British woman setting sail to break Arctic record made possible by melting ice

South Wales Argus

23-05-2025

Ella Hibbert, a Yachtmaster sailing instructor based in the Solent, will leave the Haslar Marine in Gosport on Saturday afternoon, travelling towards Iceland and Norway, where she will officially begin the 10,000-mile journey alone on her boat Yeva.
The route, expected to take five months, passes over the north of Iceland, down around southern Greenland, up through Canada and across the north of Alaska before a long leg through Russian waters back to Norway.
Ms Hibbert is thought to be the first ever person to attempt a solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle, completing both the northwest and northeast passages in a single trip.
While the 28-year-old said the prospect of making history is 'exciting', it goes hand-in-hand with the disturbing reality that the journey should not be feasible.
Ella Hibbert, from Portsmouth, sailing on Yeva. (Adrian Le Roux)
'It will be a bittersweet record to achieve because if I make it all the way round in a single season, it will prove that the Arctic no longer has the ice covering that it is supposed to,' she told the PA news agency.
'I'm trying to achieve something that I don't actually want to be achievable. It's a hard one to wrap your brain around.
'I will not be sailing over the finishing line popping bottles of champagne.'
Reflecting on scientific projections that there will be no Arctic ice during the summer months by 2050, Ms Hibbert said: 'I could circumnavigate the ice this year but before I'm 50 years old, I could hypothetically sail a straight line almost from Scotland to Tokyo in summer.'
'The North Pole physically would no longer be there, which is harrowing, crazy stuff,' she said. 'I wanted to see it for myself before we lose it'.
Ms Hibbert plans to auction off the boat once she finishes the trip, donating proceeds to conservation charities as a way to give back to the Arctic for the time she spent there.
To showcase the impact of climate change, the trip is also being used as a research opportunity – with endorsements from the British Scientific Exploration Society and the International Seakeepers Society.
A route map for Ella Hibbert's journey (Ella Hibbert)
Ms Hibbert will be recording depth soundings of the sea bed as she travels, gathering data on areas that currently have no depth readings for the Seabed 2030 ocean mapping project.
Documentary production firm Ocean Films has also installed cameras on the boat to help Ms Hibbert capture the highs and lows of her journey and shoot the decline in sea ice she encounters for a feature.
During the voyage, the 28-year-old will likely face severe sleep deprivation and will only be able to sleep for 20 minutes at a time once she hits the Arctic Circle.
Other challenges she has prepared for include hostile wildlife such as polar bears, unpredictable conditions, huge waves, wind chills down to minus 30C, snow build-up on deck, icebergs and fast-moving sea ice.
'It's not something that you can prepare for until you're there in it, and there's all sorts of weather around the Arctic. It's both unpredictable and and extreme,' she said.
Ella Hibbert said breaking the record will be 'bittersweet'. (Jake Morgan)
Ahead of 'slipping lines' between noon and 1pm on Saturday, Ms Hibbert said it has been 'all hands on deck' with final arrangements.
'We're looking good to go on Saturday. Unfortunately the weather is not looking the best but I'm very much looking forward to getting out there and getting gone,' she said.
'It's been a long time in the making so just feeling very ready, trying not to feel too stressed, looking forward to it.'
Ms Hibbert has spent three years getting the project off the ground, campaigning, training, finding sponsors, reaching out for advice from sailors such as Kirsten Neuschafer and Ben Shepton as well as finding, crowdfunding, buying and fitting out Yeva.
But her sailing journey stems back to childhood when her father first put her in a dingy near Ipswich, before the family moved to the south of France where they spent the summer sailing to Corsica.
Ms Hibbert first worked on super yachts but began her sailing career in earnest when she was 24 years old and completed qualifications such as her yacht master offshore, yacht master instructor and cruising instructor certificates.
'I've always known that once I had an idea of what I wanted to do, I'll give it 110% and throw myself into it,' she said.
'I'm sure I'd be nervous and scared at some points during the trip itself, but at the moment, it's just the buzzing excitement really.'