Yeah, this is a message from Thorleif Thorleifsson on the SS “Athene”. We’re heading towards Franz Joseph Land to pick up Børge Ousland and Thomas Ulrich. They’re waiting for us on the beach at Cape Flora.
The Barents Sea is showing her most inhospitable side at the moment. We’re approaching 80 degrees latitude but are “being hit hard in the face”, as they say, by stiff gales. As the waves are tossing us about, we’re tacking back and forth to make as much progress as we can against this headwind. No opportunity for sleep on this watch – we feel like ping-pong balls in a washing machine. We did have a nice dinner yesterday, though, pork chops stewed with cabbage and potatoes. Not bad!
We just spoke to the two boys on the beach. They’re down to their last two metres of toilet paper – and obviously longing for a bit more comfort. And we can offer that on board. Even though the weather is a bit rough, we’re in fine shape. Due to the wind, I expect we’ll be tacking until the morning; if you relax under these kinds of conditions, you quickly lose whatever headway you’ve made. But I expect we’ll be able to pick up those Arctic adventurers in the course of the day.
Well, this is “Athene” signing off. I’ll call again when we approach Børge and Thomas.
