Across the North Pole

Last year we had two Norwegians (successfully) trying to sail both the Northern Sea Route and the Northwestern Passage in one single season. This year we have two Frenchmen who are taking things a step further. According to the Fairbanks Daily:

Two French adventurers are about to embark on a journey over the top of the world, if everything goes to plan. Sébastien Roubinet and Rodolphe André and a small support team are traveling north to Deadhorse after making a brief stop to enjoy the amenities of Fairbanks. Once there, they hope to gain permission from the administrators of the Prudhoe Bay oil field to launch their two-man catamaran into the Arctic Ocean with the goal of crossing the North Pole and ultimately reaching the Norwegian island of Spitsberg in the Svalbard Archipelago, roughly halfway between the North Pole and mainland Norway.

Yes, you read that right: Across the North Pole. And they propose to do it with this very light 200 kg catamaran, the ti-Babouche, which they tested out a few weeks back in Quebec:

They're going to sail over the ice floes, rather than between them. A smart move, I'd say.

This whole expedition is in itself interesting enough as it is, but there's more. Roubinet and André are taking some instruments with them, such as an electromagnetic sonde, that will continuously measure the thickness of the floes under and next to them.There's a meteorological station as well, and a video camera to record the way the surface of the ice looks. They are supported by several cryospheric scientists, some of whom will use this data to further calibrate CryoSat-2 measurements.

All in all an expedition well worth keeping an eye on. If everything goes according to plan they'll be leaving on July 5th. Bonne chance, les mecs!

Comments

[Andrew Xnn]

These guys and their design are geniuses; if anybody had thought of this before, the history of arctic exploration would have been an entirely different story.

[Christoffer Ladstein]

As far as the video do show, these guys will be working hard, hope they have strong boots....
When are they to start?

[Neven]

Sorry, forgot to mention that. They're planning to start on July 15th.

[Glacierchange.wordpress.com]

That is quite the adventure. It sure beats manhauling sleds or using dogs which is alot of manhauling too.

[fredt34]

They already crossed the NW passage on Babouche (some kind of "little shoe") some years ago. Babouche can sail both ways, forth and back.

And they'll start on July 15th because the 14th is our National Day, so I'm confident they'll drink too much to sail! Cocorico!

Not So Off Topic: I forgot to write a note on Pole To Pole Run - an ultra marathonian RUNS 2 marathons each day, every day, from North Pole to South Pole. I think that he was the only one to achieve walking on the Northern Ice thus summer... Hope that one of you can add a link.

[Christoffer Ladstein]

http://poletopolerun.com/

Here Fred you have it!

This achievement is MORE than insane!!

[anne-lise]

Good morning. The expedition will start on July 5, not 15.

[fredt34]

Sorry /désolé, anne-lise. The expedition website is on http://www.sebroubinet.eu/la-voie-du-pole_photos.html, isn't it?

(un autre héraultais)

[anne-lise]

The expedition website is : http://www.sebroubinet.eu

[Neven]

The expedition will start on July 5, not 15.

I stand corrected. Thanks, Anne-lise.

[WhiteBeard]

What’s the source of the upper graphic? Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse is more than 300 kilometers to the east of Barrow, not to the west.

[Rob Dekker]

Well, good luck to them !
I just wonder why they did not plan the trip the other way around : Start at Svalbard, then to the pole over ice, and then to Alaska.

That way they will enjoy the open seas in West Arctic at the end of the melt season.

[Gas Glo]

Is it a rather small catamaran for a large expance of open water? Or perhaps winds are more likely to be with the beauford gyre giving better wind assistance in that direction?

[Artful Dodger]

Rob: their route plan follows the trans-polar drift, for the prevailing winds and currents. This route is similar to the planned route for Nansen's Fram expedition, which reached 84°4'N on March 14, 1894.

Gas Glo: this trip will probably see open water only at the very start and again at the end. The majority of the Polar transit will be spend following leads!

Neven produced a nice MODIS composite of the 'North Hole' at the end of Summer last year:

http://neven1.typepad.com/blog/2010/09/north-hole.html

http://neven1.typepad.com/blog/2010/09/north-hole-2.html

[Neven]

A bit more crazy, but at the same time less heroic, is this expedition of rowers who will row from Resolute to the magnetic pole:

Cyclist Mark Beaumont takes on Arctic rowing feat

[Neven]

I have received the first news letter from Sébastien Roubinet's website, and it seems they have started today already!

[Artful Dodger]

Our favorite mobile webcam is Breaking Ice in the Beaufort Sea at 72 39.7 N 168 28.8 W

I wonder if they've spotted Sébastien and Rodolphe?

[Neven]

Thanks, Lodger. It's on the daily graphs page.

[michael sweet]

Does the Healy have a blog this year? I couldn't find one.

[Otto Lehikoinen]

They've seen a polar bear at some +74N. And the going has been tough intermittently, pack ice is too rough on locations and headwinds make it difficult to get long daily trips. diary (french) at:
http://www.sebroubinet.eu/la-voie-du-pole_nouvelles.html

[Neven]

Thanks, Otto, for reminding me that I have to read up on this (not receiving any news letters).

[Andrew Borst]

I came across this adventurer's website the other day. He is trying to solo sail the NW passage.

http://www.solotheamericas.org/

[Tzupancic1]

For those following the French adventures you can visualize there location using Google Earth (paste the reported coordinates into the 'fly to' dialog box).

[Seke Rob]

Bump... a direct link to their journal... French rusty, slow read the gist being slow progress and rough nights. From log on 5th:

5 août – On avance !
Après une grosse nuit, pendant laquelle on a dérivé de 11 milles vers le Nord, on a préféré traîner dans nos duvets pour laisser passer et tourner le plus gros du vent (moins fort que prévu). Vers 11h, les conditions sont enfin bonnes pour partir au près, 2 ris, petit foc et grand-voile haute ! Malgré tout ça, on avance pas très vite car la glace qui nous protége des vagues nous fait aussi pas mal slalomer. Je fais 1 mille en 2H30, un record de lenteur. Retour dans le brouillard givrant mais on a enfin trouvé une technique pour combattre le froid aux pieds : Rod et en pantoufle dans ses sur- bottes, il ne met plus ses bottes mouillées que pour passer sur la glace. Quant à moi, je change de chaussettes toutes les trois heures les séchant et les réchauffant dans ma veste polaire. Ce soir, on pense s'arrêter dormir de 00H à 6H puis continuer de faire route vers l’Est/Sud-Est à l'abri des vagues encore 3-4 jours pour enfin traverser plein Sud sur Prudhoe, on va tenter de réduire au maximum la traversé sans glace « abri

[Seke Rob]

"Bye La Glace" entry on the 10th, spells it out... sadly the end as that trip would have also provided good validation data for Cryosat-2.