They’re facing a vast sea of ice sheets, and they don’t know if they’ll make it through.
That’s the outlook right now for a sailing crew from Seattle that is about to try to conquer the Northwest Passage before circumnavigating all of North and South America.
It’s a risky trip, and it’s all in the name of science.
“We’re trying to say, ‘Look, everything that happens here in the ocean affects everything that happens on land, and certainly the reverse is also true,'” said Mark Schrader, boat captain and project director of Ocean Watch. When we spoke it was 48 degrees and ice was floating by.
The crew set out from Seattle on May 31 in a 64-foot steel cutter. They’re working in connection with the Pacific Science Center to raise awareness of every issue relating to the human effect on our environment, especially the oceans — everything from climate change to overfishing to pollution and water PH levels. Schrader says most people don’t realize how much every little thing they do can influence what’s around them.
“The attitude for too long is, ‘Gosh, the oceans are so big and so vast that how could you possibly hurt it?’ When the truth is that scientists are finding the ecosystem balance is very, very fragile.” A tiny change in the ocean’s temperature could make the Arctic Ocean ice-free within the next 25 years, he said
The most surprising part of their journey so far has been the reaction from students in the communities they visit.
“The interest amongst the K-12 crowd has been phenomenal,” said Schrader. “Being allowed on this boat and seeing what we’re seeing and getting familiar with what life on a little boat is like leads to really great questions back and forth, and a bit of a surprise.”
Right now the crew is in Barrow, Ala., about to break through the ice and attempt to make it through the Northwest Passage before everything begins to freeze over in September.
“By no means certain are we going to make it through in one season. We know that the next five weeks are absolutely critical,” said Schrader.
He said they can probably make it through the first 1,000 miles, but the last 500 will be the challenge. If everything goes right, they’ll be on the other side within the next 6-8 weeks.
If some things go wrong, they’d have to try to pull into an inlet and some people would have to stay there until next summer when the ice begins to melt again.
“Not everyone would stay on board the boat, we’d hopefully take turns,” he said.