Two British architects made news when they took an old life boat, renovated it into a spectacular cruise boat and set out to explore the Arctic waters with their now-equally famous dog, Shackleton.
Guylee Simmonds and David Schnabel departed on their voyage from the UK in May, 2019 and headed for Tromsø, Norway, the largest city in the Arctic. Now, the company is spending the winter on the icy waters.
‘The aim of the expedition is to explore this wild and isolated landscape, demonstrate the ability of design innovation to facilitate self sufficiency in such extreme environments and to document and share the adventure through photography and film,’ they write on their blog.
The two spent a year redesigning the boat to make it a ‘supreme adventure craft.’ The life boat, named Stødig -meaning ‘steady’ in Norwegian – dates back to 1997 and used to be Clansman Lifeboat Number 1, serving the Western Isles of Scotland aboard the CalMac ferry, MV Clansman.
‘Our redesign includes two forward cabins, a kitchen and dining area, bathroom, bunk beds and stern cockpit. Originally designed to carry 100 people in a survival situation, she is our robust, unsinkable and spacious blank canvas,’ they say.
Watch their amazing journey here:
The lively team has experienced quite the adventure thus far which included stunning scenery and orcas, among others:
Image: Instagram
