Icebound 2004: Dagmar Aaen North West Passage Expedition
Sep 20, 2004 16: 13 EST
Arved Fuchs is the Captain of the "Dagmar Aaen", continuing her sail after overwintering in the northern polar region of Canada, on Victoria Island. Last September, the North West Passage was impossible and the Dagmar Aaen was forced to overwinter in Cambridge Bay. Now the crew of 12 are out on another attempt, currently heading for Resolute Bay in Northern Canada.
100th attempt without the help of icebreakers
Exactly 100 years after the discovery of the North West Passage by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, this year’s expedition will be the 100th to attempt to navigate the Passage without the help of ice breakers. If successful, Arved Fuchs and the Dagmar Aaen will then have made a complete circumnavigation of the northern polar region. In 2002 he sailed the North East Passage along the Siberian coast.
Human skull
Here's the latest from the crew:
"The ice situation is unchanged. Today we made a long trip ashore. Everywhere we discover remainders of the Inuit. Bone remainders of old meals, tent rings, supply depots from rock stones and Inukshuks (stone men). In the middle in this stone desert we suddenly discovered a human head.
It must be very old, because the bone is hard and lichens grow on it - judging from the growth the skull is clearly over 100 years old. We meet polar foxes, which still have their grey summer skin. If we are calm, they approach close to us. There are fossils everywhere. This whole country used to be at the bottom of the sea, and in this sedimentary rock animals and plants are stored, petrified.
Concerns with the ice conditions
We are not alone in our concerns with the ice conditions. In the northeast passage, the Dutch yacht "Campina" had to be towed because of a defect rudder. To her assistance came the yacht "Northabout." The crew wanted to cross the passage from Prince Rupert, but must now accept overwintering.
Their homepage report that the team wants to continue the expedition over the river Khatanga next year. In some passages of the two sea routes there are some large ice-free surfaces. So at least theoretically, it is possible to go from the Canadian municipality Tuktuyuktuk up to the New Siberian islands. Also around Spitzbergen there is relatively little ice."
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