Børge Ousland

Position update 08.39 CEST: 69.99609 N, 176.1991 E
Note: Also “Peter 1” confirms problems with satellite coverage and reporting of Spot positions.
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Expedition Report, 08.55 CEST:
“We started out just fine from Pevek, but some hours ago we again got a headwind – a stiff breeze straight in our faces. These hopeless wind conditions seem to haunt us and keep delaying our journey. Moreover, according to the weather forecast this is likely to last for several days. Big steel boats such as “Peter 1” can just start up their diesels and plough through. Our little outboard can do nothing in such waves; the propeller will be lifted out of the water for each wave and won’t provide any progress. We are forced to tack against the wind and waves, which takes twice the time.

We persist, as always, but right now it feels a bit frustrating!

The “Northern Passage” is charting a course along the coast toward Cape Schmidt (Mys Schmidta), a settlement due southeast from our present position.”

Best regards,
Børge

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PS. I am told our position messages are not registering.
I assure you we are regularly sending Spot messages, every 4 hours.

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Wrangel Island – the northernmost UNESCO World Heritage Site
Wrangel Island (Ostrov Vrangelya) is a breeding ground for polar bears (having the highest density of dens in the world), seals, Walrus, and lemmings. During the summer it is visited by many types of birds. Arctic fox also make their home on the island.

Woolly mammoths survived there until 1700 BC, the most recent survival of all known mammoth populations. However, due to limited food supply, they were much smaller in size than typical mammoths. Domestic Reindeer were introduced in the 1950s and their numbers are managed at around 1,000 in order to reduce their impact on nesting bird grounds. In 1975 musk ox were also introduced. The population has grown from 20 to about 200 animals. Recently, Arctic Wolf have been spotted on the island; wolves have lived on the island in historical times but previous packs were eradicated to reduce predation on reindeer and musk ox.

The flora includes 417 species of plants, double that of any other arctic tundra territory of comparable size and more than any other Arctic island. For these reasons, the island was proclaimed the northernmost UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

The rocky island has a weather station and two fishing settlements on its southern shore.
(Source and photo: Wikipedia)

Filling out papers. Yuri (on the right) was most helpful! (See video below.)

A barrel of petrol – just for us!

A very happy Captain Thorleif Thorleifsson finds good cause to celebrate!

Nicolay and Dmitry – our two good helpers in Pevek.
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Expedition Report 09.15:
“Border guards and customs officials arrived from Anadyr at mid-day, and they were very helpful filling out all the papers we needed. Yury from the local border guard was especially helpful – we owe him a big thanks for all his help in this rather complicated process.

As soon as the papers were in order, Stas ran off to the petrol station together with our local helpers Nicolay and Dmitry and purchased 250 litres of petrol. He brought back hot coffee and fresh bread as well. So now we are again three happy sailors!

We had the pleasure of linking up with the many boys and one girl on board “Peter the 1st” – a very nice team of explorers! Their rudder seems to be repaired, but they are still working on the propeller shaft, so they couldn’t leave today, but hope to leave tomorrow.

We wished each other the best of luck and safe sailing. And then we started up our faithful little Tohatsu 9.8 horsepower outboard motor, leaving Pevek harbour behind in absolutely calm weather. There was scarcely a wave on the sea.

We definitely made the right decision to go into Pevek to refuel.”

Best regards,
Børge

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Skipper Daniel and Børge in front of “Peter the 1st”.

The crews of “Peter the 1st” and the “Northern Passage” meet at last.
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Today’s forecast:
Weather: Sunny spells, scattered to broken cloudiness.
Wind: Calm until 12.00 UTC, then picking up from 120-140° 4-8 knots, after 21.00 UTC increasing to 120-140° 10-15 knots.
(For a more comprehensive forecast, with explanations, please see Weather4Expeditions.com.

Report on Norwegian Television (NRK)
Yesterday, journalists Eivind Molde and Paal Wergeland broadcast en excellent report with fascinating footage and a video interview with Børge Ousland. You can watch it here. Be sure to scroll down for three additional videos.

(Test your linguistic skills, or find a Norwegian friend to translate it for you!)

Well over two months ago, before the “Northern Passage” left Oslo, Norwegian Television broadcast this report (19 June). Here too there are several videos.

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Two new videos from the “Northern Passage”:

We must constantly be on watch to avoid the timber and driftwood that floats
off the Siberian coast. Hitting a log at high speed would be almost as serious as
sailing into a rock!

…on the other hand, there are times like this – sailing under bright sky.

