The 2nd Annual IR Vacation to Hell- The Baffin to Ellesmere Challenge

About us.....Russell Farrow.

(photo,Russell in the Outer Hebrides,photo by Phil Eccles.)

I can always remember loving the outdoors.As an army brat growing up in different places the one thing I always cherish is being outside, weather playing in the woods in Georgia or diving and climbing in Hawaii I felt being outside and exploring the world around me ,(on any scale) was a natural love of mine.
Most of my adult life I have lived in the Tampa Bay area of Florida , but I have traveled a fair bit over the years. And climbing and Mountain biking as well as paddling have been a big part of my life.
From high school days and even now I have played guitar and bass guitar , it has at times ben my living..I have a gig tonight with my band Sisemore, named after the singer. All original music,if you have seen any of my DVD presentations then you have heard my band.

(photo,Russell playing in March 2008,photo by Joel Rogers)

I am part owner of Sweetwater Kayaks in St.Petersburg Florida, we have recently won "best Kayak Shop in Florida", from the readers of Florida Sports Magazine, for the 5th year in a row!
We rent, and sell kayaks and gear as well as do a lot of teaching paddle skills and do tours , locally and in the Everglades and beyond.
Like the rest of the team I have been lucky enough to paddle some of the worlds special places, Alaska, The San Juan Islands,Wales, Florida , The Outer Banks, The Great Lakes, Labrador, New York City , Mexico, The Outer Hebrides, and the list goes on....
I am married to Claudia who has her own business and we have Buffy "the sandwich slayer" (our dog) and two cats , Sparky and Little Bit. we have a great life..lots of friends that are spread all over the free world. And to whom we are indebted to for being a big part of our great quality of life.( yes Phil you are included in that ,you too Prator.)
Russell

About us - Phil Eccles

Phil - Outer Hebrides 2007

We've been asked if we can add to this Blog some information about ourselves - just in case anyone out there wants to know what kind of person puts themselves forward for the trials and tribulations, the pleasures and the pains, the agony and the ecstasy that this challenge will bring. So I've started the ball rolling withsome personal details. Here goes ...

I'm Phil Eccles and I live and work in North Wales in the United kingdom. I live in a very pretty seaside village called Borth y Gest with some 200 other residents. It's on the Glaslyn estuary and that's the river that flows off Wales' highest mountain - Snowdon. It's a beautiful area and I feel very fortunate to live here. I share a small house some 80 yards from the water with my wife Jo and tabby cat Alison. It's a very quiet village and I have some wonderful neighbours so I think I'll be here for a long time to come. If you are in the area please look us up - we're not that hard to find. I have a couple of NDK Romany kayaks and North Wales has more than its fair share of beautiful and exciting paddling locations.

The village of Borth y Gest

For work - well, technically I am a Deputy Head Teacher at an Outdoor Education Centre called Plas Dol y Moch. (Googling that will give you much more info.) So for much of my time at work I teach young people kayaking, canoeing, mountaincraft, orienteering, underground exploration, campcraft and environmental awareness. Sometimes I work with kids who have Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties so I'm hoping I can keep the boys in line in the Arctic!! I have worked at Plas Dol y Moch for over 23 years so you could say I've settled into the job! Before that I was doing short term contract jobs teaching climbing and kayaking in this country. In between I travelled extensively all over the world for over 2 years.

For pleasure I enjoy all sorts of activities. In the last year, for example, I have been backpacking in Spain's Picos de Europa, cycling in France, mountain biking in Mid Wales, winter mountaineering in Scotland, kayaking in the English Channel Isles, the Outer Hebrides (with Russell), Ireland, Georgia (USA) and Baja California . I love to travel and love to be at home too. A special treat is having good friends around to share a meal (Jo is an excellent chef) some beer or malt whiskey and perhaps a fire in the back yard. Background music would probably have a Celtic bias - perhaps Runrig, Enya and Rory Gallagher depending on the mood.

           Scotland - Easter 2008

I know Team Sweetwater through working on various kayak symposia in the USA and was lucky enough to be with Russell and Alain in Florida in 2003. I can't wait to meet up to begin this adventure. Russell and I meet up regularly at the Sea Kayak Georgia symposium most Octobers.

The atmosphere among Team Sweetwater is positive, mutually supportive and very respectful of each other. Every member brings personal strengths, skills and qualities to our team. It's going to be an amazing journey and perhaps one of life changing imensity. We're working hard getting it all together and we're almost ready.   

