Around 1600 Dutch national hero Willem Barents get stuck in the ice sailing Eastwards. The company spends winter on Novaya Zemlya in a house built from the wrecks. Willem Barents dies as he tries to reach the coast of Siberia with an open sloop in spring time.

The three masted schooner Jeanette is crushed in 1881 in the ice and sinks in the Chuckchi Sea, all crew salvaged only few reach home.

Close to Wrangel Island in 1893 the Norwegian explorer Nansen runs his vessel Fram beset in the ice and starts walking to the North Pole, he reaches 86" 13'.6N. The Fram is found later drifted to the N Atlantic Ocean.

RECENT SAILING EXPEDITIONS

With sail yacht ' Apostle Andrey ' Nikolay Litau sails the entire NSR as first In 1998-99. Nearly 20 sailing yachts will follow in the years after.

Of which less than 10 yachts circumnavigated the North Pole. Gavrilov and Borge Ousland in 2010 and David Hempleman Adams in 2016 succeed in one season.

Dutch sailor Henk de Velde (RIP) attempts an East to West passage with S/Y Campina under Dutch flag in 2003, damaged beyond navigable he must give up.

POLAR CIRCLE-XL
Route East to West
Alaska USA
Chukchi Sea to Wrangel Island
East Siberian Sea,
Laptev Sea,
Kap Cheliuskin is still considered to be main point choked with ice barriers.
Kara Sea
Barents Sea
FINISH in Longyearbyen Svalbard / Spitsbergen.

PERMITS
In 2017 sailing West to East I did not get the permit from the Russians. With sailing from East to West I could buy time.
Still working on it.


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