Last summer Ella Hibbert set off from Haslar Marina near Portsmouth in southern England alone in her yacht Yeva, intending to circumnavigate the Arctic in a single summer,.

Ultimately that’s not how things turned out, and after assorted trials and tribulations on the way through the Northwest Passage, Yeva spent the winter on Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea. Now that the sea ice is melting in the Chukchi Sea, Yeva has set off for the Bering Strait once again, this time aiming to complete her circumnavigation via the Northern Sea Route along the northern coast of Siberia. Here’s how Yeva’s tracking map looks at the moment:

The latest sea ice concentration map from the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute shows that the way past Wrangel Island is currently blocked by a band of 7-10/10 concentration ice:

Presumably Ella is working on the assumption that further melting will have occurred by the time Yeva reaches the coast of Chukotka?

This summer another yacht is heading for the Northern Sea Route, instead travelling from west to east. Chimera is also crewed by a single sailor, Matt Rutherford. He set off from Aasiaat in Greenland on June 25th, attempting “the first-ever, nonstop, singlehanded, unassisted circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean”.

Chimera’s tracking map on the Ocean Research Project web site shows that Chimera is now crossing the Barents Sea:

Matt now faces a similar problem to Ella. The latest AARI chart shows the usual entry to the Northern Sea Route via the Vilkitsky Strait is currently still blocked by a band of high concentration sea ice.

In this recent video from the Ocean Research Project YouTube channel Matt suggests that he will entering the Laptev Sea by a highly unusual route:

Watch this space!