After 24 days, Mike Horn and Borge Ousland have jumped ship and begun sledding toward the North Pole. The veteran polar duo set off in Horn’s boat, Pangaea, from Nome Alaska on September 2, but were slowed down by repair stops along the coast.
After crossing the Bering Strait, the Pangaea headed due north. By September 6, they reached the first ice and continued onward through the Chukchi and the East Siberian Sea before reaching the Arctic Ocean and their drop off point of 85 degrees north.
After hitting ice deemed solid enough for sled travel, Horn and Ousland started skiing on September 24, with Horn remarkably noting: “Pangaea is now the sailboat that has ventured the closest to the North Pole without the support of an icebreaker.”
The hard work now beings for Ousland and Horn. They have around 550km to the Pole, and a further 800km to reach their pick-up on the far side of the Arctic Ocean. In the meantime, the Pangaea‘s crew of 10 will make a U-turn and sail along the Russian coast and North East Passage to wait for the pair just north of Svalbard.
About the Author
Ash Routen
Ash is an outdoor and adventure writer from the UK. He juggles a day job as a public health scientist with a second career in outdoor writing.
His words have featured in national newspapers, international magazines, and on various websites. Major bylines include Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Porsche, Outside Magazine, Rock and Ice, and Red Bull.
He holds two degrees in Exercise and Health Sciences, and a PhD in Public Health.
His areas of expertise are polar expeditions, mountaineering, hiking, and adventure travel. In his spare time Ash enjoys going on small independent sledding expeditions, outdoor photography, and reading adventure literature.
Read more at www.ashrouten.com or follow Ash via @ashrouten on Twitter and Instagram.
Can someone sketch their route (boat and sledge) on a map?
Their road seems impossible to track because Mike Horn do not communicate his position. On his blog he said that on October 15, they saw the last bit of sun above the horizon. A quick research will tell you that the sun disappeared below the horizon at 82°15’N on October 15, but on October 9, he says that he passed 87°N, so they must be around 88°N 6 days later. He is lying on his blog. Why, I have no clue.
Thanks Christian. I can’t see any updates on his blog, do you mean his Facebook page? As of today they are at 88N and up until a few days ago they would have got 2-3 hours of civil twilight from what I can see.
Hi Ash – Ive been trying to track the position of Mikes “Pangaea” – doesn’t appear on the IMO registry, or published MMSI I can see – and doesn’t show a position via satellite AIS, or not turned on – only by searching Longyearbyen web cam I found it in the harbor since late Sept – Originally registered in Santos Brazil, and then talk of it being registered in South Africa, it appears to be a Ghost ship unless someone else has better intel? – Maybe because of its GWT it may require less reporting but in the Arctic Ocean… Read more »
Hi Laurence. Thanks for this. Only just catching up now. Have posted a revised article today based on the Speedcast link, which now seems to be working. Very interesting you can spot the boat by webcam – do you have a link? Thanks.
http://portlongyear.kystnor.no/
Hi Ash – The auto iris seems stuck so strong daylight all White –
Still no IMO info or MMSI on this vessel – intriguing!
Hi Christian, it seems the social media updates are quite outdated (so ignore my previous reply to you). https://www.speedcast.com/mike-horn/ seems to be the best place to track them. Best, Ash.