Latest news with #Erebus
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The Advertiser
Why James Courtney cried after Supercars podium finish
James Courtney has already won a Supercars championship, but it was his third-place finish in Perth that brought him to tears. The 2010 champion finally ended his two-year podium drought with a spirited drive in the final sprint race at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday. After qualifying 13th, the 44-year-old had found himself in a position to vie for the podium when Erebus rookie Cooper Murray brought out the yellow flag in the final 20 laps of the 200km race. Murray's Chevrolet Camaro had come to a sudden halt after a mechanical failure. Courtney showed his experience in the Blanchard Racing Team car and overtook in-form drivers Cam Waters and Ryan Wood to follow second-placed Matt Payne to the podium. Championship leader Broc Feeney took back-to-back victories, but his feat was largely overshadowed by fan favourite Courtney's first podium since 2023 - claimed at the same racetrack. Courtney was driving for Tickford when he last finished in the top three. His last race win was in 2016. Well aware it's been a long time between drinks, Courtney says his podium finish is made even more special after "head-scratching and soul-searching" following dismal bottom-five results in New Zealand. He gifted Blanchard Racing their first podium result since the team's entry in 2021. Courtney wasn't the only driver to break through for a milestone, with second-year racer Wood claiming his first career win earlier in the weekend. "I couldn't have been prouder of everyone. I got so emotional," Courtney said. "I felt like I probably looked like Woody with his first win, but it was me crying for a third. "It's been pretty dark without the lights on for a while, but we've managed to get the headlights back up and heading in the right direction. "It's like being an alcoholic. You have to admit that, yeah, you've got a problem before you can fix it." Team principal Tim Blanchard was just as relieved. "The last 12 months since going to two cars has been a real struggle," Blanchard said. "We've had some really challenging times. At times, we question why we're doing this. "James kept making me come back." Confident his best hasn't left him yet, Courtney is bent on finishing his final full-time season on a high. The western Sydney product is set for life as a real estate agent after calling time on his career last year. He made his debut in 2005 for Holden Racing Team as a co-driver before joining full-time the following season for Stone Brothers Racing Courtney hasn't ruled out returning to co-driving. "Might just mic drop it and never be seen again," Courtney joked. "To be able to hopefully finish on a high and walk away from it when you're competitive, I don't want to be that guy where everyone's quietly saying, 'You need to pack it in'. "I can pretty comfortably take off my hat at the end of this, happy with what I've done, and don't feel that I haven't achieved or need to do anything more." Supercars heads to Darwin next from June 20 to 22, with Feeney holding a 72-point lead over reigning champion Will Brown. James Courtney has already won a Supercars championship, but it was his third-place finish in Perth that brought him to tears. The 2010 champion finally ended his two-year podium drought with a spirited drive in the final sprint race at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday. After qualifying 13th, the 44-year-old had found himself in a position to vie for the podium when Erebus rookie Cooper Murray brought out the yellow flag in the final 20 laps of the 200km race. Murray's Chevrolet Camaro had come to a sudden halt after a mechanical failure. Courtney showed his experience in the Blanchard Racing Team car and overtook in-form drivers Cam Waters and Ryan Wood to follow second-placed Matt Payne to the podium. Championship leader Broc Feeney took back-to-back victories, but his feat was largely overshadowed by fan favourite Courtney's first podium since 2023 - claimed at the same racetrack. Courtney was driving for Tickford when he last finished in the top three. His last race win was in 2016. Well aware it's been a long time between drinks, Courtney says his podium finish is made even more special after "head-scratching and soul-searching" following dismal bottom-five results in New Zealand. He gifted Blanchard Racing their first podium result since the team's entry in 2021. Courtney wasn't the only driver to break through for a milestone, with second-year racer Wood claiming his first career win earlier in the weekend. "I