Long before the plans of a unique Arctic passage we had dreams of launching away from a lifestyle that inevitably comes with a large impact on the environment. Sailing has for us, not only been a way to travel and experience adventure but a way to compensate for the emissions we produce in our normal lives. Since the ice conditions of the Arctic make sailing long distances impossible we realized that our voyage would require periods of considerable motoring. None of us were thrilled about burning any amount of diesel in an area of the world that is so pristine and where climate change has made so much of an impact. Our voyage is meant to bring awareness to the changing climate in the Arctic not help that change along. In previous posts we have written about how we bought the most environmentally friendly engine we could find in 2011 to reduce our emissions and now we are also offsetting our CO2.
Our research shows that 1 liter of diesel produces 2,48 kilo of fossil carbon dioxide. If we take account for the whole lifespan of the fuel ( such as emissions caused by refinement and distribution) the emissions are 2,98 Kilo. So we calculate that 1 liter of diesel generates 3 kg of carbon dioxide emissions. We multiply that with the total amount of diesel that we put in our tanks and offset our emissions through the Swedish company Tricorona who are developing UN-approved, Kyoto-certified carbon projects to reduce emissions. These projects are certified by the CDM Gold standard which are recognized by the WWF and Tricorona is the biggest company in its field.
How it works:
Tricorona searches for energy projects that are powered by coal and offer to invest the difference to instead implement the project using a renewable energy source.
The project is carried out and the renewable energy technology is taken into production.
The UN audits the project and calculates the difference in carbon dioxide emissions between the cleaner energy source and the amount of energy that would have been generated had it been produced using dirtier techniques.
The UN keeps track of how many tonnes of “saved emissions” the project delivers and Tricorona receives a certificate for this amount. This is known as Certified Emissions Reduction (CER).
These carbon dioxide credits are sold as climate compensation for companies that are looking to compensate the climate for their carbon dioxide emissions.
The UN registers every tonne of climate compensation with a serial number, which is invalidated when it is sold. This guarantees that each tonne will not be sold more than once – and that the climate will benefit as intended.
Short of buying a helicopter for the trip we wanted to have the capability to film the boat from above and capture the beauty around us. I remembered Yves Gelinas expedition in the 1970s when he used a heavy 16mm camera to capture the boat sailing from high in the sky dangling from a kite he was flying off the stern of the boat.
In this spirit I did some research on kites and learned that a Delta or Sled kite were the most powerful and stable kites to use when wanting to film. I went and visited a local kite guru at his packed shop and he handed me a fair size sled kite to use on the voyage. Thank fully technology has progressed and I attached a light weight HD waterproof GoPro video camera. I made a rig for the camera and the kite but only really had the chance to try it out once at sea.
There was a significant learning curve of: A) trying to fly a kite from a rocking boat; B) trying to get the camera angle right; C) figure out an optimal flying height; and, D) trying to minimize the amount of movement of the camera while filming. We figured out A through C but never D. No matter what we did the camera rocked like a pendulum under the kite. It took great photos but lousy video. We manged to stabalize the camera a little more by attaching the camera about 50 feet from the kite itself and adding some weight to it but despite our different rig set ups we failed to stabilize the camera sufficiently.
QUESTION: We would like to ask you for your advice on how you think we could steady the shot? We know that it is impossible to get a completely still shot but even a few seconds would be great. Warning: the video below is only for those with a strong stomach.
Some people may be settling into their winter routine and preparing for the upcoming holidays but we are firmly focused on summer 2012. We only have 5-6 months left before departing on the voyage and there is a very, very long list of things to do. A mountain of books still to read, charts to order, equipment to buy and boat modifications to be made.
I was going through the time lines and realize that we will require 1 month to modify the boat, add the new equipment before departing and plan for any unexpected delays. So far this our rough schedule:
May 15th, 2012: Arrive at boat in Newfoundland begin modifications and trip preparations full time.
