North-East passage Campina - rudder fixed!
Sep 3, 2004 04: 43 EST
He was stuck in the ice and he was in serious trouble. The rudder had been bent by the floes and Henk was in doubt if the damage could be repaired at all.
That's when crew members of the enormous icebreaker Vaigach turned up. The large ship actually lifted Campina out of the water and inspected the rudder.
It took seven hours to repair the damage caused by a large chunk of ice and was a lot of excitement due to the constant movement of the surrounding ice masses.
But then Campina was released and afloat with a very grateful skipper on board. Henk is currently at position 75.55 N 113.54 E waiting for the "all clear" from the Murmansk Shipping Company. The ice situation in Laptev is still very bad. It could take until next week before a slow passage can be attempted.
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.
Map and image of Campina and her savior Vaigach, courtesy of Henk De Velde.
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