'Polar Bear' makes Arctic return
2008-07-25 13:05
Cape Town - "It was the most frightening experience of my life. I will never do it again."
These were the words of British explorer and adventurer Lewis Gordon Pugh on Wednesday at a news conference in Cape Town, describing his North Pole swim.
Pugh, 38, made history in July 2007 when he became the first person to complete a long distance swim at the Geographic North Pole.
The 1km swim took Pugh 18 minutes and 50 seconds to complete, in icy waters of minus 1.7°C, waters that would normally kill another human being within seconds.
It's no wonder then that Pugh is also known as the Polar Bear, for his unique ability to withstand such extreme cold.
Even though the swim frightened the living daylights out of him, Pugh did not heed his own advice.
In fact, his next project is in August this year, and this time he wants to kayak the distance of 1 200km all the way to the North Pole.
Survival of human species
So, what is wrong with the man? And, why does he go to such extremes?
Well, as a maritime lawyer and environmentalist, Pugh has always had a special interest in the Arctic. He has been outspoken about global warming and the need for greater legal protection for the Arctic.
"In the past we campaigned for endangered animals and environmental areas, but now the time has come to campaign for the survival of ourselves, the human species."
"South Africa's future does not depend on what happens in the country or on the African continent anymore," Pugh said. "It now depends on what happens in the Amazon and at the two polar caps. If the Amazon forests are hacked off and the polar ice caps completely melted, we're history," he warned.
Sea ice is vital to the cooling of the planet and as it melts, we warm faster. This could accelerate climate change itself.
If the emissions across the globe are cut over the next two years, there is a better chance of avoiding the worst of the impacts of climate change. Any delay makes this much harder to achieve.
South African connection
"I will attempt to kayak to the North Pole to show the drastic loss of sea ice. Over recent decades we have lost more than half the Arctic summer sea ice cover, decades ahead of predictions, showing climate change has been hugely underestimated.
"It would not have been possible to kayak to the North Pole, even last year," Pugh said. "Although sea ice is melting fast, I sincerely hope that there is more sea ice than predicted this summer and that it is impossible for me to kayak all the way," he added.
Interestingly, Pugh has strong South African connections. When he was 10 years old, his parents emigrated from England to South Africa where he received his school education in Grahamstown and Cape Town, and afterwards studied politics and law at the University of Cape Town. He later returned to England to further his studies in Cambridge before starting work as a maritime lawyer in the City of London.
Over the past years Pugh has completed numerous expeditions and challenges to raise awareness of climate change. This includes becoming the first person to complete a long distance swim in all 5 oceans of the world - the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern and Arctic oceans.
Serious consequences
Pugh has also founded the Polar Defence Project to raise awareness for greater protection of the Arctic and to end climate change, which receives support from the Investec banking group in South Africa.
"In 2003 I left my job as maritime lawyer in the City of London to campaign fulltime for the protection of the environment, and specifically the Arctic," Pugh said.
Pugh explained that he took his North Pole swim in a large lead (a crack in the ice) in order to highlight the devastating effects of climate change in the Arctic.
"As we were travelling back by ship from the North Pole, I saw all this melting ice and dark pools of water, and I realised only half my job was done," Pugh told journalists.
"It has been predicted that the Arctic will be ice-free by the summer of 2080, but from what I have seen, I think the Arctic will be largely free of summer sea ice within a decade," Pugh said.
And, Pugh seems to be correct in his predictions, because scientists have predicted in a new study that this year could indeed be the first year that the North Pole could be ice-free.
'Boring scientist'
This will have serious consequences. "There is increasing interest in exploiting Arctic resources. The industrial world is waiting for the Northern ice cap to melt so that they can drill for oil, and they also want to open travel between Europe and North America," he explained.
Pugh's incredible kayak journey will begin on 29 August 2008 at the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen from where he will travel the 1 200km to the North Pole.
Preparation for the journey has been long and hard. Pugh has been training with the Hungarian 7 time World Kayaking Champion, Robert Hegedus, who will pace him on the expedition.
According to Tim Noakes, professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Cape Town, if there is one man who can complete this difficult challenge, it is Lewis Pugh.
"I was a boring scientist, until I met Lewis," Noakes told journalists at the press conference. "I have joined Lewis on most of his expeditions. The Arctic is a most ferocious environment. Imagine the South Easter in a very bad way, drop the water temperature to at least 0°C and drop the air temperature to at least minus 5°C. The North Pole is a cocktail of all these factors and much worse.
Very strong currents
"Lewis's greatest challenge will be to stay warm and dry, during his pioneering kayaking expedition."
According to Noakes, the waves will literally be crashing over Pugh's kayak every 10 seconds, so the only way to keep work will be to literally cover everything up.
Pugh will be wearing a wetsuit and a dry suit, a balaclava, facemask and a set of goggles. He will also wear special gloves with which he will be able to hold the kayak paddle firmly.
"The problem with kayaking is to keep warm, but how do you get rid of the heat and sweat? Most Arctic explorers move slowly, because if they are sweating, they will get ice on their clothing, which would create problems.
According to Noakes, Pugh will also be kayaking against very strong currents. "For example, during Lewis's 18 minutes swim in the North Pole, we saw ice move 200 metres."
Noakes also explained that Pugh would have to complete at least 90km a day, which means paddling at least 9 hours per day against strong currents. "We have decide to let him paddle on rotation: 6 hours on, and 6 hours off."
South African flag
When Pugh reaches the North Pole, he plans to symbolically raise 192 national flags and call for Arctic peace to be preserved, including the South African flag.
"The North Pole belongs to us all, all 6.6 million of us in the world, and we must do everything possible to protect it and to save ourselves in the process," Pugh said.
Sam Branson, an avid Arctic supporter and the son of entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, will join Pugh's support team on the kayaking expedition and write a daily blog.
For more information about Lewis Gordon Pugh and the Polar Defence Project, click here