Arctic Quest 1831 and 1832 Expedition
2003 saw Dom Mee, former Royal Marine Commando, Maritime Explorer return from his epic maritime adventure Arctic Quest 1831. Dom navigated his rubber boat IDS a 17ft kayak through elements of the North West Passage. Among other achievements Dom completed the mammoth task of reaching the Magnetic North Pole discovered in 1831, the first successful expedition to reach it for 170 years and with good reason!
Undeterred by the harsh conditions Dom Mee returned to the region more recently and has now reports back on his experiences. The team retraced the steps of Sir John Ross, a Victorian explorer who with his crew became trapped in the region in 1829 while searching for the fabled North West Passage. After enduring three harsh Arctic winters in the Gulf of Boothia Sir John and his crew abandoned their ice bound ship in 1832 and headed on foot towards Baffin Bay. The ice had still not moved by 1832 so the crew had to spend a further winter in the ice. They were finally rescued a year later.
The team consisted of five Royal Marines, an historian and a member of the Royal Naval Reserve. Each team member has been chosen for his/her specialist skills in this harsh environment, and one of them, Lieutenant Commander Mark Hankey RNR is a direct descendent of Sir John Ross himself.
Throughout both expeditions Snugpak Equipment was used extensively. Of Snugpak product Mee said, "The Softie osprey was selected as it had a temperature range to comfort in -10°C. The temperature at times in September dropped below -20°C, but the bag coped well. The Softie 12 is now my preferred sleeping bag for expeditions and I fully endorse the use of the Osprey in cold weather expeditions. The Sasquatch jacket proved to be invaluable during the expedition providing warmth in the lowest of temperatures. It is the warmest jacket I have ever had in 15 years of military and expedition experience.”
More information on Dom and his team’s experiences can be found at: http://www.dommee.co.uk/
2006-01-23 |
