A day after Antonio de la Rosa enjoyed the sweetest face of the Arctic — warm weather, calm waters, and a near-effortless 34km — he confronted its darker side, with almost fatal results.
On Sunday, July 26, the Spanish SUP’er, who is early in his attempt to paddle the Northwest Passage alone, capsized unexpectedly into the 2 °C water of Admiralty Inlet.
It happened during a meal break, partway across the inlet toward Cape Crauford, his destination on the day. Worst of all, he had his drysuit around his knees for comfort in the unseasonably mild weather.
The day began positively
The day started with an ambitious plan to reach Cape Crauford in a single long push across Admiralty Inlet. His custom-made board allowed him to pitch his tent on the board itself in mid-bay if he was too fatigued to complete the crossing in one go.
The first 30km passed uneventfully, as he worked his way down the Borden Peninsula to the narrowest point of the inlet. Then a light breeze set in, as the forecast predicted. But with good weather and an east wind at his back, De la Rosa decided to go for it.
Some 10km offshore, the wind shifted to the north, raising a side swell, and the tide was still ebbing against him. He chose to wait a little till the chop diminished. He made a hot freeze-dried meal and had some tea and chocolate.
Overconfidence
As he stowed the stove, a bad shift of weight met a side wave, and the board flipped. De la Rosa fell into the water with his drysuit around his knees. He admitted later that overconfidence had prompted him to be so casual with the suit, but now he was in freezing water far offshore.
At first, he could not right the upside-down board. Eventually, he managed to flip it back and waited while the water drained through the scuppers. He was soaked; only adrenaline masked the cold.
Since Cape Crauford was still about 50km away, and it was only 12km back to the shore he had just left, he returned to the beach. It took him three-and-a-half hours. He paddled a total of 65km that day.
“The moment I set foot on the beach, within two minutes my body started shaking, and I broke down — a mix of rage and the sheer joy of being alive,” he wrote.
What now?
He is currently camped on the western shore of the Borden Peninsula. On inspection, the damage to his gear was mild except for one item: the dry bag that held his four acoustic bear detectors had leaked, and the devices are no longer working. De la Rosa has taken them apart to dry in the hope of restoring them to use before continuing further into polar-bear territory. “It is the main safety question ahead of resuming,” his media team writes.
Among his options, the shaken traveler is considering heading to the settlement of Arctic Bay, about 100km to the south. Given how late in the season it is, that would presumably be the end of the expedition.
