Chinese skipper Guo Chuan will start his Arctic Ocean world record challenge on Aug. 14, 2015.(Xinhua)
LA TRINITE SUR MER, France, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese skipper Guo Chuan will leave France and start his Arctic Ocean world record challenge on Friday.
On April 5 of 2013, Guo returned to the northeastern port city of Qingdao, his home town, becoming the first sailor from China to complete a non-stop solo circumnavigation of the globe after a gruelling 138-day, 21,600-nautical-mile voyage.
Now the skipper sets his eyes on another record. Guo and other 4 top sailors from Russia, France, Britain and Norway respectively, will reach the Murmansk port (68"58' N and 33"05' E) in northern Russia and set sail in early September of this year aboard the super Trimaran IDEC named "Qingdao.China" from the Russian port. They will go through the Barents Sea, White Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea in the south of the Arctic Ocean through the Northeast Passage without any stop or extra-supply, and finally reach the destination, namely Provideniya (64"25' N and 173"13' W) on the Bering Strait of Russia.
The first world record on this route will be then created. This navigation covers 3,300 nautical miles (6112 km) all within the Russian territory and will last for about 15 days.
"Even five years ago, this navigation is regarded as a big risk as the route is full of ice. But due to global warming, we have a chance now." said Guo. But they still might meet unexpected difficulties.
Last September, Guo Chuan and his team submitted the application to the World Speed Sailing Record Committee (WSSRC) of the International Sailing Federation for this world record challenge, and soon they received the written approval. They will set the first world record of multiple-person non-stop navigation through the Northeast Passage of the Arctic Ocean once the navigation is completed.
After that, 50-year-old Guo will sail the trimaran southwards through the Bering Strait, and is expected to return to Qingdao in late September or early October this year.
Then Guo will set sail on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. In late October, they will commence another voyage with the slogan of "Sailing with Blue Dream, Sailing on Silk Road" . The fleet plans to berth at 3 domestic cities, namely, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and 6 international cities, including Singapore, Colombo (Sri Lanka), Mumbai (India), Alexandria (Egypt), Southampton (Britain) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands).
The navigation aims to promote Qingdao as the Sailing City of China and enhance sports, culture and tourism exchanges with the countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road. The whole navigation is expected to last for 60 days."
In the past weeks, Guo Chuan has been training in France where he did some adjustment and maintenance work, and warmed up with the rest of the crew.
Very pleased to have such a strong team, Guo said: "We have spent two years building the team, finally now we get all six crews on the trimaran. Every crew are among the most excellent in sailing industry, but everyone keeps humble and easy-going."
To record this historic voyage and witness another new world sailing record, Guo's strategic partner Demedia will finance production of a documentary temporarily named as "Chuan' s Ocean".
The documentary will be directed by the famous British historian and documentary filmmaker Stuart Binns, who won over 30 international awards for factuals. It will be produced into a movie, documentary series and video clips and released in over 40 countries and regions.
"This documentary will not only record my sailing stories, but also all about the team. It is the first time that a trimaran bearing the name of a Chinese city 'China Qingdao' was led by a Chinese skipper with an international team to challenge a world record in North Pole," said Guo.
"Therefore, regardless of the results of this challenge, this documentary will witness the courage and determination of Chinese sailing to explore the world," he added.
