An expedition where every mile traveled is already a maritime success, in these areas where no one has yet sailed, north of the Canadian islands and Greenland.

After several expeditions in the Arctic, including the Northwest Passage under pure sail, three attempts to cross the Arctic Ocean, expeditions on the Greenland ice sheet, and many years of sailing on all oceans, Sébastien Roubinet has become one of the leading figures in maritime and polar expeditions of our time. Adventurer of the Year 2008 and winner of the Shackleton Award in 2018, he has gained extensive experience over more than 30 years in expeditions and racing.

In 2022, Sébastien planned a new expedition departing from Sachs Harbour on Banks Island (Canada), where his last attempt to cross the Arctic Ocean ended in 2018.

The expedition in summary:

• * Three men self-sufficient in the middle of the Arctic Ocean
• * Cover 3000 KM from the northern Canadian archipelago to Greenland or Svalbard
• * Unassisted, engine-free, fully autonomous in extreme environments
• * Innovative design and construction of a prototype
• * Custom dehydrated food
• * Development of a solar electric stove

Implementation of an educational program so that younger generations,
schools and universities can join our adventure and discover the Arctic.

• * History and Geography: the Arctic Ocean, polar explorations
• * Science: Arctic wildlife, the food chain, ice…
• * climate change in the Arctic
• * the Inuit

An innovative boat designed and built by Sébastien with materials from
Bow for navigating on water and ice, already tested during the expedition
2018 (83 days). 

• * 200KG
• * 7m long 2.40m wide
• * Ultra-light sails designed by TRILAM and made by Clipper Sails
• * 400W solar panels
• * 2 Lithium Iron batteries
• * Inflatable semi-rigid Innégra/Basalt hulls
• * HD1000 glued ski profiles

A scientific mission:

These areas are difficult for scientists to access and therefore complicated to study, which is why we are strongly committed to bringing back the maximum essential data for their research.

• * Environmental DNA sampling
• * Ice thickness
• * Sampling
• * Aerial and terrestrial image bank of the latest multi-age ice and glaciers
• * Counting and description of different animal species
• * Continuous 360° photos of the ice

With a scientific platform:

• * Ability to respond to multiple protocols
• * Silent movement and observation
• * 100% autonomous
• * Zero emissions during travel

Searching for environmental DNA: 

DNA is a molecule common to all living beings but contains genetic information specific to each individual. Every living being leaves traces of this molecule in its environment through various excretions (saliva, urine, gametes, feces, etc.). These DNA fragments found in nature are called "environmental DNA" or eDNA.

Like the fingerprints we leave on every surface we touch with our fingers, which forensic science can decode, this eDNA allows us to learn a lot about those who left these invisible traces. Each species has its own fingerprint, its genetic "barcode," which we now know how to decode.

By collecting a few grams of soil or filtering a few liters of water, eDNA can be extracted, amplified, and sequenced. These sequences are then used to identify all the species present in the studied environment. Until now, compiling a list of species living in a given area required mobilizing many specialists from different taxonomic groups. Now, it is possible to conduct a census of the entire biodiversity of an ecosystem from a single sample.

A fast, highly efficient technique with no impact on the studied ecosystem, and often less expensive than traditional methods. However, these methods remain complementary and essential for studying parameters not measurable by eDNA (for now), such as population size, sex, and developmental stages.