UPDATE: kayakers already “stuck” in ice at 80.52397 degrees N
I had this post up for all of an hour before this news rolled in from PolarDefense. Hat tips to Tom Nelson, who’s report is presented below, and to Brian Koochel in comments. – Anthony
“We’re stuck”
I have slept poorly. The floating ice, while thin, is so prevalent that, throughout the night, it grinds noisily against the side of the boat in a slightly alarming fashion – imagine someone scraping their nails across an old-fashioned blackboard.The then begins earlier than normal and, unusually, I am not woken by Robbie bounding into my room. Instead the ship’s engine roars to life earlier than normal – at around 5.30 – and the MV ‘Havsel’ begins to judder ominously. I clamber out of bed and scramble up to the bridge – all the ship’s crew are there, and they look serious. I look outside and I can see why. The sea is almost entirely congested with ice floes – I would estimate 80% plus of the sea is covered by them. There is a real risk that we could get stuck up here. We have drifted in the night into a much icier area than where we stopped last night. I wake up the team, and everyone groggily makes their way to the bridge. There’s a mixed reaction in the team to the prospect of getting stuck up here.
See the location on Google Maps, 80.52397, 12.21224
After awaking to find their vessel frozen in ice the team are steaming around looking for a path that’s navigable by kayak.
No paddling today.
At about 69 miles per degree of latitude, it would seem that they’re still 600+ miles from the North Pole.
My original post follows:
Place your bets now folks. If only Robert Peary could have had CNN tag along. – Anthony
Entries from Sam Branson’s Arctic diary – In the mirror.co.uk
My split feelings about this news remind me of another paradox of my expedition up here – the fact that I am spending my days paddling in ice-cold water, with a frozen, painful backside, trying to bring to the attention of the world and its leaders the necessity of stopping the world heating up.
[Sept 1:] Travel this morning was tough. The temperature has dropped dramatically and each time the guys get in the water in is a notch harder. We are starting to see larger chunks of ice, which instead of weaving through, they have to paddle around. The occasional chunk hits the bow of the ship sending small pieces out to the side into the route of travel for our paddlers. One nearly knocked Lewis of his kayak. The water is now below zero and a spill could be quite painful. The moving water by the feet of the guys has started to freeze and this could take a toll on their much needed warmth. I know that Robbie has been struggling with his toes.
…
[Aug 31:] The ship is noticeably colder and we are all wearing an extra layer. I have been on deck loading the kayaks and boats back onto the ship. The water soaked ropes seep moisture into your gloves and it saps the heat from my hands fast. I can only imagine what it is like for Lewis and Robbie holding on to a cold paddle with waves crashing over them. The first thing Lewis said when he got back in was ‘I can’t feel my backside!’
…
[Aug 28:] Some may know this place from the book ‘The northern lights’ by Phillip Pullman, where he calls it, ‘The land of the ice bears’. From what I’ve heard, this name could not be closer to the truth. The boat we are on has just returned from a trip in the ice and along the way they encountered eighty eight bears.
Gosh, that’s a lot of bears.
Just in case you might be thinking the two kayakers are doing this all alone, on a shoe-string budget, with only strength and determination….
Here is the support vessel: 300-ton fossil-fueled MV Havsel
Polar Defense writes: The support boat we loaded our kit onto is not the QE2. She is an old fishing boat called MV ‘Havsel’ – this means ‘ocean seal’ in Norwegian. She is a tough, grubby, working boat with a strengthened hull and a big engine for a boat of her size – she will perform very well up in the pack ice.
Thanks to Tom Nelson for references in this story
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OT… Satellite temp anomalies in
So will he report how far away from the North Pole he is?
We will have to wait and see.
One of left-wing blogs (don’t remember the name) used this article :
in one of their editorials. Few days later they called ecoenquirer a “Waste of cyberspace”.
Too bad it’s not being updated very often. I think last article as about a year old.
A final gesture of putting 192 pieces of litter in the middle of the wilderness lets you know what kind of “nature-lover” we’re dealing with.
Nay. I have my Clarence honey for that. He is a redneck conservative multiple gun owner who can’t hurt a fly (did plenty of that in Nam). He carefully catches the bats in cheese cloth or fish nets and lets them go free out the back door while I hide under the blankets. I once caught him trying to free a mouse from a sticky pad. He had a pair of nose hair scissors and was trying to cut the fur off of the little legs that were stuck to the sticky glue pad. The mouse died in his hands. He suffered for days. Not the mouse, Clarence.
After a lot of pre-expedition coverage, the UK media seem to be shunning him, as far as I can tell online. Is he getting any TV exposure anywhere?
Perhaps they see him as an embarrassment to their AGW agenda.
In that case this site may be the most publicity he ever gets. Unless he is eaten by a bear, or has to be rescued.
I agree with old man Winter – that was my first thought (litter).
I suspect that the flags and poles are not made of bio-degradable materials.
Being bright and flashy – one might choke a curious penguin or seal to death…
Are there any bets on him being eaten by a bear?