couldn't have been prouder of everyone. I got so emotional," Courtney said. "I felt like I probably looked like Woody with his first win, but it was me crying for a third. "It's been pretty dark without the lights on for a while, but we've managed to get the headlights back up and heading in the right direction. "It's like being an alcoholic. You have to admit that, yeah, you've got a problem before you can fix it." Team principal Tim Blanchard was just as relieved. "The last 12 months since going to two cars has been a real struggle," Blanchard said. "We've had some really challenging times. At times, we question why we're doing this. "James kept making me come back." Confident his best hasn't left him yet, Courtney is bent on finishing his final full-time season on a high. The western Sydney product is set for life as a real estate agent after calling time on his career last year. He made his debut in 2005 for Holden Racing Team as a co-driver before joining full-time the following season for Stone Brothers Racing Courtney hasn't ruled out returning to co-driving. "Might just mic drop it and never be seen again," Courtney joked. "To be able to hopefully finish on a high and walk away from it when you're competitive, I don't want to be that guy where everyone's quietly saying, 'You need to pack it in'. "I can pretty comfortably take off my hat at the end of this, happy with what I've done, and don't feel that I haven't achieved or need to do anything more." Supercars heads to Darwin next from June 20 to 22, with Feeney holding a 72-point lead over reigning champion Will Brown. James Courtney has already won a Supercars championship, but it was his third-place finish in Perth that brought him to tears. The 2010 champion finally ended his two-year podium drought with a spirited drive in the final sprint race at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday. After qualifying 13th, the 44-year-old had found himself in a position to vie for the podium when Erebus rookie Cooper Murray brought out the yellow flag in the final 20 laps of the 200km race. Murray's Chevrolet Camaro had come to a sudden halt after a mechanical failure. Courtney showed his experience in the Blanchard Racing Team car and overtook in-form drivers Cam Waters and Ryan Wood to follow second-placed Matt Payne to the podium. Championship leader Broc Feeney took back-to-back victories, but his feat was largely overshadowed by fan favourite Courtney's first podium since 2023 - claimed at the same racetrack. Courtney was driving for Tickford when he last finished in the top three. His last race win was in 2016. Well aware it's been a long time between drinks, Courtney says his podium finish is made even more special after "head-scratching and soul-searching" following dismal bottom-five results in New Zealand. He gifted Blanchard Racing their first podium result since the team's entry in 2021. Courtney wasn't the only driver to break through for a milestone, with second-year racer Wood claiming his first career win earlier in the weekend. "I couldn't have been prouder of everyone. I got so emotional," Courtney said. "I felt like I probably looked like Woody with his first win, but it was me crying for a third. "It's been pretty dark without the lights on for a while, but we've managed to get the headlights back up and heading in the right direction. "It's like being an alcoholic. You have to admit that, yeah, you've got a problem before you can fix it." Team principal Tim Blanchard was just as relieved. "The last 12 months since going to two cars has been a real struggle," Blanchard said. "We've had some really challenging times. At times, we question why we're doing this. "James kept making me come back." Confident his best hasn't left him yet, Courtney is bent on finishing his final full-time season on a high. The western Sydney product is set for life as a real estate agent after calling time on his career last year. He made his debut in 2005 for Holden Racing Team as a co-driver before joining full-time the following season for Stone Brothers Racing Courtney hasn't ruled out returning to co-driving. "Might just mic drop it and never be seen again," Courtney joked. "To be able to hopefully finish on a high and walk away from it when you're competitive, I don't want to be that guy where everyone's quietly saying, 'You need to pack it in'. "I can pretty comfortably take off my hat at the end of this, happy with what I've done, and don't feel that I haven't achieved or need to do anything more." Supercars heads to Darwin next from June 20 to 22, with Feeney holding a 72-point lead over reigning champion Will Brown.
