(Actual 10th century photograph of Lief Ericson)
Crew circles North Pole in one summer
A trimaran sailing boat has circled the North Pole in a single summer season, a feat made possible by global warming and the melting of the Arctic ice cap, the boat’s international crew said Thursday. 100 years ago, a circumnavigation would have taken six years,” the “Northern Passage” crew said in a statement.
No doubt it would have taken longer, when there was no information about the current state of the ice, no communications, no weather forecasts, no ice forecasts, no radar, no sonar, no lights, very limited navigational tools, and little hope of rescue.
We also know that in 1922, an expedition sailed to 81º 29′ in ice free water – closer to the pole than was possible in 2010.
h/t to Tom Richard
PDF of the 2010 Boerge Ousland trip
http://www.corsair-sweden.com/blog/TheNorthPolePassage.pdf
–page 1 of the PDF, they did not stay in the Arctic but part of the trip was in the North Atlantic
–Page 2 of the PDF, they did not plan to stay in water:
Circumnavigating the Earth on the Arctic Ocean in a single summer is an impossible challenge – if you try to do it the traditional way…..we have chosen a light and lithe trimaran….can easily be pulled onto the shore to avoid pack ice.
They say they circumnavigated “the Earth on the Arctic Ocean” but to do that they needed to go north of Greenland. They did not do that. Their map shows they did not.
Amino, they simply mean they are circumnavigating the Arctic as opposed to the Antarctic so people know which pole they are doing. It must really hurt for you to have to resort to those lengths to try and find fault with it.
Steve, modern technology always helps. I suppose to you the first non stop circumnavigation by Robin Knox Johnston was not proper because he had a radio and also automatic steering?
It’s a fantastic achievement by both crews.
Andy
Of course it is. It is the comments about the ice that I find questionable.
Quote from the PDF:
“Circumnavigating the Earth on the Arctic Ocean”
Did you read it? Page 2. They went into the North Atlantic. You need to contact them, not me.
AndyW says:
October 15, 2010 at 4:52 am
It must really hurt for you to have to resort to those lengths to try and find fault with it.
Ummm, huh? I wasn’t trying to find fault with it. My problem is with how the trip is being portrayed. Can you understand that now that I spelled it out to you? You made an accusation that wasn’t true. I did not try to find fault. I pointed out obvious things that anyone can see. ISN’T IT REALLY YOU WHO IS THE ONE RESORTING TO LENGTHS TRYING TO FIND FAULT WITH ME? You misrepresent what I said. You have done that to me repeatedly. You have a weak mind that is unable to distinguish what it sees from what it would like to see.
I don’t like the misrepresentation in the media. But they themselves also misrepresent what they did by saying it was “Circumnavigating the Earth on the Arctic Ocean”. It is clear from looking at the map they went into the North Atlantic. Did you look at the map?
The problem I have is the overlooking in the media that it was not a circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean. And that the implication is that global warming has melted so much ice that a yacht can now completely circle Arctic ice on water. But they did not stay in water even when they were in the Arctic Ocean. They make that clear. But the media does not. Nor do you want to.
Contact the media. Talk to them about their misrepresentations instead of making up misrepresentations about what I said.
Also, why aren’t you having a problem with how this journey is being poetrayed in the media? Maybe you would like people to not pay attention, not only to this trip, but also to everything else wrong with global warming.
Nothing to see here folks, move along—right Andy?
Me thinks it time to find another seat on the bus.
Me thinks Brendan you need to lose your virginity
Brendon says: “Me thinks it time to find another seat on the bus.”
Better yet, why not another bus?
AndyW says:
October 15, 2010 at 4:52 am
Amino, they simply mean they are circumnavigating the Arctic as opposed to the Antarctic so people know which pole they are doing.
No, it doesn’t say that. Again, you are seeing what you’d like to see, not what is really there. They said “Circumnavigating the Earth on the Arctic Ocean”. They went off the Arctic Ocean.
AndyW
It appears the only reason you really care about this trip is because what the image portrayed in reports of it are showing. It makes it look like global warming is decimating Arctic ice. So, it appears, you don’t like it when someone points out the flaws in that make believe image of the trip. You don’t want anyone to let the real story come out because then the level of alarm over ‘global warming’ would come down, and maybe even be brought into question when people would wonder about why this story has been exaggerated.
AndyW says:
October 15, 2010 at 4:52 am
resort to those lengths
Why do you say lengths? It was actually easy. No lengths involved. Why create that exaggeration?
About that photo:
…. must have been low flying aircraft… publicity shot for Lief.. 🙂
… Note the period “Steer” board.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_and_starboard
Amino, you are making a fool of yourself with you multiple blustering posts, calm down. They set off from Oslo for their trip so it was impossible for them to do the whole thing in the Arctic ocean. What they mean is they circumnavigated the planet for the first time via the Arctic ocean.
Feel free to write to them and tell them, as their native tongue is not English perhaps you could write in Norwegian to them so you can get a better answer from them? You do speak/write Norwegian as well as they write English I assume ?
Andy
AndyW says: “Amino, you are making a fool of yourself …”
No, you did that to yourself with your original over-the-top attack on Amino.
Explain why what I said was over the top. Amino was nitpicking and I called him out on it, further down I gave my reasoning, they sailed from Oslo so it is impossible for them not to circumnavigate the earth in the northern hemisphere withough going through the Atlantic.
It is like the circumnavigators of the south pole not being able to use the Atlantic, strangely though the yachting federation actually demands it !
So, tell me why I was over the top?
Andy
Andy
Andy, you are digging an even deeper hole for yourself. Setting off from Oslo, they could easily have sailed North to the Arctic Circle and then started the circumference.
The report specifically states ” they circled the North Pole”. This clearly is not true – you might just as well sail around the Tropic of Cancer and call that circling the North Pole. I assume this is poor reporting and not the crew exaggerating.
“Circling the North Pole” is clearly totally different to ” Circumnavigating the planet via the Arctic Ocean”
“. Setting off from Oslo, they could easily have sailed North to the Arctic Circle and then started the circumference.”
But that’s what they did, do you know what you are actually talking about?
They did sail north to the Arctic circle and then started the circumnavigation. So what’s your point apart from not knowing anything about the expedition ?
“The report specifically states ” they circled the North Pole”. This clearly is not true”
How is it not true? They did a 360 degree route in the Northern Hemisphere by boat, which by default circles the north pole.
“Circling the North Pole” is clearly totally different to ” Circumnavigating the planet via the Arctic Ocean”
You’re just making up your own definitions on the blogosphere now . Tell me how it is different.
Andy
Andy,
if you read this….
you need to buy some glasses dude, and then look at the map again.
And for their next trick they will set up farms all year round in Greenland.
Only thing is we will have to wait a while for the next MWP.
When I put a cursor over the boat picture, it says the boat is from the 9th century (while the photograph is supposedly from the 10th century). I’m thinking the photograph is bogus, that it is not from the 10th century but is really from the 9th century.
LOL!!!!!