Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach
I must admit, being an oceanic adventurer myself, I do love to read about outrageous voyages. The feats of Shackleton in the Endurance stir my blood. I’ve stood on the deck of the Gjoa, the first ship to make the northwest Passage, and marveled at how tiny it was, and the steel nerves of the men who sailed it into the unknown.
But the latest crop of Arctic adventurers leave something to be desired. Last year we had the “Row To The Pole“, which didn’t … and in 2008 some other fools tried something similar in kayaks. This year, we have “Arctic Row”, whose stated goal is to make “the first, non-stop, unsupported row across the Arctic Ocean”.
Here’s the ocean in question.
Figure 1. Arctic Ocean. Greenland is the white island on the right, Alaska is at the bottom left, Canada is bottom center, Russia is at the left and top left.
Now, when I read that they were going to row “across the Arctic Ocean”, from Canada to Russia, I thought “No way”. There’s always too much ice in the middle of the Arctic Ocean to make that at all possible. But I hadn’t reckoned on their ingenuity. So how exactly do they plan to make “the first, non-stop, unsupported row across the Arctic Ocean”?
I searched all over their web site for a map showing their route, but I couldn’t find one. However, I did find where they are leaving from (Inuvik, Canada) and where they are landing (Provideniya, Russia) , and with the help of Google Earth I’ve plotted out the likely route of their Arctic crossing for you …
Figure 2. Path of their rowing journey “across the Arctic Ocean”.
I guess that the term “across the Ocean” must mean something different where they come from …
They are asking for sponsors on account of their important scientific work. They are going to record all of the whales that they see, and mark down which direction they are traveling, to determine if whales use their noses to navigate to the nearest krill patch. There was no word about how they would know where the nearest krill patch might be. There was also no word on whether they are asking for sponsors who will pay for the ships and planes in case they need to be rescued … although from the looks of their route if they get in trouble they could just wade ashore.
I note that they say that “The Arctic Row expedition presents an unusual opportunity to conduct scientific research with absolutely no carbon emissions or negative impact on the Arctic ecosystem.” I’m not clear how they plan to get the boats and rowers to Canada and back from Russia without using carbon fuels.
I also note that their web site references, without a hint of irony, the discredited Nature magazine claim that the plankton in the oceans is only half as abundant as a century ago … so they are going to “create a thorough zooplankton sample transect along the entire path”. We’ll see how that goes …
I wish them well, and I do not minimize the difficulty of such a long row. I used to fish commercially from a rowboat, and rowing it eight or ten miles a night was a long and tiring pull. I’ve also fished in the Bering Sea, and I know how changeable and deadly the northern waters can be. I admire their courage and search for adventure, and I wish them a safe journey.
But calling that journey a voyage “across the Arctic Ocean”? Sorry, that’s a coastal voyage they have planned, and is hardly “across” anything but the Bering Strait. I can see why they neglected to put a map on their site showing their proposed route …
[UPDATE] An alert reader yclept “climatebeagle” noticed the following:
I wonder if their route will even cross into the definition of the Arctic Ocean?
http://www.iho-ohi.net/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S23_1953.pdf
Looks like it could just be the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
I looked into his excellent reference, and found the following (click on image for larger version):
Note that their route actually doess cross the Arctic Ocean as they claimed … looks like the crossing will take a couple of hours.
w.
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They are going to row along the western Beaufort Sea & eastern Chukchi Sea coasts. Big whoop! People have been doing that in skin boats for thousands of years. And killing whales from their little boats, not just counting them, without benefit of public or private grants.
A pleasant coastal cruise disguised as an Ocean crossing = A typical manipulated warmest trick.
Hey what can go wrong???
I cannot hold my breath for that long… or my sphintcter.
They will need to watch out for endangered polar bears, polar bears are not cuddly in real life.
So far no one has attempted to waterski to the North Pole. Ski behind an icebreaker? Any takers? Oooh, what fun!!!!
They ARE asking for donations on their web site. I wonder whether UK law allows someone to challenge this as false advertising?
No negative impact? Will they carry their bodily wastes out with them?