West Australian
2 days ago
- Automotive
- West Australian
Why James Courtney cried after Supercars podium finish
James Courtney has already won a Supercars championship, but it was his third-place finish in Perth that brought him to tears. The 2010 champion finally ended his two-year podium drought with a spirited drive in the final sprint race at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday. After qualifying 13th, the 44-year-old had found himself in a position to vie for the podium when Erebus rookie Cooper Murray brought out the yellow flag in the final 20 laps of the 200km race. Murray's Chevrolet Camaro had come to a sudden halt after a mechanical failure. Courtney showed his experience in the Blanchard Racing Team car and overtook in-form drivers Cam Waters and Ryan Wood to follow second-placed Matt Payne to the podium. Championship leader Broc Feeney took back-to-back victories, but his feat was largely overshadowed by fan favourite Courtney's first podium since 2023 - claimed at the same racetrack. Courtney was driving for Tickford when he last finished in the top three. His last race win was in 2016. Well aware it's been a long time between drinks, Courtney says his podium finish is made even more special after "head-scratching and soul-searching" following dismal bottom-five results in New Zealand. He gifted Blanchard Racing their first podium result since the team's entry in 2021. Courtney wasn't the only driver to break through for a milestone, with second-year racer Wood claiming his first career win earlier in the weekend. "I couldn't have been prouder of everyone. I got so emotional," Courtney said. "I felt like I probably looked like Woody with his first win, but it was me crying for a third. "It's been pretty dark without the lights on for a while, but we've managed to get the headlights back up and heading in the right direction. "It's like being an alcoholic. You have to admit that, yeah, you've got a problem before you can fix it." Team principal Tim Blanchard was just as relieved. "The last 12 months since going to two cars has been a real struggle," Blanchard said. "We've had some really challenging times. At times, we question why we're doing this. "James kept making me come back." Confident his best hasn't left him yet, Courtney is bent on finishing his final full-time season on a high. The western Sydney product is set for life as a real estate agent after calling time on his career last year. He made his debut in 2005 for Holden Racing Team as a co-driver before joining full-time the following season for Stone Brothers Racing Courtney hasn't ruled out returning to co-driving. "Might just mic drop it and never be seen again," Courtney joked. "To be able to hopefully finish on a high and walk away from it when you're competitive, I don't want to be that guy where everyone's quietly saying, 'You need to pack it in'. "I can pretty comfortably take off my hat at the end of this, happy with what I've done, and don't feel that I haven't achieved or need to do anything more." Supercars heads to Darwin next from June 20 to 22, with Feeney holding a 72-point lead over reigning champion Will Brown.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Why James Courtney cried after Supercars podium finish
James Courtney has already won a Supercars championship, but it was his third-place finish in Perth that brought him to tears. The 2010 champion finally ended his two-year podium drought with a spirited drive in the final sprint race at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday. After qualifying 13th, the 44-year-old had found himself in a position to vie for the podium when Erebus rookie Cooper Murray brought out the yellow flag in the final 20 laps of the 200km race. Murray's Chevrolet Camaro had come to a sudden halt after a mechanical failure. Courtney showed his experience in the Blanchard Racing Team car and overtook in-form drivers Cam Waters and Ryan Wood to follow second-placed Matt Payne to the podium. Championship leader Broc Feeney took back-to-back victories, but his feat was largely overshadowed by fan favourite Courtney's first podium since 2023 - claimed at the same racetrack. Courtney was driving for Tickford when he last finished in the top three. His last race win was in 2016. Well aware it's been a long time between drinks, Courtney says his podium finish is made even more special after "head-scratching and soul-searching" following dismal bottom-five results in New Zealand. He gifted Blanchard Racing their first podium result since the team's entry in 2021. Courtney wasn't the only driver to break through for a milestone, with second-year racer Wood claiming his first career win earlier in the weekend. "I couldn't have been prouder of everyone. I got so emotional," Courtney said. "I felt like I