Most people have heard the "official" expedition story.

This isn't that. In this podcast, we sit down with my friend Ella Hibbert, the sailor behind Ella in the Arctic, for the kind of conversation that usually only happens when the cameras are off and the sun goes down. No scripts. No polished PR answers. Just two friends talking about what it is actually like to stare down the end of the world alone.

Ella set out to do what no one has ever done: solo circumnavigate the Arctic Circle in a single season. That is 10,000 miles of ice, isolation, and unpredictable danger. She has already made history as the first British woman to sail the Northwest Passage solo, but the ocean had other plans for the full loop. Now, she is preparing to go back and finish what she started.

This isn't just an expedition story. It is about resilience, obsession, and the pull of something bigger than yourself. We skip the standard interview questions and dive straight into the grit, discussing the fear, the breaking points, the moments of pure magic, and what happens when a dream this big doesn't go exactly to plan.

00:00:00 Introductions and How We Met
00:03:59 The Reason, Funding and Turning Down Offers
00:08:48 Recycled Sails and Final Preparations
00:11:41 Minutes Before the Start
00:15:48 The Start Line and Crossing the Arctic Circle
00:19:02 Bubble Butt Bears and Animal Encounters
00:27:19 The Reality of Food Onboard and Dehydrated Meals
00:31:37 20 Minute Cat Naps and Sleeping Amongst Icebergs
00:38:52 Broken Heaters and Repairs in Greenland
00:46:06 Keeping Warm and Cold Weather Maintenance
00:51:43 Surviving a 70 Knot Storm in Tuktoyaktuk
00:57:58 More About Repairs and Setbacks in Greenland
01:04:28 AIS markers on Fishing Nets in the Fog
01:09:01 What is Keeping You Going?
01:13:17 Navigating Pack Ice and Icebergs
01:23:44 The Fog Lifts: Seeing Greenland and More Wildlife
01:29:41 Narwhals and Arctic Foxes
01:33:42 Storage Onboard Yeva and Inflating the Dinghy
01:40:18 Polar Plunges and Boat Hygiene
01:44:34 Keeping the Ship Logbooks and Diaries
01:51:12 Running Aground and Calling the Coast Guard
02:04:01 Choosing Where to Overwinter and the St Paul Island Lift
02:13:13 What is Next: The Northern Sea Route
02:19:51 The Northern Lights and Final Thoughts

⛵️ About Ella:
RYA Yachtmaster instructor, Arctic explorer, and the woman behind Ella in the Arctic, a mission to raise awareness about climate change in one of the world's most fragile environments.

????️ About Pretty Sailing:
We are all about real stories from life at sea: sailing, racing, adventure, and the people who push it to the edge. If you enjoyed this episode, drop a like, subscribe, and let us know in the comments:

???? If you were thousands of miles from the nearest human, what is the one thing you would miss the most? Could you handle the Arctic alone?

#EllaInTheArctic #ArcticExpedition #SailingPodcast #SoloSailing #PrettySailing #NorthwestPassage #ExtremeAdventure