Mike Horn - almost there, not
Sep 24, 2004 12: 41 EST
Mike is blocked in Tobseda, Russia, due to damage on the boat. He is unable to start ‘stage 10’ of the expedition, the last step, in which he will complete his two year tour of the Arctic Circle.
All he needed to do was to wait for the right weather conditions before leaving, to sail the Corsair trimaran across the Barents Sea towards the North Cape.
That was when the storms came in.
Mike reports, " I fought for 4 days non-stop to try and save my boat. It was moored in the bay but the winds were so strong that the boat was being pushed in all directions. The three anchors were not holding the boat in place. The winds were just too strong - I would say up to 80 km an hour!!! Me, by myself, I fought all I could to control the boat but it was impossible. I haven't slept for 4 days!"
He thought the boat had been damaged, probably hit by a tree trunk. Mike was now forced to get the boat out of the water to make a proper assessment of the damage and discovered that the main hull had a fissure of about 40 cm and that boat was unable to be sailed. It needed to be repaired.
In Tobseda there is nothing. A few run down houses and only one inhabitant, a kind old fisherman who is helping Mike as much a he possibly can. Mike is very grateful to him.
The next strategy was to get a repair kit sent to Mike from Switzerland. It was prepared by Yvan Ravussin and was transported with plane and helicopter.
After the repair of the first fissure, Mike unfortunately noticed other damage to the boat, and it now became impossible for him to put the boat back into the water. At this stage it's uncertain whether the damage can be repaired where the boat is now, or if it must be transported to Murmansk for reparation.
Mike Horn, the South African who traveled around the equator in 2000, is back for another circular adventure. This time, however, Mike is in colder climates; the Arctic Circle. His plan is to travel around the Arctic, just within the Arctic Circle, by boat, kayak, ski sail and on foot. He left in august of 2002 and a team provides him with resupplies and various means of travel along the trip.
Image of Mike's trimaran, courtesy of mikehorn.com
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