Tara Arctic

The French schooner, Tara, has been assigned a great polar challenge: to drift on the Arctic pack ice for two years, starting September 2006, and while so doing, celebrate the IPY (International Polar Year). On board, scientists take turns studying the effects of global warming.

Follow-up

Below are all the news we published about the Tara Arctic expedition

• Tara Has Made it to Longyearbyen

  Published on 26.01.2008

  After having spent more than 500 days drifting along the Artic sea ice, the French sailboat Tara finally made it to Longyearbyen port.

• Tara Is Finally Freed!

  Published on 23.01.2008

  A wonderful moment for the French ship, Tara: on 20 January, the captain started the engine and the ship was able to make headway once again, after more than 500 days adrift in the Arctic pack ice.

• December 2007 : Between Sea and Ice

  Published on 06.01.2008

  For about a month, the French sailing ship Tara has little by little been extracting herself from its shackles of ice and has been moving slowly towards interstitial waters. A fantastic journey.

• November 2007 : The great break-out

  Published on 07.12.2007

  In November, the pack ice around Tara showed what it was really capable of doing as the great white desert suddenly changed dramatically. The crew is getting ready to break free...

• October 2007: en route to polar night number two

  Published on 25.11.2007

  The French sailing schooner Tara, which continues to drift towards Fram Strait between Greenland and Spitzbergen, is preparing itself to endure a second polar night. Meanwhile, the support team back on land has published the first, rather disturbing data on the current state of the Arctic Ocean. And very revealing it is, too.

• September 2007 : last turnover

  Published on 01.10.2007

  September has marked a month of changeover for Tara. The ship has undergone its last crew rotation and taken fresh supplies on board. In a few months from now, the sailing ship should be making its way out of the ice...

• August 2007 : Summer’s End

  Published on 09.09.2007

  Summer has gone well for the Tara crew. Everyone is now getting ready for the September turnaround.

• July 2007: One year and counting…

  Published on 29.08.2007

  The pack-ice is melting around Tara and the scientific programmes for the summer are in full swing.

• June 2007: the routine and the unexpected

  Published on 02.07.2007

  Life goes on aboard Tara. The rise in the temperature calls for additional organisation. The ship also has to be thoroughly checked and the scientific activities have to continue.

• May 2007: the new crew gets down to work

  Published on 05.06.2007

  After the rotation of the expedition members and scientists, the Tara crew has got back to work. But before resuming their scientific duties, they first had to remove all the snow from the boat.

• Avril 2007: New Team, New Start

  Published on 09.05.2007

  After a host of political/administrative difficulties, the Tara crew has finally been able to be replaced. It's a new start for this adventure.

• March 2007 : Tara has made it more north than the Fram!

  Published on 10.04.2007

  The men aboard Tara have gone though exciting moments during the month of March: the reappearance of the sun, in particular, and the northernmost latitude a ship other than an ice-breaker has ever reached, 84° 404 N.

• February 2007, through the 85th degree

  Published on 28.02.2007

  On Saturday February 3, Tara is through the 85th degree. This is a mythical mark since very few boats have actually passed this limit. Only ice-breakers, submarines, Nansen's renowned Fram and now the schooner Tara have ventured so far along the pack ice!

• January 2007, drifting favourably

  Published on 31.01.2007

  Tara continues her slow advance towards the North Pole. During the first two weeks of January, the ship finds herself to be drifting favourably. But, the blizzard is blowing and it is very cold: -35°C.

• December 2006, everyone goes about its own business

  Published on 31.12.2006

  Aboard Tara, each day resembles the other. With an average speed of a half a knot per hour, the ship is drifting in the right direction and each crew member goes about their own business.

• November 2006, scientific observations carry on

  Published on 30.11.2006

  On November 16, the logbook indicates it is Tara's 72nd day of drift. Let us remind you that the ship was swallowed by the pack ice on September 4, at point 79°53.1 N/143°17.2 E; and that now, mid-November, the ship is at 82°37'7633'' N/139°58'8246'' E.

• October 2006, from ice to water

  Published on 31.10.2006

  At the beginning of the month, Tara is subject to forces caused by chaotic movements in the pack ice. The pressure is spectacular because it often comes with dull cracking sounds and worrisome squeakiness which seem to come from deep within the ship and to be directly taken from a horror movie.

• September 2006, the departure from Tiksi

  Published on 30.09.2006

  Having left from Lorient on July 11, the sailboat named Tara arrived in Tiksi on August 16. This harbour along the Lena river delta is the last stop-over before tackling the pack ice. A great moment of this navigation was the mooring in Norway along the pontoon of the Fram museum. This stop-over made the expedition members realize the importance of the project, and allowed them to better comprehend the conditions of the drift and to let their dream, and their fears, run wild regarding the life they will endure for the next two years.

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