probably looked like Woody with his first win, but it was me crying for a third. "It's been pretty dark without the lights on for a while, but we've managed to get the headlights back up and heading in the right direction. "It's like being an alcoholic. You have to admit that, yeah, you've got a problem before you can fix it." Team principal Tim Blanchard was just as relieved. "The last 12 months since going to two cars has been a real struggle," Blanchard said. "We've had some really challenging times. At times, we question why we're doing this. "James kept making me come back." Confident his best hasn't left him yet, Courtney is bent on finishing his final full-time season on a high. The western Sydney product is set for life as a real estate agent after calling time on his career last year. He made his debut in 2005 for Holden Racing Team as a co-driver before joining full-time the following season for Stone Brothers Racing Courtney hasn't ruled out returning to co-driving. "Might just mic drop it and never be seen again," Courtney joked. "To be able to hopefully finish on a high and walk away from it when you're competitive, I don't want to be that guy where everyone's quietly saying, 'You need to pack it in'. "I can pretty comfortably take off my hat at the end of this, happy with what I've done, and don't feel that I haven't achieved or need to do anything more." Supercars heads to Darwin next from June 20 to 22, with Feeney holding a 72-point lead over reigning champion Will Brown.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The Advertiser
Flawless Feeney too fast with Perth back-to-back wins
Supercars championship leader Broc Feeney will leave Perth with a pair of victories after a near-flawless display in the final sprint race. Triple Eight ace Feeney survived late drama as he led from start to finish across the 83-lap, 200km race at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday. It was the 22-year-old's fifth win of the season, adding to his haul of six poles and eight podiums. A safety car with 20 laps remaining threatened to cause chaos for Feeney. The first yellow flag of the weekend was brought out when Erebus rookie Cooper Murray came to a halt on the way to turn six after a suspected mechanical failure. It set up a re-staging of Feeney's showdown with Matt Payne in Tasmania, where the Grove Racing driver won by just 0.0550 seconds. Feeney was unwilling to lose to Payne again and he flaunted blistering pace to win by 0.5671 seconds. "To have the race like we did there, it was pretty - I shouldn't say smooth sailing - but a lot less stressful than it was at the end of the race," Feeney said. Triple Eight team principal Jamie Whincup couldn't say the same. "I was having deja vu, it's going to happen again," Whincup said. "I was just out front yelling ... I was having nightmares." James Courtney was the biggest beneficiary of the yellow flag, crossing the line third after qualifying 13th. It was a surprise podium for one-time Supercars champion Courtney, whose best result this year in the Blanchard Racing Team car was ninth in Tasmania. It is also Blanchard Racing's maiden podium since the team's entry in 2021. "I got so emotional," Courtney said. "It was me crying for a third." Tickford star Cam Waters was unlucky to finish fourth after starting in the first row with Feeney. Ryan Wood, after breaking through for an emotional maiden Supercars win the day before, had been as high as second before being ruled out of the race after a tangle with James Golding. PremiAir Nulon Racing's Golding had run wide at turn one with eight laps to go, allowing Wood to move into fifth. But Golding was determined to regain his spot and ended up running both cars off when they collided side-on. Golding, who finished 22nd, was slapped with a drive-through penalty for the incident. Reigning champion Will Brown was fifth after another hairy moment with Golding early in the race. Golding had been fourth and assertively defending his position when the nose of Brown's Triple Eight car hit his right rear and sent him wide at turn seven. Meanwhile, Wood's teammate Chaz Mostert was sixth after qualifying in 14th. Local product Brodie Kostecki was 11th after his hopes of a home victory were dashed when a poor qualifying effort condemned him to 15th. Cam Hill, after qualifying seventh, endured a nightmare start when his Matt Stone Racing car stalled at lights out. Suffering a battery issue, his car had to be towed back to pit lane. Hill was able to join the race and finished last. RACE 16 RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) 3. James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team) 4. