As I wrote in my recent blog post Northern Passage 2010 the main obstacle that is keeping the Northern Sea Route closed is the narrow band of ice off the north-east coast of Taymyr Peninsula. It looks like a big low pressure area has started shifting that ice northwards:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Northern Sea Route seems about to open up. Timing couldn't be better for Norwegian adventurers Thorleif Thorleifsson and Børge Ousland.
Update: confirmation from the ground by Ousland and Thorleifsson...
We observe that the ice is drifting slowly northward, and Nick confirms this. In a day or two, this may well open an opportunity for us to once again chart a more easterly course across the Laptev Sea. That remains to be seen, of course, and we are eager to see what tomorrow brings.
I see the animeister has new Norwegian friends.
Good for you, Neven! :-)
Background info:
http://www.corsairmarine.com/UserFiles/Image/The North Pole Passage_Ousland(1)29.pdf
Grab that map!
http://www.ousland.no/blog/northern-passage-2010/
They may be able to take a shorter route, depending on winds in the NWP area moving ice around.
If they circumnavigate the pole in a single season that will be a notable first, and yet another proof of climate change.
lykken staar den kjekke bi
Like a diamond in the sky
'Northern Passage' sailing by
lykken staar den kjekke bi
:-)
I haven't a clue what 'lykken staar den kjekke bi' means.
Happiness is a ???
Posted by: logicman | August 16, 2010 at 18:37
Lyckan står den djärve bi or The one who dares (gets happiness or succedes) is my take of this Norse saying.
Any forecast on todays numbers for extent Patrick? I had a peek on the other side, and they could be in for a reall chocker tomorrow.
Posted by: siili | August 16, 2010 at 19:22
With my very sparse of Swedish, and as a fellow-speaker of Germanic languages, I would guess it means 'lucky are the foolish' or 'Fortune help these fools'. 'Kjekke' sounds a bit like the Dutch 'gekken', which means 'lunatics'.
Posted by: Neven | August 16, 2010 at 20:47
Ask the internet http://pic6.piczo.com/sagashule/?g=18624614 which gives in latin:
Auditor fortuna juvat
Posted by: siili | August 16, 2010 at 21:00
Where did you come up with that, Patrick?
I can't resist language, so I had to poke around with "lykken staar den kjekke bi" a bit.
Google Translate detected Norwegian, not Swedish, but choked on "bi." However, "bo" is "live," so I'm guessing at "The handsome live happily." Laugh if you will--! It's got to be at least as good a guess as whatever I came up with for the SIE minimum!
And it's probably rude to ask, but Neven, *which* of those "Germanic languages" is yours anyway? (You really do well with English; I'd never have guessed you aren't a native speaker.)
The ArcticMariner guys got underway today:
Set off at 1830 after receiving our bags off the flight, getting the boat forklifted into the water and then having to take the mast down six times as we tried to remember how to rig the boat. A pleasant evening sail up the coast in a NE direction to round Matheson point led into a dark clammy evening. By 0200 we were as usual for this boat fighting the waves and probably a current as we tried to make progress around the point into the wind. We were going nowhere so decided to stop and wait until the wind or current changed. It was difficult to beach the boat on the steep shore and we have tied alongside a wrecked motorboat and had a few hours sleep. We are now waiting for the tide, and for the ever elusive wind to change to a direction that we don't want to go in. Whilst it is good to be moving, we are reminded of the stark realities of travel in a small boat in the arctic - cold, frustrating but quite surreal as we are lit but not warmed by a milky sun. Our data communications remain fragile but occasionnally work.
Nice to know that even squared-away Royal Marines have to relearn a few things after a year away!
Posted by: Kevin McKinney | August 17, 2010 at 01:52
And it's probably rude to ask, but Neven, *which* of those "Germanic languages" is yours anyway? (You really do well with English; I'd never have guessed you aren't a native speaker.)
How rude of you! No, thanks for the compliment.
I was born and raised in the Netherlands and I've been living in German speaking countries for the past 2 years.