With good help, Captain Thorleif Thorleifsson of the “Northern Passage” can
finally fill out the required official papers in the SIberian port of Pevek.
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Update from Børge: We have spoken to the captain and crew on “Peter 1”
by VHF. They seem like nice people. I hope we’ll have an opportunity to meet
them at some point, perhaps get together over a few pints.

Position update 07.45 CEST: 69.70699 N, 170.28142 E
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Expedition Report, 09.33 CEST:
“After careful thought we decided to call at Pevek to refuel. We are now down to 30 litres of remaining fuel, and due to possibly challenging ice conditions and forecasted calm weather ahead we deemed it unsafe and unwise to continue without refueling. We had already discussed this scenario with our Russian logistics provider, and we were assured that in such cases the authorities consider this a force majeure and that it does not pose a problem.

Two days ago we activated this process and sent emails to the necessary authorities in Russia. However, when we arrived in Pevek a few hours ago, we got two surprises – one was to see “Peter the 1st” with its stern lifted clear out of the water, attempting to repair their bent rudder; and secondly we were told by the border guards here that we cannot get fuel without going through the whole process of entering the borders.

It will be very exiting to see what happens tomorrow – whether we are further delayed or if our border crossing will be smooth. Fingers crossed!”

Best regards,
Børge

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We have arrived in Pevek. “Peter the 1st” can be seen in the background, with stern lifted to allow repairs on the rudder.

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Today’s forecast:
Weather: Sunny spells, scattered to broken cloudiness.
Wind: 160-180° 5-10 knots tempo, 12.00-23.00 UTC 200-220° 8-13 knots, after 21.00 UTC less than 5 knots.
(For a more comprehensive forecast, with explanations, please see Weather4Expeditions.com.

Position update 00.27 CEST: 70.50081 N, 164.12152 E

Position update 12.18 CEST: 70.28984 N, 166.42079 E

Position update 16.23 CEST: 70.28905 N, 167.56718 E

Position update 23.58 CEST: 70.04376 N, 169.44873 E
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Sailing slowly past an old iceberg.

Expedition Report, 12.08:
“Calm winds but from the right direction has been the situation the last couple of days. With our gennaker and schreacher sails we are able to achieve a decent speed, and expect to pass Pevek Monday morning. Headwinds and calm have actually been the biggest challenges so far – and not ice as we expected. With more favourable winds we would probably have been finished with the Northeast Passage by now.

When we checked the pontoons, or floats as sailors of multihull boats call them, we found about 60 litres of seawater in the port pontoon and about 30 in the starboard one. With the weight we have in there from before, we were overloaded; moreover the leakage posed a serious problem and a safety hazard. Fortunately we now think we’ve manage to isolate the problem. We initially thought it was the inspection hatches, but we now suspect the real problem has been a vent hole at the back of each pontoon. Since this part is more or less constantly in the water in bad weather, water is seeping in and slowly filling up the pontoons. This must be a construction error – and quite dangerous if one is not aware of the problem. We have now sealed of these vent holes and will inspect the pontoons again after next gale.

Yesterday we entered into an area with scattered old ice floes, and that continued for most of today as well. It was a very open drift, as Nick at the Norwegian Ice Service in Tromsø would describe it. We had no problems navigating through it. Visibility was good, and the ice field ceased precisely where Nick told us it would.

Another potential danger that we always have to be on the watch for is timber and driftwood. This can be very difficult to see, but hitting a big piece of driftwood would be just like colliding with a rock. It is getting quite dark during the night, and it’s important to keep a constant lookout.”

Best regards,
Børge

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A roll of tape is handy for many tasks on a sailing boat – such as sealing the ventholes on the pontoons.

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Today’s forecast:
Weather: Mainly sunny, risk for fog patches.
Wind: 320-340° 2-6 knots, between 12.00-18.00 UTC becoming calm, and after 18.00 UTC becoming 140-160° 4-8 knots.

(For a more comprehensive forecast, with explanations, please see Weather4Expeditions.com.

Position update 04.25 CEST: 71.11814 N, 159.40724 E

Position update 08.02 CEST: 71.00475 N, 160.34953 E – Medvyezhi Islands

Position update 11.56 CEST: 70˚53’ N, 161˚12’ E
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Note: Rikki has made an excellent map that shows progress so far, with links to expedition reports.

View Northern Passage – 2010 in a larger map
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Expedition report, 11.53 – Our CONGRATULATIONS to “RX2”!
Today we want to honour our friends on the yacht “RX2”, who finally managed to sail through the Northwest Passage yesterday. As you may know, they tried to do both passages last year, but were delayed by Russian bureaucrazy, and had wait until this year to continue their journey. With yesterday’s crowning success, they have now done both passages! Well done, guys!

