Posted: Nov 10, 2005 08:00 am EST
This is truly an amazing voyage: To sail around the North Pole, alone. Miles after miles of pack ice - can it be done?

Iced in and waiting to be thawed out, Gary Ramos and his boat Arctic Wanderer are literally “on ice” for now. Wintering over at Cambridge Bay, Canada, Gary has a lot of time on his hands to reflect on nature’s lessons: “As far as luck and courage go I've learned 1) you can't be in a hurry as mother nature has total control over everything up in the Arctic, and 2) prepare for any and
every possible problem, from a minor cut that could turn into a major infection - to spending the winter alone in the middle of nowhere.”

Earlier this week we did a brief intro on Gary, who is attempting to become the first person to circumnavigate the Arctic circle, solo. “This has not been done as far as I know,” he tells ExplorersWeb, when we ask.

Reading up

Gary will stay on his boat through the winter, but the locals warn it's going to be too cold. Well, Gary did his homework: “I've read every thing I can about travel in the arctic. One thing I learned was reading about Henry Larsen's trips through the NW Passage - you've got to have a full boat cover on the boat for winter. So I had one made, and it protects the boat from snow and wind and keeps it about 10 degrees warmer below the deck.”

Gary hopes to complete the worst part of the Northwest Passage next summer, and then sail to northern Norway, Russia, and the next summer try the Northeast Passage. ExWeb asked him how he planned to get through the coastal ice around Russia? Gary’s response: “This winter will be a learning experience for the trip over Russia. As far as going over Russia, the ice conditions this past summer were excellent for the passage but who knows what they will be like when I go through.”

Too many boats, not enough water

It seems like there are too many boats but not enough water along the Northwest Passage. The Canadian coast guard is “less than happy” having to rescue marooned boats all last summer. “They are tired of us; they call us crazy adventurers. I think most people who try this don't have any idea what their getting into,” Gary tells us.

Gary is in good company though. “Minke 1, a Nova Scotian has been trying to go through the Northwest passage for three years, his boat is in a bay about 2 miles from mine.”

“I'm going to write a cruising guide on the NW Passage this winter which should help. Yesterday Fine Tolerance was in the news as their EPIRB went off, so the Canadians sent a plane out of Halifax. But then the Dutch navy contacted them and all was fine - their EPIRB got water in it and went off. They are now in 25ft seas enroute to Spain.”

As for Gary, well, he is plotting a slightly different course – for now at least – “I plan on staying in Cambridge Bay all winter and hopefully get a lot of writing done.”

Gary Ramos, grandfather of three, has taken on an incredible journey. His goal – to be the first person to circumnavigate the North Pole solo. The Chief Mate and Relief Captain for the University of Alaska, set sail from Seward, Alaska on May 22, 2005, aboard his vessel, the Arctic Wanderer.

After a first stop at Kodiak, Gary headed southeast for False Pass in the Aleutian Islands, where he tied into the Bruin Bay, another boat also heading North. In Barrow, the northern most point of Alaska, Gary saw just how tricky it can be navigating through the maze of ice. “It is very tense going through the ice when you can't see it until it's 100ft away,” Gary reported. “Finally, I'd had enough so I anchored.”

By mid-August Gary had made it to Cambridge Bay where he caught up with the other NW passage boats; Idlewild, Fine Tolerance, and Minke 1. For now, Gary has settled down for a long winters nap. He will be 'wintering over' here until the ice breaks up next summer.

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