Posted by: Neven | August 17, 2010 at 03:20
Kevin: I spotted it in a comment over at the sailors' blog.
siili No ice updates yet, sorry. Busy, busy, busy. :-)
I've been writing about the dark side of the farce.
You may wish to nose around at science20.com ;-)
Posted by: logicman | August 17, 2010 at 03:50
Just to fix the "lykken staar den kjekke bi" problem (from a native Norwegian):
"lykken" means fortune
"staar" (or står - modern) means stand
"den" means it
"kjekke" means handsome (in this case bold)
"bi" means by
The proverb is from latin ("Fortes fortuna adiuvat") and means "Fortune favours the bold".
Posted by: Oslo | August 17, 2010 at 14:36
Thanks, Oslo--love it! Polysemes really glitch up an unversed wannabe translator!
"Lykken" is clearly (I say that now!) cognate to English "luck" and German "gluck" (yeah, I know--I'm blowing off the umlaut) and like them is polysemous, meaning both "happy" and "fortunate." (Come to think of it, "happy" used to be used for "fortunate.")
Why Google translate doesn't do "bi," I don't know!
Speaking of the bold--may Fortune favor them!--Oliver and Lancashire have an update:
Position: 68 54.2 95 49.9
Weather: cloudy lt rain. Wind N 12 knots
16 August, 2010
Just woken from ten hours "sleep of the dead' and feeling all the better for it after a demanding period on the water. Reflecting over the last 48 hrs we have been faced with a very different begining to the trip than last year. The winds are strong and out of the North, our intended direction of travel......at least some things remain the same! Unfortunately that's where the similarities end. Sunshine and relatively flat seas have been replaced by 5-6 ft cresting waves, rain and the occasional snow flurry. It's cold hard sailing and it requires both of us on deck all the time to keep the boat sailing well into wind. One big wave over the side and a cockpit full of water was a fitting welcome to the Arctic but we've learn from that and have the boat moving nicely now. It's still early days and we are starting to establish a routine that fits the conditions. As ever morale is improved by hot food and messages from home so please keep them coming. Patience is a virtue and it is one we are learning to appreciate more and more. We have to set ourself small managable targets on a daily basis and avoid the temptation to look too closely at the overall distance to be covered. We are making good progress and given favourable winds that must surely come we will be well on our way.
Tony
Posted by: Kevin McKinney | August 17, 2010 at 18:11
You are quite right about your understanding of "lykke"!
Just waiting for a new update from Thorleif Thorleifsson and Børge Ousland which I believe it is imminent..
Posted by: Oslo | August 17, 2010 at 23:11
According to the 17th map at Bremen it looks as if there is now a gap along the coast Taymyr Peninsular on the Northern Route? http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr/amsre.html. Don't know how to get sat pictures.
Posted by: Phil | August 17, 2010 at 23:52
http://www.skepticalscience.com/Is_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Just_Fine.html
Posted by: dorlomin | August 19, 2010 at 00:19
Update from the ArcticMariner team:
18 August, 2010
I never really thought of myself as a sun worshiper but it's amazing the difference a little sunshine makes. So far this trip has been exhilarating, tedious and occassionally terrifying but for the first time yesterday it was for a large part of the day quite pleasant. We're still beating into fairly big seas and a persistent northwesterly but under blue skies and with a slight moderation in the swell we were able to sail with just one on watch for the first time this trip. To be able to duck down out of the elements for a couple of hours crack some nav, read a few pages of a book or grab an hour or two bag time, is a luxury that has been so far denied. More contentious is the contribution of the ipod to team morale. More specifically kev's assessement of my choice of tunes is less than complimentary. On reflection he may have a point so any and all new playlists welcome for my next trip.... Twelve hours quick sailing yesterday brought us past the first ice of the journey, large floating blocks of ice that offer a taste of what lies just to the north and a further set of challenges to be overcome.
Posted by: Kevin McKinney | August 19, 2010 at 13:12