Yacht Silent Sound sets off to transit the North-West Passage

11:40 PM Thu 4 Jun 2009 GMT

'Silent Sound and crew' .

Today is the day that yacht Silent Sound is to depart from Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, to transit the North West Passage and bear witness to the signs of climate change. Under the name of the Open Passage Expedition, they want to reach the Beaufort Sea as the ice opens, which normally occurs in mid- to late-July.

The expedition team, Canadian Cameron Dueck, German Hanns Bergmann, Tobias Neuberger who lives in both Germany and Turkey and Anna Woch originally from Poland, had gathered in Victoria, BC in preparation for their departure. In the last preparations they were adding new electronic equipment - voice communications and GPS mapping technology - kindly provided by Iridium Satellite and Blue Sky Network. They had also been doing research and setting up contacts in the North, as well as buying provisions for the summer.

The goal of this carbon-neutral voyage through the Northwest Passage is to use written word, video and photos to tell the story of how climate change is affecting Arctic communities. Scientific research provides us with facts on how the earth is changing, but their goal is to tell this story in a more creative and emotional way to reach a wider audience.

Open Passage Expedition route - .. .

The journey over the top of Canada is about 7,000 nautical miles long and will take some four months to complete. In each port they will hear the stories of the Inuit and others living in the Canadian Arctic who are most impacted by the changes, and they will then retell these stories to the world.

With only four crew and limited time before the winter ice returns, the Open Passage Expedition will be a gruelling voyage of modern day adventure and discovery.

For full information about Open Passage Expedition, go to the expedition website.

About the North-West Passage:

Since the discovery of the New World, the fabled Northwest Passage had been an elusive dream for explorers and mariners alike. Throughout the grand age of exploration, it remained the ocean's one unattainable prize, luring young men who were seeking wealth and fame to sail north in search of this frozen passage.

Wealthy patrons poured their fortunes into the quest but the only thing they gained was their name on a distant, frozen spot on the map, which few would ever see. Instead, the potential Arctic shortcut from Europe to Asia became an icy graveyard for the hundreds of sailors who, helplessly trapped in the shifting sea ice, died miserable deaths from starvation, scurvy and the bitter cold. Their wooden sailing ships were crushed in the ice and many sank without leaving any clues to the suffering of their men.

In 1906, Roald Amundsen became the first man to sail through the passage. This "shortcut" took him over three years to complete. Despite his success, the ice-choked passage never became the commercial shipping route that early explorers hoped for, and few men could boast of sailing its entire length.

Until now.

Climate change is causing temperatures in the Arctic to rise twice as fast as elsewhere on the globe. The sea ice has melted so rapidly that the Northwest Passage has been open water during the past two summers. The warming climate is forcing Arctic communities and wildlife to adjust their lifestyles to survive.

These changes will enable Silent Sound to embark on a voyage that five years ago was nearly impossible for amateur sailors.

by BW Media