Kirkwall man makes final preparations for epic rowing expedition

A pioneering team of rowers, which includes a Kirkwall man, has reached the start line of a momentous endurance challenge.

Davie Flett is part of an eight-person crew aiming to become the first people to row the Northwest Passage, a 2,300-mile arctic route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

An epic 4,500-mile, two-month journey to the expedition’s starting point, Pond Inlet on the Canadian territory of Baffin Island, has now been completed and the rowers are in place.

Weather and ice reports are now being studied ahead of the expedition’s imminent start on their rowing boat, Hermione.

The expedition will follow the route from Baffin Island to Point Barrow, Alaska, and will draw attention to the changing environment, collecting meaningful data for climate scientists.

The team is international and diverse, led by multiple world ocean rowing record holder Leven Brown of Jedburgh.

It was Orcadian explorer, Dr John Rae, while hiking overland, who discovered the final link of a navigable Northwest Passage in the 19th century.

The expedition is expected to take 60 days, and can be tracked by App, with progress along the way being live streamed on satellite equipment.

More information, including live tracking, can be found at here.