Intrepid trio sails Northwest Passage, highlighting polar ice plight
by Media Services on 12 Sep 2012
Belzebub II and glacier SW
A three-man crew has sailed for the first time through the once-frozen Northwest Passage, a perilous Arctic route that has traditionally been frozen to highlight the impact of global warming as 'a clear visual example of the extent of declining polar ice'.
The Swedish sailboat, the 9.4m Belzebub II, navigated through McClure Strait, northernmost waterway on the edge of the Canadian Northwest Territories.
The crew is composed of American Morgan Peissel, Canadian Nicolas Peissel and the Swedish owner of the vessel, Edvin Buregren, 35.
The boat is a Monsun 31 built in Sweden by Hallberg- Rassy in 1976. The Monsun is a 31-foot GPR boat, designed by Olle Enderlein who claimed: 'beautiful boats are great sailors'. He designed it to be a sturdy long distance sailor that could double as a family cruiser.
The Hallsberg-Rassy Monsun is best known for its abilities through the adventures of legendary sailor Kurt Bjorklund and his boat 'Golden lady' which accomplished three and a half circumnavigations.
From their site, the team describes their craft: 'Belzebub was prepared for a circumnavigation by her previous owner who abandoned his plan after a rough week on the North Sea. She came with some blue water equipment like Radar, and windvane but everything needed reinstallation due to poor installation.
'Since the boat had been neglected for a few years she had several leaks from her deteriorating teak deck and both the electrical system and plumbing needed to be totally replaced. Over the last three years she has had more than 2000 hours of work put into her electrical system, deck replacement, through hull re-bedding, rig replacement, radar arch design, kitchen renovations, anchor box reconfiguration and engine overhaul.'
The three-month voyage took them from Newfoundland, Canada to Greenland and through the Canadian Arctic, on their quest to document the rapidly dwindling polar ice and to bring awareness to the effects of global warming.
'By sailing this newly-opened route we hope that our expedition will play a small part in bringing further attention to climate change and contributing to a larger shift in attitudes,' say the crew.
'The Arctic is melting at an alarming rate and is clear proof of our disharmony with the planet.'
The vessel is due to finish its expedition in Nome, Alaska, arriving Wednesday 13 September.
The team kept a meticulous log and other interesting footage and images on their site: belzebub2.com
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