Jun 29, 2026
Matt Rutherford set off from Aasiaat, Greenland June 25th in effort to circumnavigate the Arctic Ocean solo, nonstop, and unassisted in a Valiant 42 ketch. If he succeeds, he will be the first solo sailor to have done it in one season. Matt has been on the show twice before, and is still the only person to have circumnavigated the Americas solo and nonstop.
We talk about Greenland and Assiat, the port, the people, his route around the Arctic, maximizing the motoring range of a sailboat, wind conditions in the Arctic summer, diesel engines, sleep, currents and ice, the Valiant 42, Baffin Bay, ice and fog, icebergs vs pack ice, fiberglass boats in the ice, ice trends in the Arctic, Russia and their territorial waters, Starlink, Irridium, ice charts, the spirit of exploration, storms in the Arctic, the importance of friends, dragging anchor, williwaws, and more.
photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page
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