Great News from the Twister - Pouncer! I got a bit worried when I heard that Charlotte may have to seek shelter from a gale to avoid entering Archangel before her visa had started but she decided to press on and instead of being reprimanded was given a rapturous reception and all the Russians were wonderfully helpful. She has been joined by Svarte and Hugo and should be well ensconced into the canal to St Petersburg. I am hoping we can twist her arm into giving us a Arthur Beale talk when she is next in the UK.
Guilluame is skippering the Boreal Expedition and arrived safely in Svalbard. Sadly his adventurous plans to circumnavigate were thwarted by bad ice conditions. I expect he is having some grand cruising nevertheless.
Frances and Gareth have arrived in Longyearbyen in their Halberg Rassy called Hal. They are enjoying their voyage. There is a link to their blog on the links section and it is well worth a read.
I heard from Magnus the other day and he is skippering a yacht called Northabout to Spitsbergen as a shakedown cruise in preparation for a delayed circumnavigation of the North Pole next year. They will be setting off soon from Bristol to Lerwick then probably Tromso before arriving mid August in Longyearbyen.
Arthur Beale's has a long tradition of supplying adventurous sailors and climbers including Shackleton who signed for his parcel in St Katharine Docks (we still have the delivery note) just as sailors do today. We are keen to promote this side of the business and would love to hear from anyone heading to the high latitudes in their yachts.
