Solo expedition: British woman sets off on historic Arctic circumnavigation
Morten Strauch
· 26.05.2025
The planned route, which is expected to take five months, will take the Briton across the north of Iceland, past southern Greenland, through Canada and the north of Alaska before sailing back to Norway through Russian waters. Ella Hibbert could be the first person to circumnavigate the Arctic Circle alone, conquering both the Northwest and Northeast Passages in a single voyage.
According to the 28-year-old, it is exciting to make history, but worrying at the same time, as this solo expedition is only possible because of the dwindling ice. "It will be a bittersweet record," she explained, "because if I can do it in one season, it will prove that the Arctic no longer has the ice cover it should have."
Scientists predict that there will be no more Arctic ice in the summer months by 2050. "I could possibly sail from Scotland to Tokyo in almost a straight line in the summer before I turn 50. The thought of the North Pole physically no longer existing is deeply upsetting."
Three years of preparation went into this ambitious project, including intensive training, fundraising and the search for sponsors. After the trip, she plans to auction off her 38-foot steel-hulled ketch and donate the proceeds to conservation organisations to give something back to the Arctic.
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Accompanied by the British Scientific Exploration Society and the International Seakeepers Society, the voyage will also serve scientific purposes. Hibbert will survey the seabed to provide data for previously undocumented areas of the Seabed 2030 project. In addition, the documentary film production company Ocean Films will film her journey to visually record the changes in the sea ice.
During her solo expedition, she will have to contend with a constant lack of sleep; more than 20-minute intervals will not be possible in the Arctic waters. Other challenges may include polar bears, extreme weather conditions, massive waves, freezing temperatures down to minus 30 degrees Celsius, snow accumulations on deck, icebergs and rapidly drifting sea ice. "In the Arctic you experience all kinds of weather, you can't really prepare for it until you're there," she says. "It's both unpredictable and extreme."
Dinghy, superyacht, solo expedition: Hibbert's nautical career
Ella Hibbert, born in Germany, grew up as part of a military family and spent most of her childhood in England and France. From an early age she sailed small dinghies near Ipswich and later with her family in the Mediterranean. She left home at 18, lived briefly in Australia and then worked as a divemaster on superyachts for four years, which gave her the opportunity to sail and dive worldwide.
After returning to the UK, she focussed intensively on sailing and achieved the RYA Yachtmaster Instructor qualification at the age of 25. Since then she has been working towards her dream of undertaking a solo expedition to the Arctic. In 2022, she purchased a 38-foot steel-hulled ketch called "Yeva" and invested several years in converting it for the expedition.
