• Northabout

This is the story of eight Irishmen and their 47-foot aluminium boat Northabout who left Westport in June 2001 to sail the North West Passage. Rivalling the Antarctic in terms of drama and tragedy, this iconic and elusive route meanders north of Canada and Alaska through the Arctic Ocean. Many had attempted this journey. Many had failed. This crew of intrepid Irishmen had been inspired by the likes of Roald Amundsen who achieved the first navigation of this route in 1903-06. During the brief Arctic summer of 2001, the crew endured the unique hazards of navigation in this fascinating yet treacherous region: unpredictable, ever-moving ice; edging gingerly through narrow channels of open water; dealing with unfathomable and frustrating military bureaucracy. Completing the voyage in a record thirteen weeks, the crew returned home to Ireland, leaving the boat in Alaska, in order to cruise British Columbia the following year. The call of the wild induced a return to the Arctic in July 2004 to attempt the more difficult North East Passage: via the icy seas of Siberia from the Bering Straits to Norway. Overcoming language difficulties and Russian bureaucracy, they sailed from British Columbia in July 2004. The voyage took two seasons. In 2004, Northabout narrowly avoided being trapped in ice on a number of occasions. Finally, stopped by solid pack ice, Northabout was laid up in Khatanga in Siberia for the winter. The team returned in summer 2005 for the most difficult section of the voyage around Cape Chelyuskin. Northabout is a story of vision, ambition and determination, and navigational skill: the elements that have characterised Irish explorers from the days of St Brendan to the time of Tom Crean to the present day. What makes this different is that these navigators can give us an immediate and first-hand account of their extraordinary journey. They photographed the harsh beautiful landscape and its superb wildlife, and had encounters with people along the way, from isolated communities of the native Inuit to the incorrigible and intriguing Slava, the specialist ice pilot who was foisted upon the crew by Russian regulations. On October 12, 2005 Northabout sailed into Westport, County Mayo, having sailed not only the North West passage, but having also completed the first ever east-to-west circumnavigation of the Arctic icecap by a small yacht.

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Northabout

  • Product Code: Jarlath Cunnane
  • Availability: In Stock
  • €30.00


Tags: Northabout, Jarlath Cunnane, 9781788463027