The Row to the Pole Expedition is the brainchild of Wishart who has spent the last three years organising it. Wishart is joined by a crew of five other rowers and Wishart hopes to cover the 833km distance in four to five weeks. The team will be rowing a specifically designed boat that allows three people to be rowing at any one time. The boat, fitted with sculling oars, is 9.2m long, weighs 824kg and is designed to be dragged over ice.

The crew will row in shifts of three hours on, three hours off and travelling in the Arctic summer means that they will endure 24 hour daylight. This expedition has been made possible because of the recent reduction in the amount of ice around the Arctic. Wishart states on his website that the trip is “to highlight the already dramatic effect of climate change on the ice around the Polar regions.”

Oceanographer crew member, David Mans will be taking water samples at regular intervals along the route with the samples being measured for salinity and the temperature of the water. Cameraman and crew member Mark Beaumont will document the journey.

The expedition will be accompanied by a six-member support team which includes a weather expert, scientists, a boat builder and an engineer.

The crew expects to consume about 7000 calories per day primarily to retain core body temperature as temperatures can drop down to minus 15 degrees Centigrade.

So far on the journey the crew have been experiencing relatively warm weather with favourable rowing conditions and in a recent 18 hour shift they covered 72km. They have also sighted drifting ice and a polar bear with her cub.

When the team reaches the Magnetic North Pole they will walk to where there is permanent ice and be airlifted out by plane.

To follow the expedition: http://www.rowtothepole.com/