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Arctic Ocean Crossing – 550 miles Offshore | Sailing Florence Ep.215
25 September 2025 · 31 min · 55K views · Tromsø
Sailboat Florence heeling hard in Arctic Ocean swells
What this video covers
Matt and Amy depart Tromsø aboard Florence, their 40-year-old Oyster Marine 37 HERITAGE, on a 550-mile offshore crossing of the Barents Sea to Svalbard.▶ 5:16 The passage to Longyearbyen is expected to take four to five days depending on wind.▶ 5:16 Weather forecasting dominates every decision: the crew watches models for weeks, finds no clean window, and ultimately commits when conditions look acceptable for the first two days, accepting uncertainty in the second half.▶ 3:52 They time their exit from the island channels to catch a northeast wind shift, anchoring briefly near the open sea to let a 30-knot blow and its swell subside before heading offshore.▶ 7:00 Two other boats — Spiky, a German vessel, and Lapwing, a British one — depart the same window from Tromsø.▶ 8:54 Wind dies on day two to five or six knots; sleet and snow appear by day three; temperatures drop below six degrees Celsius on deck.▶ 13:39 On day four, with 200 miles still to run and the Iridium Go forecast showing a flat calm ahead, they divert to Hornsund, a closer anchorage on southern Svalbard roughly 100 miles short of Longyearbyen, to wait for wind rather than motor the full distance.▶ 22:47 Seasickness and sleep deprivation affect the first three days; both crew recover by day three.▶ 25:20
Boats in this video
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