Mingming II & the Impossible Voyage

<div>Far to the north of Russia, across the cold waters of the Barents Sea, lies the desolate archipelago known as Franz Josef Land. </div><div><br></div><div>Hidden away still further to the north and west of those islands is one of the most inaccessible and least known seas on this planet – the Queen Victoria Sea. In his fifth book of voyages, Roger Taylor describes his successful attempt to sail into those lonely and usually icebound waters.</div><div><br></div><div>On the way he weathers the most northerly point of the Svalbard islands before sailing due east along 81°North to the north-west coast of Franz Josef Land. Pack-ice would normally render such a route impossible.</div><div><br></div><div>This voyage, which linked the endpoints of Taylor’s two previous Arctic voyages to the north-west and north-east of Svalbard, marks the culmination of nearly fifty years of small-boat ocean sailing.</div><div><br></div><div>Taylor has been described in the yachting press as ‘one of the best sailing writers on this planets’ and ‘the best-balanced writer you will ever read’. His books combine vivid description with deep reflection, humour, an intimate knowledge of ocean species and a lifetime of practical sea-going experience.</div>