Matt Rutherford - Interview with Matt Rutherford as he prepares for an Arctic Circumnavigation

This interview connects with Matt on the day that he left St John's, Newfoundland, bound for Aasiaat in Greenland where he will begin his quest to circumnavigate the Arctic solo and non stop. He expects to cover the 10,000 miles in around 90 days if everything goes perfectly. He has crammed 1,600 litres of fuel onto his Valiant 42 and will sail across the North Atlantic, passing north of Iceland and Norway, before he enters Russian waters. He, like Elle Hibberd and fellow OCC member, Harry Anderson, have succeeded in receiving the necessary permission to attempt the North East Passage without a Russian Pilot on board. Once he crosses the border into Russia his Starlink terminal and GPS will stop working leaving Matt without access to detailed satellite imagery to help him navigate the ice strewn waters. Instead Matt will have to rely on the Iridium network to stay in touch and access weather and ice information. We terminated the interview a little early due to poor audio quality but we will make every effort to catch up with him again when he is under way. Matt's sailing credentials are extraordinary. He became the first person to circumnavigate the Americas non-stop in a 309 day solo voyage through the North West Passage and around Cape Horn. He now runs an expedition yacht supporting scientists studying climate change. He does this through his non-profit organisation and is currently raising money to buy a new engine for his research yacht. Here is a short video explaining the route https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHPThATpYrQ Matt's website is: www.oceanresearchproject.org