AROUND THE WORLD ON DINGHY

The route is the river of Danube, Black sea, the rivers of Don, Volga, Kama, Tobol, Irtysh, Ob, Yenisey, Angara, Baikal, Selenga, Shilka, Amur, Kamchatka, the Bering Strait, the Yukon, the Klondike, the Peel, the Mackenzie, the Great Slave Lake, the Slave river, the lakes Athabasca and Reindeer, the Churchill river, Hudson Bay, Greenland, Island, Great Britain, the Rhine, the Maine and the Danube.

The most dangerous part of the voyage is in the open sea. The water temperature in the north seldom exceeds 4 degrees and the storms and the waves several meters high are a frequent phenomenon. Crossing the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans is reduced to a transition within 20-30 hours. The maximum one is 800 km between Killiniq (Canada) and Paamiut (Greenland). Thus it would be possible to wait for a good forecast and to ensure comparatively safe passing. This distance covers the mandatory condition that the necessary fuel should not exceed the loading capacity of the boat. If the Bering Strait is comparatively calm and the open waters between Russia and the USA are 200 km, the Hudson Bay and mostly the eastern coast of Greenland are famous for their bad weather all around the year. There the distances are around 500 km and the transition to Island is one of the biggest challenges for the expedition.

The water collection basins are divided from each other by mountain ranges or plateaus. In the ancient times in those places the vessels were dragged, or most frequently abandoned. After passing the distance on foot, the people constructed new boats. In our case we plan to take advantage of the contemporary technical achievements and to carry our equipment by car. It would only apply to three sections below 200 km and one around 400 km. In order to maintain the spirit of the ancient people and to make sure we could cope with own efforts, we have included crossing of Kamchatka and carrying the boat and the engine by hand through the Middle ridge from the Tigil river to the Left river.

The fast waters are another serious challenge. The route in Canada from lake Athabasca to the Churchill river could be covered through the Clearwater river and lake Trade, presupposing rafting outfits. Currently we do not intend to pass through there, unless we are not able to order a boat with structure combined for sea and fast waters.

For more information you can have a look at the map below. The lines mark only the rivers and do not follow their curves. The whole voyage of 35 766 km is calculated on the basis of all curves but the actual kilometers would probably be more.