Sailor Ella Hilbert, 28, aims to go solo around the Arctic in a bid of raise awareness about the devastating impact global heating is having on the ice caps
Intrepid Ella Hilbert will later this month embark on a bid to complete the first solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle – but passionately wishes the record wasn’t there to be broken. Far from seeking personal fame, the 28-year-old sailor is hoping to overcome the daring challenge, which means navigating icebergs and polar bears to show the devastating impact the climate crisis is having on the planet.
She said: “If successful, it will be a bittersweet moment for me. On the one hand, I will have achieved a record, but on the other hand, it is a journey that should not be possible, and it will prove that the Arctic, which is currently warming two to three times faster than the rest of the world, no longer has the ice covering that it once did.”
Her attempt to make history will see her embark on her 10,000-mile journey on May 24, taking her north from Portsmouth around Iceland and Greenland, through the Northwest Passage, and across to Russia, Canada and Alaska before returning home. Ella hopes to complete the expedition by October.
“It is difficult enough to mentally wrap your head about potentially being the first person to achieve a world record but the fact it shouldn’t be happening at all is quite a harrowing thought,” she said.
“Scientists now are estimating that in the summer months the Arctic Ocean could be entirely ice-free throughout the summer, meaning that hypothetically before I’m 50 I could sail from Scotland to Tokyo in a straight line across the top of the Arctic ocean.
“It is part of the reason that I don’t have children and won’t have any. We have no idea of what future we’re leaving them to.”
Ella previously worked for four years as a divemaster in Australia where she first witnessed the devastating impact the climate crisis was having on the planet.
She said: “Seeing first-hand the unimaginable scale of coral bleaching in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the global degradation of our oceans really brought home for me the need to act for our planet and raise awareness of climate change.”
While the world as a whole has warmed by around 1.2C since the start of the industrial revolution, the Arctic has warmed by around 3C, with devastating impacts.
Right now, the Greenland ice sheet is disappearing four times faster than in 2003 and already contributes 20% of current sea level rise. How much and how quickly these Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets melt will determine how catastrophic the sea levels rise will be in the future.
Ella, who lives in Portsmouth, Hamps, bought her 38ft sailboat Yeva, which means Eve in Russian, and has spent the last two years kitting it out in preparation. She hopes to see an elusive narwhal – a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic – and a polar bear on her journey.
She said: “I am auctioning the boat when I get back and the proceeds are going to Polar Bears International and Ocean Conservancy. So it would be amazing to see one of the animals that we’re trying to support.
“But sadly the main reason I might spot one is due to their natural habitat melting as a result of global warming. They’re being pushed that much closer to land than being out on ice where they should be.”
It is estimated the expedition will take five to six months to complete but Ella says she will be carrying enough food to last her just over eight months. She will also have a desalination unit on board.
She said: “We’ve converted one of the water tanks into a fuel tank so I could run the heater for longer, stuff like that, so if the worst did come to worst, I’d be self-sufficient enough to be iced into a bay without having to put anyone at risk of trying to come and get me and be able to sit it out.”
Last year she took Yeva on a solo voyage across the North Sea to Svalbard, Norway during a heatwave which saw the island hit its warmest temperature on record. Despite her efforts to prepare herself physically, she admits it won’t be without its unique challenges.
Ella said: “Navigating such a perilous environment alone is going to be demanding. Not being able to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time for parts of the trip to avoid drifting and crashing is also going to be a huge challenge. Getting all the various visas, including a Russian one, was also tricky.
“But I am ready to tackle whatever is thrown at me. If I do manage to sail the whole way around the Arctic and back, it will prove the scale of the environmental catastrophe facing all of us and the need for urgent action.”
Follow Ella’s journey at https://ellainthearctic.co.uk/.