The Upside Of Global Warming
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The Upside Of Global Warming
by Tim Zimmermann
Exploring the unknown
There is no question that global warming, on the whole, threatens all sorts of catastrophe for the earth and its inhabitants. But any time there is dramatic change there is also dramatic opportunity. Take the Northwest Passage, which connects the Atlantic and the Pacific. While scientists have been tracking, with growing alarm, the ever-shrinking ice cap, cruising sailors in growing numbers have been exploiting the accompanying increase in open water. Yes, for anyone who has dreamed of sailing the Northwest Passage, global warming is your friend.
Here's a graphic depiction, just released by NOAA, of the shriking Arctic ice cap, which hit a record low this summer:
That video is a harbinger of bad things to come for the planet as a whole. But it also explains why sailor Matt Rutherford was able to become the first to solo circumnavigate the Americas, which was a truly epic voyage, on a level with Chichester and Knox-Johnston.
And earlier this month it allowed three sailors to complete the northernmost voyage ever through the Northwest Passage, on a Monsun 31, built by Hallberg-Rassy in 1976, called Belzebub II.
Here's the route Belzebub II went for:
And here is the description of what they set out to do:
We are attempting a unique route through the Northwest Passage that has never been achieved before. We plan on going much further up the West Coast of Greenland to the highest latitude possible before turning south following the coast of Ellesmere Island, and instead of crossing Devon Island to the south by entering Lancaster Sound to reach Resolute, which is the”traditional route,” we will attempt to pass Devon Island to the North through Jones Sound, then join up with Norwegian bay to meet Northumberland Sound to sail down to Resolute from where we will evaluate the ice charts and if possible continue along the Viscount Melville Sound and attempt to cross the McClure strait.
Now, even with lots of global warming and a record ice shrinkage this year, the question of whether Belzebub II would be able to transit the McClure Strait, and pass north of Banks Island (instead of going south via the safer Prince Of Wales Strait), was fraught with risk. And that's what makes what's happening in the Northwest Passage for sailors so exhilarating and intriguing.
