Arctic Quest 1831

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Tuesday 13 August 2003

Ice.

Well I am underway making good progress north. The Klepper (IDS International) has performed extremely well under the unusually harsh conditions.

I am currently carrying 230kg including IDS and I am making good distance from my starting position. Today however I have encountered severe ice I did manage to pick my way through the first flow, which was around five miles deep after which I continued to make reasonable progress toward Cape Victoria.

Unpredictably I entered a larger moving pack and became trapped for two hours before the freeze opened and thankfully I managed to escape! My troubles were not over then, as I had to find a beach to land my kit and myself in the shifting pack, which was a little tricky! Trust me, this was a very scary moment.

I am so relieved to be on land even though I am currently trapped, and hemmed in by the ice but this could change by the morning.

Finally I am working on a variation to the route, as the Inuit weren’t joking when they told me this is in fact the worst ice that they have experienced for twenty years. I hope to report better news during the next update.

Dom Mee

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For further information please contact:

Adrian Wibrew
07970 759 651 / 01823 461 602

Updated Tue, Aug 16, 2005