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.
Bravo!
HOw long time do you expect to take before reaching the border?
Very good work indeed! Espen
Time will tell, Gustave. I’m afraid I have no more of a direct line to the weather gods than you do.
Kjempebra med opp-ned feiring Thorleif!
Lykke til videre til deg, Børge og resten av teamet. Luca
Toffen og Børge
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Tilbake fra flott seiltur til øst Grønland. Seilte et par netter innen for is/isfjell området og tenkte på dere som gjør dette i ukesvis og med et eggeskall av en båt. Det er en “hobby” for spesiellt interesserte
Veldig spennende å følge med på bloggen.
God tur videre
Så pass nå på hverandre! Si fra hvor du går og det er aldri for sent å snu!
God tur! Vi følger med! Lars og Eva
It is indeed “veldig spennende å følge med på bloggen”, put an extra flavour to our somewhat obscure interest in Arctic affairs.
But not all out there are capable to grasp the norwegian language, therefore a humble request to make this blog even more international, sticking to english?!
Olav: Do the happy crew read the blog themselfes, or are they focusing entirely upon the voyage?
I figure they are planning a multi-video-book to be released after they come back to Norway, will arrive in shops 2 weeks before we walk around the three…
Christoffer, I suspect that the crew has their hands full at the moment. They’re sailing shifts, and are always two on shift due to the danger posed by drifting timber (scroll down and have a look at the video). The huge Siberian rivers empty a lot of timber into the sea!
There have also been times when the “Northern Passage” has been outside the coverage areas of satellites that might provide Internet service and email communication. At these times my only contact with them has been by satellite phone (voice and texting).
I have from time to time sent them a good selection of comments and questions from the blog — and I will continue to do so. I know that is something for which they are grateful.
You may also be interested to know that on one previous journey an American school class made following the expedition a special project. Børge was inspired by this and answered questions as best he could, en route. And when he reached the North Pole he telephoned them, the teacher putting him on the loudspeaker. They had lots more questions!
This particular expedition is possible only due to Global Climate Change, which in fact is most dramatic in the ice-covered regions of the world. Roald Amundsen used years for parts of the journey that are now being completed in months or weeks!
Børge Ousland is considered today’s most experienced Arctic and Antarctic adventurer/explorer. For more than 20 years he has been travelling to the northernmost and southernmost parts of the world. During these years he has observed radical changes in the Arctic sea ice.
Although “Northern Passage” is not a scientific expedition, I believe the crew’s observations and the very voyage itself to be important contributions in the debate on Global Climate Change –- and on the need for decisive action.
Best regards,
Olav Grinde
Wollert: “eggeskall av en båt” Da jeg løp over denne bloggen, og turen i forrige uke, var dette min første tanke. Er ikke dette seilfartøy litt liten? for et supert ekspedisjon langs nordkysten av Norge, Russland og Alaska. Hvordan kan det være “hjem” i mange måneder for tre menn? Jeg viste min 14 år gamle sønn bloggen og bildene i går kveld. Han spurte “Men hvor sover de? Hvor får de lagrer eiendeler for en slik tur?” Jeg ba ham skrive et spørsmål (han er for sjenert). Vi bor der det ikke er hav tilgang, kun fjell og små innsjøer og elver tynne. Vi vet ikke hva som er verdig sjøen for reise i Sibir-havet!
{p.s. Christoffer L: I used translate.google.com – it’s fun!}
Dear Jean, encourage your son to voice his questions, and I promise to forward them to “Northern Passage”.
PS. He need not use Google Translate.
Olav, Your summary tells it all! the extraordinary is that they do as their predecessors did: travel light. Borge’s extraordinary vision, Thorleif’s deep sailing experience and Stas’s deep experience in this area, makes an “eggeskall” the right tool. Was’nt Fram also an “eggeskall” in her hull form?
Yes, although “Fram” was an “eggshell” in a very different sense. Designed by Colin Archer (who is more famous for the boat design that bears his name), the hull of “Fram” was designed so that she would be lifted by the encroaching ice and rest harmlessly on top of it — whereas other ships were crushed. (Try crushing an egg by squeezing two points that are not opposite! That’s what the ice did to “Fram”.)
The two greatest Norwegian explorers of the time both used “Fram” for their expeditions: Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen. She was, however, commissioned by the latter.
As you are probably aware, the Northern Passage 2010 Expedition started from Fram Museum, in which Colin Archer’s vessel (still intact) now sits.
Thorleif and Børge have to deal with encroaching ice in a different manner than Amundsen did. Should the drift ice encroach and begin to close, they can pull their boat up onto the ice, or onto the shore if that’s an option. They actually tested this while in Kirkenes.
Cheers!
Olav
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PS. See the video demonstration of their winch system in entry of 21 July, scroll toward the bottom.
From hot & sticky Dubai, we follow your journey with great interest from the desert, continued nice voyage ! Erik