A Journey Through the Norwegian Arctic on Board Sailing Yacht Barba

by Gemma Davies on 28 Jun 2017 B&G®, the world’s leading sailing navigation and instrument specialist is excited to share the story of B&G Elements: Barba and The Orcas. A short four minute video, accompanied by a selection of remarkable photos capture the challenges of exploring the Arctic on a sail boat, and showcase the beauty of nature in one of the world’s harshest environments.

During the winter of 2016/17 an 11m Jeanneau Sun Fast named Barba spent four months exploring the Norwegian Arctic. Led by marine biologist, Andreas B. Heide, and manned by a multinational crew, Barba set sail from Norwegian city, Stavanger, and headed to the outer archipelago of the Tromso region. Here in the pack ice surrounding the North-Pole the crew embarked on an intimate interaction with nature, documenting the extraordinary world of the orca whales that congregate in the thousands in the cold hardened North.

Powered by B&G, Barba was kitted out with an extensive suite of navigation equipment including; Zeus² 9”chart plotter, 4G Broadband Radar, ForwardScan, Autopilot, WR10 remote control& Triton Pilot Controllers. “B&G is pleased to be part of this great endeavor. We understand the importance of navigation and situational equipment working in these extreme conditions”, said Leif Otterson, Navico CEO. Andreas and his crew knew that the selection of their navigation equipment for Barba was paramount to the success of their journey into the extreme elements of the Arctic waters.

Since returning from the expedition Andreas has praised the B&G equipment saying “the uncompromising design and functionality of the B&G navigation electronics was invaluable for sailing in the pack ice surrounding the North Pole. Most importantly, this expedition required us to trust the electronics on board and the B&G equipment never lets us down”.