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 5. Will Brown (Triple Eight) CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight) 2. Will Brown (Triple Eight) 3. Matt Payne (Grove) 4. Cam Waters (Tickford) 5. Chaz Mostert (WAU) Supercars championship leader Broc Feeney will leave Perth with a pair of victories after a near-flawless display in the final sprint race. Triple Eight ace Feeney survived late drama as he led from start to finish across the 83-lap, 200km race at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday. It was the 22-year-old's fifth win of the season, adding to his haul of six poles and eight podiums. A safety car with 20 laps remaining threatened to cause chaos for Feeney. The first yellow flag of the weekend was brought out when Erebus rookie Cooper Murray came to a halt on the way to turn six after a suspected mechanical failure. It set up a re-staging of Feeney's showdown with Matt Payne in Tasmania, where the Grove Racing driver won by just 0.0550 seconds. Feeney was unwilling to lose to Payne again and he flaunted blistering pace to win by 0.5671 seconds. "To have the race like we did there, it was pretty - I shouldn't say smooth sailing - but a lot less stressful than it was at the end of the race," Feeney said. Triple Eight team principal Jamie Whincup couldn't say the same. "I was having deja vu, it's going to happen again," Whincup said. "I was just out front yelling ... I was having nightmares." James Courtney was the biggest beneficiary of the yellow flag, crossing the line third after qualifying 13th. It was a surprise podium for one-time Supercars champion Courtney, whose best result this year in the Blanchard Racing Team car was ninth in Tasmania. It is also Blanchard Racing's maiden podium since the team's entry in 2021. "I got so emotional," Courtney said. "It was me crying for a third." Tickford star Cam Waters was unlucky to finish fourth after starting in the first row with Feeney. Ryan Wood, after breaking through for an emotional maiden Supercars win the day before, had been as high as second before being ruled out of the race after a tangle with James Golding. PremiAir Nulon Racing's Golding had run wide at turn one with eight laps to go, allowing Wood to move into fifth. But Golding was determined to regain his spot and ended up running both cars off when they collided side-on. Golding, who finished 22nd, was slapped with a drive-through penalty for the incident. Reigning champion Will Brown was fifth after another hairy moment with Golding early in the race. Golding had been fourth and assertively defending his position when the nose of Brown's Triple Eight car hit his right rear and sent him wide at turn seven. Meanwhile, Wood's teammate Chaz Mostert was sixth after qualifying in 14th. Local product Brodie Kostecki was 11th after his hopes of a home victory were dashed when a poor qualifying effort condemned him to 15th. Cam Hill, after qualifying seventh, endured a nightmare start when his Matt Stone Racing car stalled at lights out. Suffering a battery issue, his car had to be towed back to pit lane. Hill was able to join the race and finished last. RACE 16 RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) 3. James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team) 4. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 5. Will Brown (Triple Eight) CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight) 2. Will Brown (Triple Eight) 3. Matt Payne (Grove) 4. Cam Waters (Tickford) 5. Chaz Mostert (WAU) Supercars championship leader Broc Feeney will leave Perth with a pair of victories after a near-flawless display in the final sprint race. Triple Eight ace Feeney survived late drama as he led from start to finish across the 83-lap, 200km race at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday. It was the 22-year-old's fifth win of the season, adding to his haul of six poles and eight podiums. A safety car with 20 laps remaining threatened to cause chaos for Feeney. The first yellow flag of the weekend was brought out when Erebus rookie Cooper Murray came to a halt on the way to turn six after a suspected mechanical failure. It set up a re-staging of Feeney's showdown with Matt Payne in Tasmania, where the Grove Racing driver won by just 0.0550 seconds. Feeney was unwilling to lose to Payne again and he flaunted blistering pace to win by 0.5671 seconds. "To have the race like we did there, it was pretty - I shouldn't say smooth sailing - but a lot less stressful than it was at the end of the race," Feeney said. Triple Eight team principal Jamie Whincup couldn't say the same. "I was having deja vu, it's going to happen again," Whincup said. "I was just out front yelling ... I was having nightmares." James Courtney was the biggest beneficiary of the yellow flag, crossing the line third after qualifying 13th. It was a surprise podium for one-time Supercars champion Courtney, whose best result this year in the Blanchard