Thank you to everyone helping with this venture - Phil

 

 

The kayaks are coming

It was a great pleasure to go and see the kayaks last Friday, the 9th of May, at the NDK workshop on the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales. I chatted with Nigel Dennis and he assured me the four finished boats would be in a container sailing across the Atlantic within two weeks. Nigel was busy with the last couple of days of his really successful symposium. There were top level coaches from all over the world working there and the ones I spoke with were all keen to hear about our trip to the Arctic.

The two Greenlander Pros and two Explorer HVs are very close to completion and they're looking sharp too. The staff in the workshop were extremely helpful and we're optimistic  their craftsmanship will help see us through the trials of this Arctic adventure.

Phil

Devon to Ellesmere.

(Photo;jovial.on.ca
looking north to Ellesmere Island from Devon Island.Mid August)

I spoke with someone in Grise Fiord today. Grise is our endpoint on the south coast of Ellesmere Island.Grise Fiord has the distinction of being the northernmost town in Canada. Population 163. He told me that last year the ice was thick. I asked what was thick and he said they only got one supply ship and it was in September and had to escorted up there by an Icebreaker! He went on to say that one day the sound could be clear and the next you could walk 50 miles across the ice to Devon Island. (photo;jovial.on.ca
this photo is taken in the same place as the above photo the following day .)

I guess his big warning was wind and ice, thats what will get you up here. He told me to call back a couple of days before we head north and he could give me a better idea as what to expect ice wise. Every year is different and with the climate change he has seen over the past few years he doesn't know what to expect. Its actually colder in August now because there is more cloud cover up there.Which of course means with ice breaking up,(because its warmer in the Arctic Ocean west of Ellesmere) and with current and wind pushing it around you can go from an ice free sound to something pretty choked up in a matter of hours.

          The photo below is of the Sverdrup Glacier which is on the north side of Devon Island close to where we hope to come down off the ice cap that covers the east end of Devon. That looks pretty challenging to come down, as we'll be around 3000 feet above sea level to cross the island. We plan to come down a lateral moraine along the side of the glacier. Directly north of this glacier about 50 miles is Grise Fiord our end point.                                                        Russell.   

Its almost freezing.

(Canoe England's , Phil "Foxey" Hadley on the Weeki Wachee River.)

Today is a BIG DAY as Phil is in Anglesy seeing our kayaks for the first time! They have been made for us by Nigel dennis Kayaks,(www.seakayakinguk.com). I can't wait to hear about them!
I noticed that today things are heating up in Pond Inlet as it should get to nearly 30 degrees F! So by the time we arrive in a couple of months it might be fairly ice free. On the other hand we have heard from locals in Pond that the ice doesn't break up until the last week of July.
Russell.....

NORTH WATER Paddle Sports Equipment

KEENO here....

As many of know that follow the BLOG, much of our gear and funding is starting to roll in and we're excited to be testing and becoming familiar with so many new products.  A few weeks ago, Morgan from NORTH WATER was generous enough to send the team an extensive cross-section of safety gear & paddle sports gear that they manufacture.  It's some of the best, well thought out & functional kayak gear available with an intense focus on safety for sea kayakers, white water boaters & commercial raft guides.  As you might expect from gear that is to be used in such demanding, potentially life saving & rigorous commercial applications, it's bomber in construction, quality and attention to detail!

Check out NORTH WATER's extensive line up at this link:  http://www.northwater.com/home.html

I haven't had opportunity to put all of the NORTH WATER gear thru it's paces as of yet, but I knew the Sea Tec Quick Release Rescue Tow Line had my attention from the moment it arrived.  You see, my old tow system was on it's last leg and in need of immediate replacement.  If Morgan would have given me only one choice from the product line....  The Sea Tec Tow Line would of been it!http://www.northwater.com/html/quickrelease_towline.html    

On a slightly separate note:  Over the weekend I participated in the Nashville City Wide Clean Up of J. Percy Priest Lake which hasn't seen any maintenance attention since it's inception in 1968.  When all was "more done than said", over 300 volunteers had removed in excess of 16 tons of trash, bottles, cans, BBQ's, lawn furniture & just junk from 10 different islands. http://www.cleanpercypriest.org/

