The Upside Of Global Warming

We live on a planet where there is very little that is undone, unknown, and unexplored. A planet where it is rare that you can put yourself and your boat in a seascape that is so remote that there is little hope of rescue or assistance, and so unstable and unpredictable that your decisions truly can determine whether you survive or not. That is the essence of advanture, and that is what the sailors of Belzebub II found during their voyage through the Northwest Passage.

 

Here is a video of the decision to go north of Banks Island, with a very narrow ice window:

 

 

You can sense the trepidation and the excitement, because they don't actually know how it will all turn out. When is the last time, if ever, that you experienced those feelings?

 

In the end, they made it through to the Beaufort Sea. But even there, it's not like life got simple. I watch them poking their way into a thick ice floe field and marvel at the audacity and freedom of being aboard a sailboat in that remote wilderness. Suddenly seeing a polar bear only emphasizes the wonder and surprise that can result. 

 

 

I am not in any way endorsing or applauding global warming. I think it is a human-made catastrophe that we are doing way too little to change. But there is no question that changes in the planet mean changes in the places that sailors can dream about. And for the crew of Belzebub II, I have nothing but admiration, and a little (okay, a lot) of envy. What sailor wouldn't want to make a first voyage into the unknown? And what other voyaging opportunities will climate change bring?