We’re sailing the East Siberian Sea, and the weather is fickle to say the least. Yesterday we were hammered by foul weather before being able to ride a riding gale-force wind; today a gentle breeze is pushing us eastward. It’s great to have tailwinds instead of the wind right on the nose.

The Medvyezhi Islands are in sight. Soon we expect to encounter more ice – in fact from here and the whole way eastward to the Bering Strait. There is a huge area of drifting ice floes ahead. The recommended route is to stay close to coast where there is more open water. It is always tempting to sail further north and take a shortcut – but that means entering a maze and risk getting stuck in the ice. In our opinion that risk is too high, so we will follow the coast.

The sea and landscape that surrounds us is vast, flat and monotonous. The sea has a brownish colour.

The absence of animal life is frightening. During the last two days we have spotted just a few lonely seagulls and a single seal. What is going on? We know that scientists around the world are trying to understand the ongoing global changes and the effect on animal life. Walrus and polar bears depend on sea ice – and the sea ice is decreasing. The effect of the thawing permafrost is another uncertain factor. The consequences are also enormous for the indigenous people who live here in the Russian Arctic: the Nenets and Nganasan, Dolgans, Evenks and Chukchi.

We have a library on board – a tiny one, as we need to conserve weight. We have brought along some issues of The Circle, published by the World Wildlife Federation’s (WWF) International Arctic Programme. We can really recommend this magazine to all of who are interested in the rapid changes that are taking their toll in the Arctic. A word of gratitude to our friend Knut Fredrik Horn who gave us the magazine package on our departure from Oslo on Midsummer’s Eve, 23 June!

Best regards,
Thorleif

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At the moment Thorleif, Børge and Stas are north of the Medvyezhi Islands. Medvyezhi means “bear”. No humans live here, but polar bears thrive and breed. Most of the year this archipelago is surrounded by ice, which makes it excellent hunting grounds for the white-furred King of the Arctic!
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Polar bears have no natural enemies in the Arctic, and thus little fear. They will stop at little to satisfy their curiosity – or hunger. (This polar bear was photographed during one of Børge’s previous expeditions.)

Good coffee and many high-calory meals are prepared in our humble kitchen. Even in the worst gale there is little chance of this kettle being thrown off the hot plate.

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Forecast:
Weather: Sunny, scattered cloudiness – no precipitation.
Wind: 270-290°12-17 knots, after 18 UTC becoming 290-310° 8-13 knots.
(For a more comprehensive forecast, with explanations, please see Weather4Expeditions.com.

Turn up your volume, view full screen – and enjoy!

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Update 21.29: Night sailing under a full moon – still speeding along on a great wind! We’re sending position updates regularly, don’t know why they’re not registering. We expect to arrive at Medvyezhi Islands in the course of the day. Here’s some new photos. Cheers! Børge

Position update 00.53 CEST: 72.34481 N, 151.63657 E
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The captain secures the sails on deck, to prevent problems from gale winds. Both boat and crew are being tested by the weather – and they’re passing those hardships with flying colours!

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Expedition report 02.40:
We’ve had a tough night with heavy seas in up to gale-force winds. Most of the time was spent in shallow waters, around ten metres deep, which are susceptible to chaotic wave systems that caused a lot of banging. Hope the boat can take the punishment!

All night we have been tacking in rainy weather close to the coast. We’ve stayed close to the mainland because the wind is slightly weaker there. This morning the wind veered to a southerly direction and we are now on course; the depression has passed and we are on the back side of it, with favourable winds. Still heavy seas – we hope the waves will subside somewhat as the force of the wind now is starting to drop.

I do believe we’ve had about 70 percent headwind on this trip, which is quite a challenge. Hopefully we will get some miles done now.

During my night shift, I saw to my surprise a sail on the distant horizon. It must have been the Russian yacht “Peter 1”. I do wish we had the chance to meet them up close, but unfortunately they dissapeared in the rain clouds that rolled over us last night. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to meet them, say hello and share experiences at a later stage.

Position update 04.26 CEST: 72.85946 N, 148.41478 E

Position update 08.30 CEST: 72.66405 N, 148.52966 E

Position update 20.20 CEST: 72.42085 N, 150.19405 E

Børge: “No more midnight sun. It’s getting darker every night, having autumn at our heels. We feel a strong need to keep moving.”

Photos: Dawn on the East Siberian Sea.