RX II

Career (Norway)
Name: RX II
Builder: Designed by Jerry Cartwright, built at Oddington Yachts, Newport
Launched: 1977
Notes: NOR 12152
General characteristics
Class and type:Fiberglass yacht
Tons burthen:ca. 9 000 kg displacement
Length:10,97 m LOA
Beam:3,08 m
Draught:1,70 m
Propulsion:Volvo 2030 engine, 30 HP
Complement:Crew of 3

RX II is a 36-foot yacht in which a three-man Norwegian crew circumnavigated the North Pole over two seasons in 2009-2010.

Expedition leader Trond Aasvoll and crew Hans Fredrik Haukland and Finn Andreassen[1][2]left Vardø, Norway, on July 28, 2009, intending to make the first circumnavigation of the North Pole in one season and thereby demonstrate the effects of global warming in making this possible.[3][4][5] The northern sea route proved ice-free and RX II entered the Bering Strait on September 24. The voyage had been projected to take 45 days.[6][7] However, the Russian authorities stopped them in sight of Alaska and required them to sail south to satisfy legal formalities, leaving insufficient time to sail all the way around the Pole in one season.[3][8][9][10] The expedition was interrupted in Nome, Alaska[11][12] and returned to the home base of Arendal to overwinter.[13] However, RX II was the smallest sailboat to sail through the Northeast Passage,[14] and the first Norwegian boat to do so since Roald Amundsen in 1916-1919.

The crew returned to Nome the next summer and left on July 31, 2010. They successfully navigated the Northwest Passage west to east. Haukland had to leave RX II when she reached Greenland and fly back to his job as a firefighter in Alta.[15] However, Aasvoll and Andreassen re-entered Norwegian waters on September 29 after sailing around the northern tip of Scotland,[16] and returned to Arendal on October 9.[17] RX II became the first Norwegian boat to sail both the Northeast and Northwest Passages with the same crew.[13] Later the same year, the Norwegian Northern Passage and the Russian Peter I both completed the circumnavigation in one season.[18]

The 36-foot fiberglass yacht with an open cockpit was designed by Jerry Cartwright and built in 1977.[4][6]

References

  1. ↑ Liv A. S. Pedersen, RX II Rundt Nordpolen, Hans Fredrik Haukland interviewed by Magne Kveseth, TV Nord, April 24, 2009, at Seil magasinet (video) (Norwegian)
  2. ↑ Om mannskapet, RX II, Seil magasinet (Norwegian)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Geir Seljeseth, "Stoppet av bevæpnet russisk kystvakt: Hoderystende sitter mannskapet på tre og ser drømmen om å seile Nordøstpassasjen og Nordvestpassasjen med seilbåten «RX-II» er i ferd med å gå i vasken,", Aftenposten, August 25, 2009 (Norwegian)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Marianne Østby, "I polfarernes kjølvann," Namdalsavisa, August 27, 2010 (Norwegian)
  5. ↑ Round the North Pole: Arctic expedition round the North Pole, through both the Northeast Passage and the Northwest Passage with RX2, Arctic Frontiers.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Three yachtsmen in bid to circumnavigate North Pole," Yachting Monthly, August 10, 2009.
  7. ↑ Korpsmatros rundt Nordpolen!, Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue, July 22, 2009 (Norwegian)
  8. ↑ Aud Refseth, "Oppbragt av russiske grensevakter: Seilbåt med mannskap fra Sørlandet sitter fast i russisk havn. - Vi grein alle sammen, sier skipperen,", Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, August 26, 2009 (Norwegian)
  9. ↑ Benedicte Goa Ludvigsen and Terje Sellevold, "Gir opp seilerdrømmen: Seilere fra Arendal gir opp drømmen om å seile både Nordøst- og Nordvest-passasjen på en sommer," Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, August 31, 2009 (Norwegian)
  10. ↑ Trond Aasvoll, Tøff seiltur, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation video archive; linked at Merete Baalsrud, NRK Sørlandet har laget reportasje om RX II, Seil magasinet, October 26, 2009: "I NRKs reportasje kan du se hvordan RX II tråkler seg gjennom isen og senere blir stoppet av russiske myndigheter." - "In NRK's report you can see how RX II is picking her way through the ice and later is stopped by Russian authorities."
  11. ↑ RX II News in English, Seil magasinet, September 7, 2009.
  12. ↑ Morton Jensen, RX II på land i Nome, Alaska: RX II ligger nå godt forvart på land i Nome, men til neste år fortsetter eventyret: Gjennom Nordvestpassasjen, Seil magasinet, October 7, 2009 (Norwegian)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Mikkel Thommessen, "Nordpolen Rundt med «RXII»: Trond Aasvoll, Hans Fredrik Haukland og Finn Andreassens eventyrlige ferd rundt Nordpolen som den aller første norske seilbåten blir foredrag i Arendal," Seilas, February 10, 2011 (Norwegian)
  14. ↑ Hvem blir North Crew 2009?, Seil magasinet, December 14, 2009 (Norwegian)
  15. ↑ Rune Østlingen, "Fullførte seilbragden", Altaposten September 9, 2010 (Norwegian)
  16. ↑ Finn Andreassen, RX er nå i norsk farvann: Det går mot slutten av en fantastisk tur for RX II, som håper å være i hjemmehavnen Arendal kanskje allerede om et par dager, Prosjekt RX Rundt Nordpolen blog at Seil magasinet, September 29, 2010 (Norwegian)
  17. ↑ Kristoffer B. Fürstenberg and Ingjerd Sørlie, "Hjemkomst etter poltur," Agderposten October 9, 2010 (Norwegian)
  18. ↑ Jon Amtrup, NORTHERN PASSAGE hjemme igjen: Ousland på vei til Oslo, Seil magasinet, October 22, 2010 (Norwegian)

External links