How does this seemingly unrelated tidbit tie into the North Water Tow System?  Well as you could imagine with 300+ people and over 50+ kayaks & canoes of all sizes and shapes (& one rubber raft with oars), we had a bit of "Pan-da-lerium" at times with the high winds which also attended the Clean up effort (over 30mph & gusting).  One solo canoeist, paddling a tandem canoe with no weight in the bow, was very thankful when I snapped a tow (with permission) on his bow while the kayak group was heading south and he found himself heading West out of control.  Another couple in a tandem canoe was also immediately thankful for the kayak assisted tow in heavy winds to reach home.  All in all, I gave the Sea Tec Rescue Tow Line quite a workout and it performed beautifully.....  I'll have no worries with this piece of gear in the Arctic!

May 4th , 5 degrees F.

Its May 4th and today it going to be around 85 F here in Florida. Looks like Pond inlet will be a few degree's cooler at 5 F. today...wow 80 degrees difference , pretty wild when I think about it,( as I sit here in a pair of stylish shorts and a polo shirt.)
    Last night I went to the Eric Clapton concert wearing ,(for the first time) my Teva shoes...not only were they cool looking they were very comfortable. I look forward to getting them really broken in and starting to wear them during this last stretch of training. They are light and really comfortable. They are lace up approach trainers...that means they are an off road running shoe, very cool.
                                                                                                                                   Russell.

A quick recap.....

(photo,Alain tries on his new pair of Teva shoes!)

Over the past few weeks, I have had more than one person look at the blog site and ask me so....what is it about?
I will clear that up for new comers to the site. Basically there is an expedition grant put out there every year by Immersion Research ...you send in video applications and when you win they tell you where you are going. This year my self and three others won. Team Sweetwater as we are called is. Alain Cormier,(Seen standing in hie blue kayak in the above photo). Alain lives in Zurich Switzerland and is an all around outdoorsman.
Tim Keen , hailing from Nashville Tennessee, well traveled and he and I have done a long trip in Labrador 2005.He is an engineer for GM and is working on a new motor for them.
Originally Mark Prator was on the team ,but had to back out of going with us for reasons we respect and understand.
In to take Marks' slot was Phil Eccles, from north Wales in the UK. He helps run an outdoors centre for the City of Coventry, and so is quite active in outdoors pursuits.(photo below..Phil in Outer Hebrides 2007)

And I live in Clearwater,Florida where I can paddle year round! I have paddled with everyone on the team , but the team has never paddled together. We do have weekly conference calls and e-mail each other almost daily,(sometimes 15 times a day).

(photo,Russell in the Outer Hebrides Sept.2007)

So where we are going is to Pond Inlet on the north side of Baffin Island, we are charged with paddling north from there...across about 60 miles of open water to Devon Island...Sledging our kayaks across the ice cap on Devon,(about 60 miles),then a quick 40ish mile crossing to the south side of Ellesmere Island and ending up in the hamlet of Grise Fiord. It will take about 7 weeks...we will take everything we need with us including solar recharging panels,artic gear,ice gear,guns,food,tents sleeping bags, ect.
Here is a map of the top of the world to give a better idea where we are talkng about. The island to the left of Greenland is Baffin.

Hopefully this will help clear up what this site is about...if not you can ask questions in the comments section....all for now Russell.
(photo,Tim Keen in the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior (2007)...dressed for the Arctic.)

There is only one North

We were hoping to use a tracking device so that our friends and supporters could follow our route. Sadly, we were told that some trackers don't work so far north.

However, that doesn't faze us at Team Sweetwater because Russell has similar genetic attributes as migratory pelagic sea birds. He can take one look at the world around him and sense North. Paddling with him in conditions of virtually zero visibility is quite astonishing.

When the chips are down and you think you're lost Russell , with almost prophetic genius he will tell you, "North is always up, right?"

be prepared...

(photo,Phil outfitted with prototype eye wear)

When you go places you've never been , and those places have different envior"mental" challenges than you are used to. You are wise to listen to people that have local knowledge.
We have been told that once we are on the ice or if we get snow getting snow blind is a real concern. It happens quickly and can take days to recover from. So, with that in mind we approached the people at Loch Faoilem Laboratories in Scotland and told them that we needed them to help us develop ultra light snow goggles. You can see Phil wearing a pair of prototype eye pieces in the photo.
He says that they are so comfortable you hardly even know you have them on!
More to come....Russell.