Polish crew to circumnavigate the North Pole in Lady Dana

Lady Dana before she set off to sail around the North Pole SW

Lady Dana’s planned route © SW

The crew, skippered by Ryszard Wojnowski, range from 16 to 63 years in age, and have joined together for what must be one of the greatest adventures of anyone's life. They are already on their way.

The route:

Lady Dana so far © SW

The route started from the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland, then through the largest European lakes Ladoga and Onega. The route follow the Baltic-Biaomorskim Canal to the Gulf Oneskiej in the White Sea. On the way to Archangel, the entrance to the Gulf Dwiskiej the yacht sailed by the Solovetsky Islands. After leaving the Archangel and after a short stay in Port Šojna Kanin Peninsula, the boat reached the Barents Sea, where it is now, and finally started sailing east.

Then it will be through the Kara Gate Strait, located between the islands of Vaigach and the New Earth, the crew of the cruise will be in the Kara Sea and reaches the port Amdierma Jugurskim Peninsula, near the famous Vorkuta. With Amdiermy on the way to the next port of Dikson, located just off the mouth of the river Yenisei, the great Siberian river cruise route will be along the Yamal Peninsula, famous for its huge natural gas reserves.

The next section of the trip will be in the Kara Sea route along the Taimyr Peninsula to the port Taimyr. This will be the most dangerous phase of of the route, according to the skipper Ryszard. Unpredictable ice conditions make the passage through the Strait of Wilkickiego, located between Cape Czeluskina (the northernmost part of Asia) and the north (an archipelago of islands in the Arctic Ocean) requires not only technical skills, but also extraordinary fortitude.

Once they reach the Laptev Sea a short stop is planned in the port of Tiksi, near the mouth of the Lena, another great Siberian rivers. The waterway will again run to the east.

After leaving the port of Tiksi, at the East-Siberian Sea, the crew will be waiting for passage by Dmitry Laptev Strait, located between the mainland and the Islands Noworosyjskimi.

Then, after leaving Indygirki estuaries and Kolyma to starboard, the next stop is planned to be in the port Pewek. The penultimate 'Siberian' cruise stage will route through Long Strait (between the mainland and the island of Wrangel), Chukchi Sea Wankaren to the port where the boat's crew gets to the Bering Strait, and after passing the strait that separates Asia from North America, welcomed in the port Prowidienija, in order to do the border crossings in Russia.

This of course, is only half the journey. After leaving Russia's territorial waters, the will have to call into the U.S. port of Nome, Alaska, in order to make another border check. After Nome, again through the Bering Strait, the crew once again return to Arctic waters and sailing the Beaufort Sea along the shores of Alaska, leaving Barrow to port, and after two days of crossing the Canadian Arctic archipelago.

Then it's on to the long passage to Pond Inlet on Baffin Island, sailing between the islands of the vast Canadian Arctic. There will be stops at Sachs Harbour on Banks Island and Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island on the way.

From Pond Inlet, the cruise itinerary go to the south-east by Baffin Bay and Davis Strait to Holsteinborg on the west coast of Greenland.

From now on it is assumed that the North West Passage leg is completed and the boat will be sailing the Atlantic from now on.

After leaving Greenland crew will be expecting a hard crossing because October usually gives a stormy Atlantic.

Some respite will be taken in short stops in Reykiaviku in Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands.

Then there will still be a stormy North Sea, a stop in Farsund, Norway, the now familiar Danish straits, the Skagerrak, Skattegat and the Sound, through the Baltic Sea to reach their home marina at the Sopot pier after a perhaps wild adventure.

Specifications of the 44ft Lady Dana:

Specification:Length: 14.30 m
Water line length: 12.00 m
Width: 4.50 m
Draught: 2.00 m
Material: STEEL
Boat Weight: 19.20 t
Ballast weight: 6.00 t
Side height: 3.27 m
Freeboard: 1.29 m
Rigging: Sloop
Sail area: 103.50 m 2
Mainsail: 50.25 m 2
Seals: 53.20 m 2
Mast: SELDEN C304 19m
Max. Total height: 22.17 m
Engine: Yanmar 4JH4 TE 55.2 KW
Power generator: KOHLER ephod 4.5 KW
Bow Thruster Side Power 6.5kW
Windlass: LEVMAR V4 1600
Heating: Eberspeacher D5
Desalinator: Danfoss HRO SAFARI ESCAPE
Start Battery - 80AH engineMain Battery 660AH
Battery Start - Engine 55 AH
Thruster Battery 90 AH


Crew:

Ryszard Wojnowski, 55, captain of the yacht,

Experience: 50 000 nautical miles, including but not limited annual cruise on s / s Alf in the years 1978-1979 to South America in 2004, sailing on the s / s 'Panorama' from Ushuaia to Antarctica, in 2010, sailing s / s 'Dana 44' to Spitsbergen in excess of 80 degree latitude.

Lech Romanowski - 59 years
Experience : Qualified Captain, sailing instructor, maritime training more than 40 000 nautical miles, including among other other cruise around Africa, the annual cruise on the s / s Alf in the years 1978-1979 to South America. sailing yacht S / Y 'MODEL 44' to Spitsbergen in excess of 80 degree latitude, many voyages in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Daniel Michalski, 54 years, sailor, skier, traveler - a lover of sails, mountains and caravanning.
Experience : sailing yacht skipper / 1984 / instructor ?eglarstwa/1982 /, senior helmsman motorowodny/1994 /. Internship sea over 15,000 Nm got engaged on m.in from Canada to Gdynia across the North Atlantic / Zawisza Czarny 1984 /, from Gdynia in Spitzbergen by the Norwegian sea / Eltanin 2003 / cruises to ports in the North Sea, the Baltic, White, and as captain the charter in the waters of the Mediterranean / Greece / and the Adriatic / Croatia.

Cezary Bajer, 44 years, yacht skipper sea, 15,000 miles of sea,
Experience: sailing the waters of the Baltic and North Sea including the award as the master replica of the sixteenth-century warship Zaporozhian Cossacks - Lapwing 'PRIESVIATA pokrov' with Ukrainian crew, flying since he was twelve.

Paul Odziej, 28 years, yacht skipper sailing 6000 nautical miles.
Four years ago he finished Warsaw University of Technology - Faculty of Electrical Engineering. For three years she has worked in Elektrobudowa SA in Warsaw branch as a designer.

Experience : Has a degree yacht skipper marine SRC certificate, flowed about 1400 hours during voyages in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, Cyclades, and the Atlantic voyages to the Shetlands, Spitsbergen, Iceland. Member and supporter of the Student Sailing Club Warsaw University of Technology. He swam since elementary school, starting with the optimists to later change to the larger yachts in Hawaii (after which likes to go sailing today). In addition to sailing likes kayaking, skiing, walking in the mountains, interested in history.

Michael Kochaczyk, age 63, skipper yacht, 5,000 nautical miles
Experience : swam among other Baltic Sea on a raft 'Nord-bis', mountaineer, polar explorer, have extensive experience with glacial mountains and mountains of the High Arctic, the manager and participant over three mountain expeditions.

Michael Wojnowski, 16 years (during the trip on June 17 over 16 years)
Apprentice School No. 24 in Gdynia and Secondary Music School in Gdynia (Michael plays the piano). He participated in many sea voyages from the age of four. He has already sailed 8000 nm, including Atlantic voyages and long cruise to Spitsbergen.