Racing Team car was ninth in Tasmania. It is also Blanchard Racing's maiden podium since the team's entry in 2021. "I got so emotional," Courtney said. "It was me crying for a third." Tickford star Cam Waters was unlucky to finish fourth after starting in the first row with Feeney. Ryan Wood, after breaking through for an emotional maiden Supercars win the day before, had been as high as second before being ruled out of the race after a tangle with James Golding. PremiAir Nulon Racing's Golding had run wide at turn one with eight laps to go, allowing Wood to move into fifth. But Golding was determined to regain his spot and ended up running both cars off when they collided side-on. Golding, who finished 22nd, was slapped with a drive-through penalty for the incident. Reigning champion Will Brown was fifth after another hairy moment with Golding early in the race. Golding had been fourth and assertively defending his position when the nose of Brown's Triple Eight car hit his right rear and sent him wide at turn seven. Meanwhile, Wood's teammate Chaz Mostert was sixth after qualifying in 14th. Local product Brodie Kostecki was 11th after his hopes of a home victory were dashed when a poor qualifying effort condemned him to 15th. Cam Hill, after qualifying seventh, endured a nightmare start when his Matt Stone Racing car stalled at lights out. Suffering a battery issue, his car had to be towed back to pit lane. Hill was able to join the race and finished last. RACE 16 RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) 3. James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team) 4. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 5. Will Brown (Triple Eight) CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight) 2. Will Brown (Triple Eight) 3. Matt Payne (Grove) 4. Cam Waters (Tickford) 5. Chaz Mostert (WAU)
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Explorer Mark Synnott isn't afraid to be reckless
In 2022, Mark Synnott set sail from his home in Maine to complete the Northwest Passage, the legendary route through the Arctic that connects the Atlantic and Pacific. Synnott wanted to retrace the path of an 1845 expedition led by British explorer Sir John Franklin, who was attempting to chart the sea route over North America and open a valuable trade avenue with East Asia. But along the way Franklin's two ships, Erebus and Terror, became trapped in the ice, stranding the expedition. The crew of 129 men were never seen again and the mystery of what happened to them has spurred 180 years of speculation by scholars and obsessives. Synnott originally planned to explore what happened to the crew as part of a longer voyage with his family down through the South Pacific. But he soon found his 47-foot fiberglass-hulled sailboat, Polar Sun, trapped in circumstances similar to those that proved catastrophic to the Brits. Synnott's new book, Into the Ice, recounts how his boat narrowly escaped its end in the Arctic—as well as what might have happened to the members of the Franklin expedition. We caught up with Synnott as he and his family had resumed their voyage on Polar Sun—just hours before they were due to make their first landfall in the South Pacific—to discuss the allure of expeditions gone wrong and the fine line between adventurousness and hubris. (Read an excerpt from Synnott's book on how he tried to solve the Arctic's biggest mystery.) Can you start by setting the scene for where you are? I checked the GPS link to your boat, Polar Sun, and it looks like we're picking up where your book ends, with your plan to sail the South Pacific with your family. Yes, we're currently on the boat, about 80 miles from our first stop, the island of Hiva Oa, which is part of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. I still can't see land, but we should arrive today, after 20 days at sea. Doing the Northwest Passage was always tied to this larger 20-year plan to sail the South Pacific with my family. My wife Hampton and my youngest son Tommy are onboard right now, and my three older kids plan to visit us along the way. All the other expeditions in my career have been discrete projects that lasted a month or a few months. This one has become a more open-ended, all-encompassing thing, and it's the first one we're doing as a family. It's still a little unknown how far we plan to go but right now we have an agreement that we're going to sail through French Polynesia to the Cook Islands, then Samoa, to Fiji, to New Zealand by the end of 2026. What originally got you interested in sailing the South Pacific? In 2005 I led an expedition to the Pitcairn Islands with Jimmy Chin and a few others for National Geographic. We sailed there from French Polynesia. It was my first time sailing. I didn't know anything about this world we were in, and