Expeditions Unlimited blog
In preparation for what would become a world first, the explorer Gilles Elkaïm carried out an extraordinary voyage, from Iceland to the Bering Strait, almost half a circumnavigation of the Arctic by way of Thule and the Northwest Passage, an adventure in the spirit of the polar expeditions and extreme adventure travel that Expeditions Unlimited continues to keep alive.
The Arktika project: preparing for a world first
After his remarkable journey along East Greenland, in which a few participants took part, the vessel Arktika had returned to Iceland. Her captain, the explorer Gilles Elkaïm, had then resumed his dog-sledding expeditions in Finnish Lapland.
In preparing for his next Arctic drift expedition, Gilles was moving closer to his point of departure, the New Siberian Islands. To do so, he devised a voyage in several stages that was destined to go down in the annals of adventure travel: setting off from Iceland, rounding the southern tip of Greenland and sailing up the west coast to Thule, then navigating through the legendary Northwest Passage before finishing with the crossing of the Bering Strait. In all, 5,000 nautical miles and nearly half a circumnavigation of the Arctic; a successful stage, which would be completed the following year by the Northeast Passage, thereby achieving the first full Arctic circumnavigation.
Arktika: an exceptional expedition
The voyage: half a circumnavigation of the Arctic, 5,000 nautical miles, nearly 10,000 km.
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From Iceland to the east coast of Greenland, from Cape Farewell to Thule, the edge of the world in Greek mythology, and a stronghold of the polar Inuit.
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The Northwest Passage. For three centuries, at the cost of many shipwrecks and lives lost, explorers sought the northern sea route linking the Atlantic to the Pacific along the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Alaska. The passage was first navigated by Roald Amundsen aboard the Gjøa, between 1903 and 1906.
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Between Asia and America, through the Bering Strait, the Diomede Islands and the Seward Peninsula, a landmark of the gold rush.
Challenge, adventure and ethics
The challenge: few vessels dare to take on this maze of ice, at once mesmerising and terrifying. The sturdiness of the Arktika made it possible to rise to the challenge. Her shallow draught and her ability to ground herself allowed navigation right along the coastline and access to exclusive anchorages.
The adventure: in the intimacy of a small group (5 participants maximum), the crew explored the wildest reaches of the Arctic, coasting along pristine shores and living off the land, in harmony with nature through fishing, hunting and gathering. The boat served as a base camp, from which the group ventured out by sea kayak or on foot, depending on ice conditions, the weather and the participants' fitness. No sailing experience was required: the boat handled the logistics and accommodation.
The spirit of Arktika: these cruises focused on discovering and learning the ways of wildlife in the Far North. Exclusive journeys, part reconnaissance and part expedition; true polar adventures, at once maritime, terrestrial and glacial undertaken in the company of one of the most renowned explorers of the Far North.
Northwest Passage crossing ski manhauling in the Canadian Arctic
A sea kayaking adventure with the whales of Disko Bay
