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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I see the potential for an upcoming edition of Man vs Nature
staring[Moderator’s Pedantry: I’m sure you meant “starring”… -REP] killer whales …“These solar panels will charge batteries which connect to a VHF radio, GPS, and navigation system. The team will jam out to an iPod for music and use a laptop”
Just how big are these panels?
Matthew W says July 9, 2012 at 12:03 pm
“The story of the Endurance is one of the most fantastic that I have ever read !!
And no one died on the “adventure” !!!”
The sad thing is, Matthew, that such was the devotion to duty of the crew, as soon as they were rescued many volunteered to serve in WWI: Of the 53 men who returned out of the 56 who left on the expedition (three actually died on the ‘adventure’) three were killed in action and five wounded.
(Ref: ‘South’ – E Shackleton)
More like Arctic Crow than Arctic Row…
Willis, great post, thanks!
Vukcevic, thanks for your graphs, fyi on a broken link,
on this page:
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/LFC-CETfiles.htm
you have this link, and I get a 404 error for it:
http://space-env.esa.int/Data_Plots/noaa/ap_plot.html
Steve Lohr-
What creek?
It’s post-normal language. Everybody knows that Russia is on the other side of the Arctic Ocean from Alaska; our voyage starts in Alaska and ends in Russia; therefore obviously we’ll be rowing across the Arctic Ocean.
(You’ll have to imagine the withering look and condescending tone of voice for yourself.)
Nonsense!
They will breath out carbon dioxide.
They will have to go to the toilet (raw sewage) or are they carrying that back?
Are they going to carry all their waste tins, tubes, bottles etc. with them?
They will fart deadly methane (worse than co2)
and so on……….
Re: Dodgy Geezer
UK law would allow you to challenge this as false advertising if they were UK based. According to the donate page they are located in San Francisco.
I would have raised a complaint if they were UK based.
It seems as though they leave in 6 days, and as yet “The “Sponsor Name” First Arctic Crossing” still does not have a sponsor 🙁
Maybe its because the “The “Sponsor Name” First Arctic Crossing” will not be crossing the Arctic, nor will it be crossing the Arctic Ocean. DOH!
(check out the sponsor pages to see what I mean)
“The Arctic Row expedition presents an unusual opportunity to conduct scientific research with absolutely no carbon emissions or negative impact on the Arctic ecosystem.”
Alrighty then; we’re going to hold you to that promise! – No eating, breathing or farting whatsoever during the entire voyage!
Skiphil says:
July 9, 2012 at 2:21 pm
…………….
Thanks
It should be:
http://space-env.esa.int/Data_Plots/noaa/ap_plot.gif
I showed the first map to my 15 year old son and asked him if he could guess the route for rowing across the Arctic Ocean. He made several suggestions, crossing the open water etc etc.
Then I scrolled down to the second map and showed him the actual route. He laughed out loud (LOL!) and said “That’s cheating!”.
@ur momisugly Man Bearpig “If their route was a few miles south, they would be able to walk across.”
LOL! Yes, very true — though rowing would probably be easier and safer. Seriously though, I suspect that the gentlemen involved are probably just a few guys who love doing wild, adventurous things and thought, “Have you ever been in the far North? Me neither. Yeah, that would be great to go see that part of the world. Hmmmm… who would be daft enough to donate some funding for our next adventure? Ohhhh — let’s say it has something to do with global warming! That will turn on the money spigots!”
I don’t think they are alarmists. I think they just want funding from alarmists. Good luck! Go get ’em!
In reality, I tip my hat to these guys even though it is a Mickey Mouse passage. The arctic waters are full of not easily recognized dangers. What could be wrong getting close to an iceberg? Icebergs will flip without warning and put out a nasty wave. Why are all those birds standing in a line? An ocean going container or a submerged log. What is that disturbance in the water ahead?
Could be wildlife or a deadhead ( a large log standing vertically but slightly below the surface). The list goes on, along with failed equipment and health out in the middle of nowhere.
Someone’s been at the North Pole in the last week! Only footsteps – no boat:
http://psc.apl.washington.edu/northpole/NPEO2012/WEBCAM2/ARCHIVE/npeo_cam2_20120707002846.jpg
WUWT?
Hope that they do the trip planning properly, including getting all necessary entry permits from our Russian friends – otherwise they will get a very frosty reception on the far side of the Bering Straits, as Karl Bushby found when he walked over in wintertime 2006.
There is some interesting blurb on the entry requirements at the link below:
http://www.angusadventures.com/beringstrait.html
agree Willis, here we go again.
see
Atlantic Odyssey rowers rescued after capsizing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16804181
&
Transatlantic rowers rescued after boat is struck by ‘enormous wave’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/14/transatlantic-rowers-rescued-enormous-wave
&
Atlantic Rescue After Rowing Boat Capsizes
http://news.sky.com/story/921546/atlantic-rescue-after-rowing-boat-capsizes
& i could go on, but you know the story. adventure for some with time to spare but very lucky they got away without paying the ultimate price.
They will soon find out that they cannot row 24 hours a day. Next mistake is going west into the prevailing flow. They forgot about something called weather. They should read up on the stories of past canoeists in the National Geographic and other publications. I met some of the ones who rowed that course in the 1970’s. 30 days – not a chance!
I’d say “what a bunch of blowhards” but that would be unfair to blowhards everywhere.
They would not only cross the Arctic Ocean, but also the Pacific. Two oceans in a row is quite an achievement, is not it?
I reckon their next feat will be to walk all the way from Europe to Asia, risking a fine.
They just can’t help faking it.
Speaking of faking it, I wouldn’t trust what they claim to collect by way of donation, either. They angle everything to make themselves and their cause look good.
Hmmm… will there be cameras on them the entire “ocean crossing” or will they really be snug and warm someplace and just claim to have done it? Forgive my cynicism, I just don’t trust any of ’em with anything anymore.
Their web site uses a photo-shopped picture of a polar bear that I’ve seen many times.
The bear can be exchanged for a penguin.
http://m-francis.livejournal.com/149591.html
One of their advisers is Roz Savage http://www.rozsavage.com/. Of interest is that her most recent row was canceled because of ice bergs.
Oh, please, lets cut these guy [and or gals?] some slack.
Professional adventurers need big, dangerous, never-been-done-before, expeditions to put meaning into their meaningless existences. Since hardly a dare-devil adventurer is left who can foot the bill for his own adventuring since Steve Fossett augered in back in 2007, you have to give them credit for at least trying. These days it is almost impossible to get funding for these big, expensive, never-been-done-before expeditions except to wrap your plans for what-ever-it-is-that-YOU-want-to-do around some eco-warming-preventing-icecap-preserving fantasy that some group of school children, or some successful businessman can wrap his brain around how it will make his enterprise look good with their names plastered on the side.
So, you prostitute yourself to who ever you can, say what ever is required to get people to fork over enough bucks to get you to the start line of your private fantasy, and hope like hell that when things go south you will have enough public sympathy for some national rescue service, passing fisherman, or nearby drilling vessel to pull you out of the drink. It helps if you self-deluded enough to believe your own line of bunkum, but basically you know in your heart of hearts that its a scam, but you really don’t have any choice, what are you going to do? pay for it all yourself???
Seems like the rowing people are going the way of the yachtsmen and mountaineers. Too bad.
/Let’s leave the sarcasm running for a bit, this is just too rich…
W^3
I wonder how they will report the unprecedented discovery that they could see Russia from Alaska.