There is excitement in Børge Ousland’s voice as he makes his first satellite call from the drifting ice beyond Cape Arktichesky:
Hi, we’re finally on the move again. Our current position is N81°17′39″, E95°51′09″. Even though we’re drifting rapidly towards southeast, we decided to start today while the ice was in contact with land. According to the GPS, we’ve only progressed 2 km northwards, but I’m sure we have walked and paddled 10 km more than that.
Some time tomorrow, the wind is expected to turn and increase in strength – rewarding today’s efforts. We’ve put behind us some rather rough areas of difficult ice and open leads, and five or six times today paddled the dinghy across open water.
Where we are now, conditions are pretty good. Even though it is very dark – pitch black and snowing – we’re managing to navigate well. But we can’t see very far ahead. We’re staying alert, constantly scanning our surroundings. It’s very easy to be surprised by a polar bear wandering around in the screw ice.
I must admit that it’s exciting to be moving in this shifting landscape with only our headlights. Very exciting! So far we have been on the move for seven hours, and all is well.
I’m sure we’ll drift even further southward when we call it a night, as well as during the first part of tomorrow. Then the forecast is for a shift to a southwesterly wind, which will push us northwards. Time to carry on!
