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North Pole hovercraft expedition |
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In April 2009 Simon Marshall and Alex Henney will attempt to become the first people in history to travel to one of the world’s poles by hovercraft. The route will be from Resolute Bay, Cornwallis Island (74°42’N 94°50’W) in Nunavut, Canada to the last certified position of the Magnetic North Pole in sea ice close to Deer Bay, Ellef Rignes Island (78°35.7’N 104°11.9’W).
The route in a straight line is approximately 320 nautical miles but given the likely terrain and the limits imposed as to the height of ice rubble that the craft will be able to negotiate, the journey is likely to be in the region of 500 miles in each direction. It is expected that the round trip will take around nine to ten days but this is very much dependent on weather conditions as the hovercraft will not be able to travel in conditions of poor visibility. The temperature is likely to be in the region of -25°C and the team are likely to encounter a very real threat from polar bears. They will also need to negotiate large areas of broken ice, some of it as tall as a house, that could easily cause terminal damage to the hovercraft. The teamare hoping to raise significant amounts ofmoney for their chosen charity, BARB, which provide volunteer hovercraft rescue services in the Somerset area. BARB use the same hovercraft as the teamwill be using and are providing training and familiarisation prior to departure to the Arctic in April 2009.
To make the expedition happen Simon and Alex need to raise £50,000 in sponsorship. As this is the first attempt of this kind in history there has already been a lot of interest from the press and they are in discussion with some of the major TV channels about making a documentary about the expedition. For further information go to the expedition website: www.hovercrafttothepole.com
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