The French Polynesian Crossing, Tahiti - Bora Bora 3-4 days/ nights non-stop

An exciting new crossing in the rich paddle culture of French Polynesia.

In the next weeks I will have regular updates with the  gear I am using. Below here are some details about this crossing.

WHEN : May 10-24,  2014, start will be depending on the  Weather conditions.

WHERE: Tahiti – Bora Bora, French Polynesia , +/- 180 miles 

THE CROSSING

Start of the trade wind season, May 2014

A first ever 3-4 day Crossing. This expedition will bring  many challenges; sleeping, eating navigating on the board in wet, windy and wavy conditions .

Again this French Polynesian  crossing will be:

• Solo,
• Non Stop, I will be sleeping, eating and navigate on Board for the entire time.
• Unsupported, I will be doing this trip without any support from outside.

I have been planning this trip the last months. It will be in similar conditions as the 2011 Hawaiian Crossing but with a new expedition board from Starboard and  this time with a dry suit from SUPSKIN for the nights which were wet and very cold on the Hawaiian crossing.

BOARD

For many years now, STARBOARD has been an amazing supporting sponsor. This year again they will supply me with a special board. A prototype for the 2015 Expedition, outfitted wit special adaptations you need on an expedition like this, extra safety lines, front steering system for side wind conditions , water compartments and many other details.

Dry suit

SUPSKIN developed a dry suit with the latest  materials. This suit is salt water proof and still breathes and specially developed for expeditions like this. This very valuable during the nights and essential to stay warm.

Patagonia

Is helping me out with their incredible clothing. Some warm layers under my Dry suit will be all the difference at night.

Sun glasses

Being in the sun for 4 full days it is extremely important to protect your eyes. MAUI JIM provides polarized sunglasses  with super clear view. I Love them

TRACKER

You can follow the whole crossing with a live tracker. This device made by Leodorme sends a signal every 3 hrs of my position and speed. I can even send text messages to send reports and receive weather up dates.

SAFETY on Board

Epirb, (personal Satellite beacon), VHF radio, GPS, back up GPS, maps, Tri color Navigation lights, Life vest, Water maker, 5 gallons of water, food for 7 days, 2^nd paddle, solar panel

CAMERAS

With 3 cameras I will be documenting this crossing on film and photo.

The Arctic Expedition video

I just finished a short inside video of the Arctic Expedition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8hSa1YRx0c
This amazing adventure was an exciting, cold, lonely, frozen and sunny experience I will never forget.
Starboard made it possible.
And Patagonia, Supskin, Maui Jim, Black Project Fins, PocketFuel helped me with essential supplies. Big thanks to all of them.

Back home from the Arctic expedition

After 2 weeks I am back home again. It took me 7 flights and 2 days to get from Aasiaat, Greenland to Maui. 

On this expedition I  made some amazing pictures and I am working on the story of this 'cool' place which will go to the major online and print magazines.

Deciding not to do the crossing probably took me more courage than actually doing the crossing. But I am glad I didn't do it. 

In the week I paddled in Greenland I have seen the condition change radically from relatively warm to icy cold and windy. With the low pressures and the amount of ice it wouldn't have been safe.  Even now I had days with headwinds  were it took me 8 hrs to do 12 mile. Although normally a very fast  board, this  inflatable with the amount of gear I had, just wasn't fast enough for long distances.

This Arctic Expedition was only possible with the help of my main sponsor STARBOARD who supported me over  the years in many ways. 

SUPSKIN made me an amazing comfortable drysuit and PATAGONIA supported me with warm clothing, the warm R5 shirts and pants and the jackets did their job. 

MAUI JIM's sunglasses, this was probably the only place where I wore them 24 hrs a day. 

POCKETFUEL  for tasty food  and Tom Hammerton of BLACK PROJECT for all his help with the weather forecasts.

The icy waters around Ilulissat

Aloha, Bart

Kangaatsiaq, Arctic Tundra.

