The Arctic Experience

Brian has survived nine Arctic seasons since the mid 1990s, using his expert seamanship and hands-on skills.

I sometimes learn from my mistakes, the painful ones at least, so thinking about how to plan an Arctic voyage is a mix of considering what might have happened and preparing to reduce the risks that await for the next time in a hostile but compellingly beautiful environment. So why go there in the first place when there are so many wonderful sailing areas closer to home?

For me, the answer lies somewhere between challenge and reward. The challenging bit is about testing oneself both physically and mentally. After all there is little obvious appeal in spending long hours on a cold deck dodging icebergs and the occasional Atlantic gale and even when you get near to where you’re going, an ice strewn shore might prevent you getting close. Perhaps the answer lies in the reward, which in my case is about gazing on a landscape that few, if any, have seen before, a sense of achievement at sailing a small boat from the green gentle coasts of Ireland into a wilderness of awesome spectacle and when you get home, sharing a pint or two with those who have been with you, changed forever by the experience of the high north.

That’s why I’ve now had nine Arctic seasons ranging from Svalbard in the east across to Greenland and, for those who may be like-minded, I can now offer my thoughts on where to go and the essential elements that need to be considered.

SETTING OUT AND ROUTES

Plenty of skippers over-winter their boats in Norway or Iceland to extend the following year’s cruising. However, if you’re starting in UK waters and want to get there and back in the same season, that restricts the cruising area