Without a compass in the ice
An adventurous book written by two hands that tells the great adventure of the first Italians to sail the Arctic route north of the American continent. From the genesis of the idea to its realization, full of unexpected events and adventures.
Easy and exciting to read.
The ibro is accompanied by photographs and maps and historical cards on the exploration of the passage between the two oceans in the Arctic, both east and west, and with the official list of boats that passed through Ámundsen in 2016.
From Review of Anna Lucia Nicosia
Mare Magazine Friday 3 November 2017
If eight thousand two hundred miles of sailing sea seem few to you. Here is the North West passage
Without a compass in the ice , Arctic Adventure is the diary of an epic sailing trip along the Northwest Passage. For the first time in 2012, an all-Italian crew ventured on this prestigious as well as dangerous and treacherous route. The only two members of the expedition to complete the entire journey wanted to reconstruct the stages of the journey. From the technical preparation before departure, which lasted almost five years around the seas between Norway and Svalbard, to its completion in King Cove, after a navigation of eight thousand two hundred miles of sea. It is not a logbook, it is the story of a company that goes far beyond the technical details of navigation.
As often happens on the sea, the journey is inside and out. It is a two-part book. One, that of Commander Nanni Acquarone, technical and authoritative, dry and dry in its development. There is a tender and sincere affection for the boat, the Best Explorer, to the point of making it one of the protagonists of the story. “This year it took us to 80 degrees North, after it had suffered during the winter in the hands of inexperienced and less reliable people. He made me promise that I would never leave it in such hands again ”.
The Commander will not reserve words like this for anyone else. It is always evident in the descriptions of Salvatore Magri and Nanni Acquarone
a vigilant and profound attention to the conditions of the entire crew.
Those who sail and love adventure will appreciate the technical explanations of a navigation to the North Pole, between ice that moves, widens and closes unexpectedly, without a compass, in the almost total absence of GPS and updated and reliable maps. Without stars in endless days, without light in long dark nights. Imposing icebergs. Good eyesight, an echo sounder and organization and a sense of duty in carrying out the assigned tasks, a pinch of good luck, these are the ingredients of success.
The other pen in the book is that of Salvatore Magri. "Excellent travel companion also for the technical part ... serene, calm, available ... invaluable element of emotional stabilization", Nanni Acquarone describes him thus, in a few essential lines that shed light on the importance of the dynamics and balances of crew and the entire trip. Salvatore Magri in his engravings, you will recognize them by italics, colors the story with intimate reflections, small anecdotes, pleasant descriptions at times humorous. They are short brushstrokes, on the places visited, the particularity of the characters met, on daily life and on the aspects of coexistence that lasted five months on the Best Explorer. In his story the journey within himself takes over and gives a profoundly human meaning to the company. The book closes with two important appendices, one dedicated to the representation of the world and the research of the Northwest Passage and the other to the history of maritime exploration in the Arctic regions with the addition of a complete list of expeditions that since 1903, with Amundsen , they attempted the enterprise. The enterprise was so exciting that Commander Nanni Acquarone decided to raise the bar. He is preparing the rest of the journey. From Hiroschima to Tromso skirting Siberia and Russia to complete the circumnavigation of the Arctic in the North East. Funds, financiers, sponsors, a cameraman and experienced crew members who speak Russian are sought. Spread the word ... The determination of the Commander and the interest that the company is beginning to arouse in many operators and companies in the sector, we are sure that it will solve all the technical and economic problems. Hopefully, she will sail shortly before July 2018. Fair wind Best Explorer! You can follow the progress of the organization at this link and buy the book here .
Anna Lucia Nicosia