Henk's North-East Passage seems impossible
Sep 6, 2004 06: 18 EST
A large ice floe has arrived in the Laptev sea, east of the peninsula of Taymyr. The rudder and the hydraulic wheel system of Campina has again been seriously damaged, as a result the ship is now rudderless.
The ship now lies moored against an ice berg awaiting good wind. The situation with the floating icefloe is very threatening. For this reason the authorities in Murmansk, in dialogue with the head sponsor of Campina, have started a rescue operation. There are two ships underway to offer aid.
Henk is presently only 10 miles from the shallow coast line of Taymyr. This area is one of the most inhospitable areas in the world. Also the Irish hunting boat Northabout, which lies further north, does not sit without problems.
The difference is that this ship has a crew. The Northabout lie on an unfavorable spot but is not rudderless. To both ships applies the fact that the route to Tsjeljuskin is not possible this year without aid of icebreakers.
Last Henk was stuck in the ice the rudder had been bent by the floes, when crew members of the enormous icebreaker Vaigach turned up. The large ship actually lifted Campina out of the water and it took seven hours to repair the damage caused by a large chunk of ice.
Dutchman Henk de Velde has been roaming the world's oceans for over two years now aboard The Campina. His goal: “The Impossible Journey” - a sail around the world via the "impossible" Northern Seaway along the North East Passage above and along Siberia, Alaska, then South to Cape Horn and Antarctica before returning home to the Netherlands.
Henk's journey began in June 2001 and if it comes to the end he envisions, Henk will have traveled 30,000 miles rounding both poles on the epic circumnavigation.
Since December, the Campina was encased in the ice of the Arctic Sea near Tiksi, Russia. Being blasted by the full effects of the Siberian winter, the ship and her skipper faced gale force winds and sub-zero temperatures reaching –50º C. That's seven months frozen in a block of ice. Not until August 20 could Campina sail again.
Henk de Vekde has previously sailed around the world four times, three times non-stop and solo. The first trip lasted between 1978 and 1985… so Henk is known to take his time when out exploring.
The reason for traveling like this is to experience new things and enjoy life to the fullest.
Image of Campina and the nuclear icebreaker Vaigach, courtesy of Henk De Velde.
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