers.
By Neil Hamilton
Since about 6am we have been negotiating increasingly present drifting fragments of sea ice with a recent snow cover of about 20cm. The ice has all the forms of the last stages of melt but makes navigation difficult. Ola then Hannibal then Per Magnus take turns standing on the middle cross trees of the mast, about 15m above the deck, to see as far as possible and find a path to open water.
The sea is totally calm like a pond, which is normal when there is ice around as it dampens the waves. The wind has dropped right off, too. We had hoped for a south easterly to blow the ice away from the coast but it doesn’t seem to have eventuated. Visibility in the early morning is stunning: at least 10 nautical miles, but then the rain comes and drops it to less than a mile.
We have been trying to get to the coast at Cape Vega, named after the vessel of Nordenskjold when he did the first transit of the Northeast Passage. He was stopped by ice in the Laptev sea and was forced to overwinter before he could continue. Our luck seems different however: Cape Vega is firmly protected by land-fast ice, so we cannot reach it, but the Laptev Sea has been ice free for some weeks.
Anders navigates skillfully around ice floes small and large and heads back out to the north west away from the heavy ice. We can cruise quite comfortably at 7 to 8 knots using the motor so the ice is not slowing us down at all. If we are lucky we will reach the Vilkitsky Strait in a few hours and then be around Cape Chelyuskin shortly afterwards. If we are not, and find more drifting ice preventing our forward passage, it will take another day or two to be in the clear.