Norwegian, Russian race around the North Pole
2010-07-09
One Russian and one Norwegian sailing yacht will this summer try to be the first to sail both the North East and North West Passage in one season.
The Norwegian trimaran started in Oslo in June and is now on its way around the coast of Finnmark in Northern Norway. On board are the famous Norwegian explorer Børge Ousland and three other crew members.
The expedition will be a visual picture of the rapid on-going climate changes, said Børge Ousland to the newpaper Nordlys before the boat left the Norwegian Polar capital Tromsø earlier this week. No-one has ever managed to sail around the North Pole before in one season.
But, simultaneously as the Norwegian boat “Northern Passage” entered the Barents Sea, another sailing yacht with the same aim, the Russian “Peter 1” sailed into Murmansk. “Peter 1” started from St. Petersburg earlier this summer. On board are captain Daniel Gavrilov and a crew of six. When “Peter 1” sails out from Murmansk, they hope to sail both the North East and North West passage during the summer and autumn.
Source: BarentsObserver.com