No carbon emissions? How will they get to their launching point? How will they return from Russia? Are they buying no equipment to use on this trip then they already own? What about their calorie consumption? Why would they need contributions if this claim of theirs was true?
In short – all a bunch of BS above & beyond the initial claim as posted by Willis – they deserve all the scorn that can be heaped on them.
After the Top Gear crew drove to the North Pole in Toyota Hiluxes, all these extreme expeditions seem so silly. I cannot erase the image of Jeremy and James driving along in the Hilux eating chocolate and drinking gin and tonic because the “great explorers” told them they would need to take in 5000 calories a day. And they duly noted the lack of open water, contrary to the warmista pedictions. There has never been a more honest Arctic expedition.
US FWS estimates about 3500 polar bears in the two Alaskan populations, one shared with Canada, through which the paddlers aim boldly to go. If Alarmists are right, & their prime prey species, the ringed seal, is in decline due to loss of landfast ice, then these largest & possibly smartest of terrestrial predators, with amazing senses of smell, might be hungry for other slow-moving, temporarily marine mammals.
The story of the Endurance is one of the most fantastic that I have ever read !!
And no one died on the “adventure” !!!
No carbon emissions? How will they keep warm when not paddling?
Adapted from Elton John
Willis,
Great post. I enjoyed your comments. The story reminded me of my younger years when I also dreamed of voyages and the unknown. I even built a boat and with a friend floated down the creek near my house all the way to the mighty Ohio river. Of course back then everyone told me I had to work for a living and I believed them. Little did I know that with some moronic story I could entice even more moronic people to give money to support such a trip. Alas, I have missed the boat!
But, I really can’t think of a better way to piss away a fools money. Hum, where did I leave my krill locator?
Here is a low resolution map of their route. http://www.arcticrow.com/route/
I read through their website and fear that it is a hoax. No one could be so stupid. I think they are baiting us.
Hey why prove climate change with ersatz facts from a bogus journey when everybody whose anybody already believes? Why not openly celebrate their eco-faith instead? Maybe plant some breadfruit and palm trees along the way in anticipation of the imminent disappearance of the ice cap. Or trade some Hawaiian shirts to the Inuit for that bulky unstylish winter garb they will no longer need.
Or better still, open the Arctic’s first surfing supply shop/ cocktail bar and wait there for business to boom. I would happily contribute to the expedition if that were the plan and they promised to stay and carry it out.
Now a row from Alaska to Denmark, that would be an artic voyage. Outright fraud by greenies. Put them in jail with Al Gore!
They’ll be able to see Russia from their rowboat.
Ted says:
July 9, 2012 at 11:41 am
Hey what can go wrong???
========================
Ask Gilligan !!
This self-important stunt abuses the word ‘across’
exactly the same way AGW misuses ‘unprecedented’,
namely, to further a lie just use misleading terms.
I wish there was a way to require them to make a deposit equal to 150% of the Coast Guard’s estimate of actual costs to rescue them.
BC Bill: After the Top Gear crew drove to the North Pole in Toyota Hiluxes, all these extreme expeditions seem so silly.”
It’s Top Gear. It was silly DURING the drive, not just after.
“I’ve stood on the deck of the Gjoa, the first ship to make the northwest Passage, and marveled at how tiny it was, and the steel nerves of the men who sailed it into the unknown.”
Yes there are some gutsy people in this world. I loved Thor Hyderthal’s books and as a child was aboard a full sized recreation of a medium viking ship (not the biggest but not the smallest). To think that those crazy nordics navigated the north atlantic in a glorified row boat boggled my mind.
Great thing about Arctic is that it follows directions from deep inside the Earth (possibly as far as the core) and not from anti CO2 fanatics and now defunct Chicago Climate Exchange.
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/Arctic.htm
They should be encouraged to rescue any poor bears they find swimming in open water far from land.
This reminds me of a story my brother told me years ago. One day was paddling his kayak between islands out in the Aleutians, when he ran across a Kodiak swimming in open water. He said he followed it for a while to see where it was going, and got closer and closer. Up close he could see that the bear was becoming disturbed. Suddenly the bear dove. He said that that was the fastest paddling he had ever done.
Wonder if they’ll last as long as it would have taken the ‘HOAX?’ ice to melt….