2007 Expedition

An epic journey to an area of Greenland rarely visited, sailing over 1800 nautical miles and navigating gale force nine winds with a crew of creatives and scientists.

boat sailing through heavy ice in Arctic waters

man in a survival suit floats in Arctic water

23 September–10 October 2007
Longyearbyen – Greenland – Iceland
Including Vikram Seth and Marcus Brigstocke

In September 2007 Cape Farewell launched our first youth expedition and fourth Art/Science Expedition. The 2007 Art/Science Expedition was an epic journey sailing over 1800 nautical miles and encountering gale force nine winds. Taking almost three weeks the expedition brought together twenty artists, writers, musicians, comedians and scientists from seven countries around the world, from Australia to Japan, India and the Sahara. This team helped sail the schooner through the seas that hold the key to understanding changes in our weather patterns and climate.

The crew attempted to sail the 78th parallel towards the east coast of Greenland and then south to Scoresby Sund – the world’s largest fjord. However, due to extreme weather and unusual levels of pack ice driven south from the Pole – the Noorderlicht left the 78th parallel after a few days and took a south-westerly route towards Scoresby Sund.

Explore the blog

Follow the epic journey in crew blogs broadcast live from the deck of the ship

Meet the crew

20 artists, writers, musicians, comedians and scientists from across the globe

It was an extremely tough crossing, encountering increasing levels of ice as the team neared Scoresby Sund. On arrival the ice proved too thick to navigate and the team were forced to sail further south visiting smaller fjords, including Turner Sund and Knighton Fjord – an area of Greenland rarely visited. The Noorderlicht completed the expedition by crossing the Denmark straights and arriving in the port of Akureyri, North Iceland after 17 days sailing on 10 October 2007.

“Don’t tell me there’s no point in us doing anything about climate change until China does something about it. There’s a lot of stuff that China doesn’t do that is still well worth our while… Human Rights, Democracy and eating Cheddar. There’s three for a start.”
Marcus Brigstocke 2007

The expedition produced important new scientific data, monitoring the north Atlantic and East Greenland currents. This included:

Research in two 160-mile tracts measuring the temperature and salinity of both the Gulf Stream (Norwegian Current) and the Greenland Current to a depth of 200m. The Gulf Stream seems robust but the team recorded temperatures of 6oC at a depth of 120m
Measuring the polar and glacial ice melt; enormous ice flows were encountered off the coast of Greenland at a position 150 miles further south than recently recorded. 2007 saw the Northern ice cap melt by 25% and there was a strong indication of an accelerated ice melt from the Greenland ice cap
Launching an ARGO float in the Greenland sea, the float sinks to depths of 200m before rising to the surface recording temperature, salinity and density. The data is then sent via satellite to the British Oceanographic Centre and accessible across the world via the met office website. It will be tracked for approximately three years.

The science crew onboard included Dr Simon Boxall from the National Oceanography Centre, marine and coastal geoscientist Dr Carol Cotterill and oceanographer Emily Venables.

The creative team assisted the scientists in gathering the data and engaging in the wider scientific discussion to gain an understanding of how climate change is effecting this Arctic wilderness.

Whilst in East Greenland, the crew spent time exploring Sunds, participating in artistic projects and experiencing the rare phenomenon of a Snap Freeze (rapid freezing of the surrounding waters). Musician Liam Frost recorded songs on the ice and comedian Marcus Brigstocke and Vikram Seth went swimming in the Arctic seas. Visual artist Beth Derbyshire recorded the final part of her Anthem trilogy whilst David Buckland created visuals which were exhibited in Chicago in November 2007.

This expedition was the broadest team of artists Cape Farewell has ever taken to the Arctic. Seven nationalities were represented, including artists from non-English speaking countries: the Toureg singer, Aminatou Goumar from Niger and the theatre and installation artist, Shiro Takatani from Japan. Since their return, all have worked hard on the dissemination of their experience.

Aminatu Goumar, musician and singer
Amy Balkin, artist
Ben Jervey, journalist
Beth Derbyshire, artist
Brian Jungen, artist
Carol Cotterill, geoscientist
Caroline Ross-Pirie, filmmaker
Dan Harvey, artist
Dallas Murphy, author
David Buckland, artist and Cape Farewell Director
Emily Venables, oceanographer
Kathy Barber, artist and designer
Liam Frost, musician
Marcus Brigstocke, comedian
Matt Wainwright, cameraman
Nick Cobbing, photographer
Shiro Takatini, artist
Dr Simon Boxall, scientist
Vicky Long, artist and Cape Farewell Project Director
Vikram Seth, writer

Cape Farewell is a charitable organisation made possible through sponsorship, partnerships and donations. We’d like to thank the following expedition funders, partners and supporters for their generous support in making the expedition possible:

Southbank Centre
Eden Project
British Council
Arts Council England
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
The Bromley Trust
The Ashden Trust
Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Iridium
Toshiba
International Polar Year, 2007
Oceanwide Expeditions
Compton

Visit the expedition blog

Supported by Arts Council England, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The Bromley Trust, The Ashden Trust, Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Iridium, Toshiba and Compton. Proud to partner with Southbank Centre, Eden Project, British Council, National Oceanography Centre: Southampton, International Polar Year 2007/08, Oceanwide Expeditions, Bullet Creative and Initial: an Endemol Company.