seeing all those beautiful atolls made me decide right then and there, I need to find a way to get into this. I remember asking so many questions on that trip to learn about sailing. I've always wanted to come back and explore. You're so much freer to do that if you have your own boat because a lot of the islands are very isolated. As you started planning the Northwest Passage specifically, what was about the lost Franklin expedition that drew you into the mystery? The Franklin expedition was 129 guys and not one of them made it out alive to tell the story. Then, on top of that, if you consider the accounts from the Inuit, which have proven highly credible, you've got evidence that there were survivors from the Franklin expedition all the way into the mid-1850s. There's an Inuit testimony about a band of survivors from the expedition on the Melville Peninsula where a bunch of their papers were supposedly buried in a cairn 10 years after they left. It's fascinating to imagine what happened during all that time they were stranded in the Arctic. The Royal Navy officers were trained to keep a record of what happened on their expeditions. And there's a strong possibility that one of the last men standing was Francis Crozier, the second-in-command. He would have definitely been recording what was happening. So the fact that more information could be out there to shed light on this mystery is super intriguing. (In 1845 explorers sought the Northwest Passage—then vanished.) When your boat had a brush with the same fate as the Franklin expedition, getting trapped in the Arctic ice floes, was the writer in you thinking how great that would make bringing the story to life? We were trapped there for 10 days versus 10 years, but I honestly don't think there was ever a moment during that time when I thought, 'Wow, this is going to make a great story.' My whole objective in doing the Northwest Passage was to not get caught in the ice. You really don't want that to happen, especially in a fiberglass boat. Now when I look back, from a safe distance here in the South Pacific, I can see so clearly how it makes the story so much better—and I'm kind of glad it worked out the way that it did, because it was an incredible experience. On these expeditions, how do you decipher that fine line between maintaining an adventurous spirit and outright recklessness? There have definitely been moments when I've crossed that line before. When we were filming the documentary Lost on Everest for Nat Geo [about Sandy Irvine and George Mallory's Everest expedition] I left the fixed ropes at 28,000 feet to try to find Sandy's body. There was eyewitness testimony that a body had been seen in a certain place high up on the mountain, but it wasn't on the standard route, so it required leaving the fixed ropes to get there. I took a lot of shit from different people, including family, because I had stepped over the line in that instance. But I knew in my gut it was something I was supposed to be doing. Whenever I get to the point of feeling that way, I just try to do everything I can to manage the risks to the best of my ability. I also try to remember that it's pretty risky just being alive. For me, all the best, most fun, rewarding, meaningful experiences have tended to be risky. Another thing that comes through in your book is people's enduring obsession with new frontiers, which drove Franklin's exploration. And I wonder if the notion of frontiers drives your own expeditions? I got introduced to the whole world of climbing and exploration through reading as a kid. Prior to 1950, none of the 8,000-meter peaks in the Himalaya and Karakoram had been climbed before, but the subplot to a lot of the books I read as a kid was how that Golden Age of exploration was already over. I think one of the main reasons I became a big-wall climber was realizing that was still its own frontier, and there were giant cliffs people hadn't yet climbed. In a way, I'm still going with that, exploring giant unclimbed cliffs. I've got all my climbing gear here on the boat. There's a big cliff out on this French Polynesian island called Ua Pou, and I think I'm going to try to climb it. Of course, what I've also learned along the way is that the Golden Age is not over at all. There's so much of this planet that remains unexplored. Since you mentioned the upcoming route on your voyage I've been wondering if you see this extending into a trip around the world? That definitely falls into the category of not wanting to overcommit where we might end up. When people sail to some far away place like this, often they'll sell their boat, and I already know I don't want to do that. I see Polar Sun as a member of the family at this point. I want to get back to Maine eventually. For now, I'm just happy to see we've made it this far.
