"What's Left" expedition: Why adventurer Mike Horn wants to be frozen in Greenland
Martin Hager
· 23.02.2024
Why would you want to be frozen in the sea in front of a Greenland glacier for several months?
Quite simply because I've never done it before. I also think that you have to be open to borderline experiences if you want to experience life to its fullest. I'm looking forward to leaving my comfort zone, freezing and feeling uncomfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings in the ice and not knowing what exactly is going to happen. The explorers of a hundred or a thousand years ago did exactly that in their wooden boats, and those adventures are almost non-existent today. The opportunity to experience something I've never experienced before makes me extremely curious, and curiosity is the basis for such expeditions. New experiences like this excite me.
You won't be alone on "Pangaea". How big is the crew, and will there be scientists on board?
The crew consists of me, the deckhand Lucas and my daughter Annika, scientists are not coming on board for the time being. As always, I take care of all the technology on board, as I also built the ship. This includes the maintenance and repair of the engines, generators, hydraulics and electrics and, of course, the rigging. Lucas has never sailed before, but has adventurer genes in him and is hungry for new experiences. He will also be responsible for creating content on board, i.e. video productions and photos. He previously wrote computer programs and realised that life is not just a screen and a keyboard. He soaks up all maritime knowledge and is extremely clever. So we are a perfect team - a young man with an old man who has a bit of adventure experience. My daughter Annika is now 30 years old, she grew up with and on my boat, and sometimes sails it all by herself.
Your boat underwent an extensive refit at Sunreef Yachts in Poland last year. How long did it take and what was done?
The refit took eight months, and during this time Sunreef focussed on making the ship more energy efficient. Now "Pangaea" consumes very little energy.
Was that the most important innovation?
The interior fittings were completely overhauled. The Polish superyacht shipyard renewed the entire sound and thermal insulation, the cabins and the water supply. As you know (Editor's note: Yacht 24/08), I built my boat on a shoestring budget in the slums of São Paulo and launched it 15 years ago. Since then, it has been my home on numerous expeditions. Now it was time to modernise some of the systems. These include controlling the flow of water on board and a system that circulates the hot water so that we don't have to wait minutes for hot water to come out of the tap. The shipyard also helped us with the new registration. We no longer sail under the Brazilian flag but under the Monegasque flag and had to go through the whole Rina classification process. We received support with the stability test, the heeling and safety test and the structural strength test. I couldn't have done it without the shipyard team.
Where exactly will you be frozen?
"Pangaea" is to be encased in ice off Greenland near a glacier, very close to the Arctic Circle at 66 degrees and 30 minutes. It is never warmer than ten degrees there in summer, no trees grow, and this is where the polar bear lives.
They have been waiting to be frozen since mid-November. What is the reason for this, and will there still be enough ice this winter to enclose "Pangaea"?
I very much hope that we will still be frozen this winter. It is still unclear why the sea ice has not yet formed. Various factors such as unusually warm temperatures, wind patterns and ocean currents can influence this. Climate change can of course play a role, but certain events are also influenced by short-term weather fluctuations.
Have you ever been to the Arctic Circle?
Yes, 20 years ago I undertook an expedition in which I followed the Arctic Circle around the world for 808 days without motorised support. On foot and on skis with kite support when we had wind. That was in summer and I wrote in my diary at the time that I would like to return in winter. I had the dream of experiencing the transition from summer to total darkness. And then, of course, to return from the depths of winter to the polar summer. So it's a place I've been to before and always wanted to return to. That's also one reason why the expedition is called "What's Left": I want to see what's left of the beauty I've been able to experience before.
And is the boat safe if it is frozen in the ice?
It's never safe in ice. But the shape of the hull is such that the boat is pushed onto the ice as the pressure increases and the keel can be retracted. The freeboard of my boat is three metres, which is roughly the thickness of the ice. To find the perfect spot to spend the winter, we have to keep a very close eye on where the ice is moving from the nearby glacier. We have to place "Pangaea" in the perfect spot so that it is not crushed by the ice. It is also good to anchor the ship in shallow water, as this prevents the large, deep icebergs from getting close to us.
How do you look after yourself during the six months?
We will first maximise our supplies, including diesel for the generators and the main engine, but also food, of course. We also negotiate with the Inuit for 20 sled dogs.
Would you like to get out on the ice with the huskies?
That's exactly the plan. The Greenland dog is one of a total of four sled dog breeds. The animals are particularly strong-willed and persistent. They want to move and exert themselves. They look at you and seem to say: "Come on now, give me the order to start running and take you somewhere!" Of course, we need sledges and food for the dogs, which the Inuit provide for us. They mainly eat seal meat. We only borrow the dogs for the time on the ice, so everyone gets something out of it. Unfortunately, the Inuit are no longer dependent on their dogs, as they are mostly on snowmobiles.
How far away will the next village be?
We don't want to have to cross more than 30 kilometres of sea ice. We also have to make sure that we can still reach civilisation if the ice breaks up in a heavy storm.
Are you connected to the outside world in the ice?
Today we have Starlink on board, so we can hold team conferences and stream videos, so we are well connected with the whole world. Starlink has changed communication enormously. We can make live videos and Insta stories and share our lives live with our followers. Just recently, we were in the middle of an incredibly impressive aurora borealis. We can now share these images directly with the whole world via social media channels.
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What else is there to discover today when you've been on expeditions for 30 years, sailed around the world 27 times, climbed the world's highest mountains and experienced the most remote regions of the earth?
That's a good question. Fortunately, the "What's Left" expedition is not over when we are released from the ice again. After that, we'll be travelling deeper into the Arctic, then to the Amazon region, Patagonia and Antarctica. Last but not least, northern Siberia and Alaska are on our itinerary.