Today Bart had to decide what his possibilities were, if he would continue paddling south from Kangaatsiaq or call this little village his final destination for his Arctic Expedition.
With the daily mileage he could paddle, it was not possible to make it to Sissimuit. The wind conditions were too unpredictable. Paddling against the head winds with all the weight on the board for the last 2 days wore him out a lot.
The intense lack of sleep took a big toll as well. The transportation options here in the remote Arctic Tundra are very limited. The next airport to get him back to Nuuk, for his flight out of Greenland on Monday, would be Aasiaat. So he needed to find an internet option in a little town with 500 inhabitants and a fisherman who would go North towards Aasiaat.

He found a fisherman who would be on his way to Aasiaat around noon and very friendly people at the local gas station where he could use their internet and find a flight from Aasiaat for tomorrow morning to Nuuk.

So after all those days paddling in Arctic water he is very much looking forward to come back to the warm summer climate of Hawaii. He will return to Maui on Wednesday and then post about his adventure. We will keep you updated.

Thank you very much to all his sponsors for making this incredible expedition possible. STARBOARD, Patagonia, SUPskin and Maui Jim.
Thank you to weatherman Tom Hammerton.
Thank you to all our friends, family and supporters for all the amazing, touching and encouraging emails, text- and Facebook messages from around the world.

"Aluu" from Greenland, Bart

Aloha from Maui, Dagmar and Soleil.

Where is Bart now?

Last night Bart camped on Qepertarsuatsiaq Island. He had a good night sleep and stayed warm, what's the most important for him when he gets some rest from the paddling.
"The ski is still an intense blue, a beautiful little island, but you feel as if you're on the moon. That's the Arctic Tundra, no trees around you, just vegetation composed of mosses, shrubs, lichens and grass. Trees can't grow here as the soil is frozen for most of the year. There must be fresh water close by. A lot of birds are surrounding me."

As I could see on Bart's tracker he paddled further south the whole day, always using the cover of the island chain to escape some head winds. But the wind conditions are changing constantly. For a little while he even had down wind conditions and made between 6-8miles/hour. Greenland is 8h ahead of us. It's almost 9pm here on Maui and I can see that he is resting on the board now, protected in a bay in Kangaatsiaq.

Text message from Bart

I am so happy when I get a message, a text or a satellite phone call from Bart. Even if he is not crossing now he is paddling in a very remote place, the weather conditions are tough, the paddling is hard physical work with all his gear on board. The wind direction changed. He is fighting head winds now. Progress in getting south slowed down a lot. He is paddling now between all the little islands, staying close to shore to be more protected from the changing wind conditions.

His text message: "I won't paddle all the way to Sisimuit. It's not possible with all the changes in the wind direction. I will stay here in this area, camp onshore to get at least a little bit of sleep, and try to cover up that I stay warm during the night. I will explore the area south of Aasiaat."

Bart paddling South

Bart called this morning by satellite phone. He decided yesterday afternoon Greenland time to start paddling South. Tom Hammerton, Hot Sails Designer, is his weatherman and sends him weather reports via the phone. These files showed strong northerly winds changing to southerly winds this afternoon or tomorrow. So Bart needed to start.
The board is very stabile, even with all his gear and water supply. Depending on wind conditions he can make around 3 miles per hour due to all the extra weight.
The sun sets at 1 AM, sunrise directly 45 min. after. That's the arctic summer. In the early morning hours Bart tried to sleep on his board, but it only lasted for 5 min. He got so cold, that he needed to start paddling again. Imagine, he is wearing the most protective clothing there is on the market for this climate, and Bart can't stand the cold? Then it must be very cold. I know Bart and many of you do, so that says something. I can't even imagine to be in that cold weather during the night, even if it doesn't get really dark. When we are in Germany in the winter I wear a long sleeve t-shirt and a sweater and Bart still runs around in a short sleeve t-shirt. Brrrrrr......
He got very seasick and it took him a while to recover from that, but felt fine in the morning when I talked to him. He is now close to Aasiaat Island. I will hear later what he decides to do when the head winds are kicking in.
Go Bart Go!!!!!