June 15th, 2012: Depart Newfoundland for Greenland
June 24th, 2012: Arrive in Greenland
August 1st, 2012: Arrive in Arctic Canada
September 10th, 2012: Arrive in Alaska
October 20th, 2012: Arrive Vancouver
We are looking at 5 months on the boat total for the expedition. On top of planning for the bare neccesities on the water we must also plan for our various stops along the way and finally for the storage of the boat on the other side of Canada. Despite a tight timeline we find great pleasure in the planning of the trip, pouring over the notes of past arctic expeditions and learning about the environment we will immerse ourselves in as Constantine P. Cavafy conveyed in his nautical poem Ithica it really is all about the voyage and not the destination.
From our short time at high latitudes we learned allot about the peculiar environment that makes up the North. We thought strange phenomena that we read about would be experienced occasionally but we quickly learned that there was always some peculiar effect at work. While the open ocean and planetarium clarity of the night sky of the South seems foreign enough to many the North makes a sailor constantly question themselves.
While at first some of these phenomena can make you feel uncomfortable and disoriented they are often beautiful and fascinating in nature, as well as serve a vital purpose by providing navigation information in an a place where predictability is rare. Even common meteorological conditions like fog take on a whole new meaning in the North.Fata Morgana, optical haze, water sky and ice blink, coronas, halos, aurora borealis and acoustic phenomena were all experienced on board Belzebub.
The importance of understanding phenomena such as water sky and ice blink which indicates approaching ice or the proximity of open water can play a vital role in ones navigational decisions. A couple of pairs of quality binoculars with solid range finding capabilities can never be underestimated and can also be useful in enjoying a closer look at the northern lights, Fata Morgana and other phenomena.
They say that timing is everything, and in our case it was. A series of delays out of our control resulted in us slipping a few weeks behind schedule in our attempt of a unique passage, but that was enough for us to delay the entire expedition to 2012. A northern trans-Atlantic was quite a feat in itself, but we learned the importance of timing and luck when we encountered ice on the East and West coast of Greenland.
With a relatively short navigation season July-September timing is important for four reasons; to allow you to be in an area when the best chances of it clearing of ice may occur; to allow you to approach, traverse and exit the Arctic in the short window mother nature gives us before the arctic re-freezes; to cross the sea of Labrador and Bering sea as early as possible on your exit before the low pressure systems and hurricane season intensify; to traverse the Arctic during the period of the most sunlight to minimize any ice navigation at night.
We have realized how luck and patience are as important as planning when it come to trying to anticipate the floes or melting of ice. In order to give us the best chance at accomplishing one of the four routes we have planned we are planning an early departure from Canada to allow for a leisurely sail up the west coast of Greenland. This cruise will allow us to test the boat further in ice conditions, practice our ice maneuvering and tactics as well as get as far as possible as soon as possible to ensure that if the ice charts show the way is clear or not we will be there to benefit or be able to make an informed decision to quickly take an alternative route.
Also of importance is to ensure that we do not go to late in the season when the midnight sun begins to diminish quickly resulting in longer nights. We experienced just 3-4 hour nights in ice off the coast of Greenland and these were tense and uncomfortable periods. Sailing in ice in light is already a sobering challenge throwing even a few hours of darkness into the equation increases the risk factor significantly! There is a very real possibility that all these issues could add up to substantial delays, especially when attempting a unique and unpredictable route, and we do not want to become trapped in the Arctic for the winter.
Short of buying a helicopter for the trip we wanted to have the capability to film the boat from above and capture the beauty around us. I remembered Yves Gelinas expedition in the 1970s when he used a heavy 16mm camera to capture the boat sailing from high in the sky dangling from a kite he was flying off the stern of the boat.
There was a significant learning curve of: A) trying to fly a kite from a rocking boat; B) trying to get the camera angle right; C) figure out an optimal flying height; and, D) trying to minimize the amount of movement of the camera while filming. We figured out A through C but never D. No matter what we did the camera rocked like a pendulum under the kite. It took great photos but lousy video. We manged to stabalize the camera a little more by attaching the camera about 50 feet from the kite itself and adding some weight to it but despite our different rig set ups we failed to stabilize the camera sufficiently.
