First-Ever Sail Over North Pole Trip Under Way
A French expedition including Vincent Colliard, Sébastien Roubinet and Eric André have started an ambitious summer project to sail across the Arctic Ocean heading east from Alaska to Svalbard.
The expedition site reads, “The Artic Ocean remains the last ocean that has not been crossed with a sail boat.
“It has been circumnavigated but not crossed over the North Pole. In 2018, the expedition leader Sebastien Roubinet, crew members Eric Andre and Vincent Colliard will attempt to sail with no assistance from the Alaskan coast to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and over the highest point of the planet.
“Six years of preparation and two previous attempts were necessary for this ambitious challenge to take place again next June. The three man team will progress aboard a homemade catamaran mounted on skies, able to sail both on the water and on the ice.
“The wind and the energy of Sebastien, Eric and Vincent will be the only power to move forward. This daring project is technologically a huge gamble. It is also an extreme sport achievement. Physically and mentally, the team will be pushed to their final boundaries.”
They will travel 3,000 kilometres with no assistance and no engine.
The day 22 log reads:
Giving our best.
Beautiful morning, blue bird. It feels summer holidays here. How is your summer so far?
The work out through the bumps continues today on day 22. It’s warm! We only wear our first layer. We spend nearly 1,5 hours doing a reco trying to find the way. “Is there a decent passage in all this mess”?
In this type of situation, we have to give our best and hope for better days, even if the terrain is difficult for the moment. If we look at the big picture, the three of us are in good shape and the boat is fine. That’s important!
Our position is still pretty South latitude wise but we believe it will open up and we’ll be soon on the water.
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