If a bear did eat him – would it hurt the bear….
Can someone verify this? It’s late, no time tonight….
Arctic Sees Massive Gain in Ice Coverage
http://www.dailytech.com/Arctic+Sees+Massive+Gain+in+Ice+Coverage/article12851.htm
Polar Bear chokes on 192 Flags…
These unfortunate campaigners are obviously victims of the AGW hysteria in the British media. How else could they have got the idea that there might be enough open water north of Svalbard. Without naming any newspapers, I think their publishers should be sued and forced to pay compensation to the families of the unfortunate kayakers, if they die or lose limbs. We’ve seen much more frivolous litigation lately.
‘Unfortunate kayakers’ are only there because of the leaders massive ego.
Fax mentis incedium gloriae
Typo
Fax mentis incendium gloriae
The passion for glory is the torch of the mind.
He will need the torch to warm his bum!
Getting stuck that far south at this time of year is really remarkable. As a comparison the Swedish “Sofia” expedition got to 81.7 degrees in the same area at the tail end of the Little Ice Age in 1868.
to DR,
Check Sea Ice Extent Thread on ClimateAudit for lots of info regarding state of sea ice in Artic.
http://www.yr.no/sted/Norge/Svalbard/Ny-Ålesund/
colder weather forecated for next weekend (on svalbard) \
I rather suspect Lewis Pugh has paddled his kayak right into the grateful hands of the sceptic establishment. What a bitter realization it will be for him to be disowned by the zealots and immortalized by sceptics. Not the outcome he was expecting but you have to remember, when these people read stories about ice free north pole, they actually believe it! Matty, Perth, Western Australia
Graeme Rodaughan:
Since the headline is 180 degrees out of phase with what has been circulating the news headlines, it seems odd to not have been dissected. I mean, compare these two with barely a week separating them:
As Arctic Sea Ice Melts, Experts Expect New Low
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/science/earth/28seaice.html?ref=science
vs
Arctic Sees Massive Gain in Ice Coverage
http://www.dailytech.com/Article.aspx?newsid=12851&red=y#340331
I see the same link at CA, but no comments. The entire thread is a bit ridiculous IMO. It’s like watching a TV commercial arguing whether the beer is less filling or tastes great.
It’s funny. Several years of no additional warming is said to be too short a time to analyze climatology, but two years of anomalous ice melt is treated as if the demise of the planet is at stake depending on whether 2008 is greater or less than 2007.
Considering there is no evidence its much different than events 70-80 years ago in the Arctic, discussion appears to be a matter of bragging rights at best.
The bot ate my post; will try again.
Graeme Rodaughan:
Since the headline is 180 degrees out of phase with what has been circulating the news headlines, it seems odd to not have been dissected. I mean, compare these two with barely a week separating them:
As Arctic Sea Ice Melts, Experts Expect New Low
URL=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/science/earth/28seaice.html?ref=science
vs
Arctic Sees Massive Gain in Ice Coverage
URL=http://www.dailytech.com/Article.aspx?newsid=12851&red=y#340331
I see the same link at CA, but no comments. The entire thread is a bit ridiculous IMO. It’s like watching a TV commercial arguing whether the beer is less filling or tastes great.
It’s funny. Several years of no additional warming is said to be too short a time to analyze climatology, but two years of anomalous ice melt is treated as if the demise of the planet is at stake depending on whether 2008 is greater or less than 2007.
Considering there is no evidence its much different than events 70-80 years ago in the Arctic, the discussion appears to be a matter of bragging rights at best.
I wonder why the next paragraph was not printed here?
“Thinner Ice
One thing that strikes me is the change in the sea ice when I compare it to my Arctic trip last year. Last year at this latitude (around 82°C North) I saw lots of three meter thick ice – multi-year ice. This year, out in the kayak, I am only paddling past single-year ice which is significantly thinner, about one metre in depth. It is no surprise to me this is a record-setting year for thinness of Arctic summer sea ice.”
Surely not more cherry-picking, distortion and lies?
Yay!!! My comment made it through moderation on his blog!
I said:
“I expect that the symbolism of your venture won’t be forgotten soon.”
The misadventures of the North Pole kayakers reminds me of arctic explorer Ann Bancroft and her companion who abandoned an effort to travel across the Arctic Ocean by sled in March 2007 because of cold temperatures and blizzard conditions. The trip was supposed to demonstrate the efforts of AGW and draw public attention to the cause. All it did was to reveal Ms Bancroft as a very brave but naive ideologue.
Gee, I hope they don’t get eaten by a polar bear. That would be bad publicity for the poor bears.
MA – the only distortion is the claim that he’s paddling through anything at all, being, as he is by his own admission and along with his support ship, ever so slightly stuck.
Still, there’s always next year which must surely be easier for him if he truly believes that the ice is doomed.
Beth – Imagine the publicity.
All that way, in a kayak, with every expectation of photographing doomed polar bears. Only to be responsible for having them shot.