Bear' and his specially commissioned Ocean Dynamics 11m RIB will be at seawork 'sfloating exhibition, with the vessel being put into a container and shipped to Nova Scotia from Southampton Docks as soon as the show is over.

Visitors to seawork will be able to see how one of the most advanced and high specification RIBs ever built is equipped for its perilous voyage. The craft chosen to undertake the 'Arnold & Son Transatlantic Arctic Expedition' is basically an Ocean Dynamics Ribworker 35 built to lifeboat specification and modified to carry a tripled fuel load of three tonnes.

Finnings UK and Caterpillar have supplied a Cat 3126B diesel engine rated at 450hp. Marine and Industrial Transmissions Ltd (MIT) are providing a Twin Disc MG5075 gearbox and a Twin Disc TDJ130 waterjet. The craft will achieve 21 knots fully laden, rising to 30 knots as the fuel load burns. The waterjet was specified to minimise the risk of damage to the propulsion system from running into ice.

Communications and safety are of major importance to such an undertaking. MarineTrack Ltd is providing a communications system that will ensure the crew's position can be safely monitored from land and viewed clearly using C-Map charts.

A Palm Pilot and keyboard will allow Bear to write and send reports back to land.

As the team will be out of radio or mobile phone range for much of the trip, another project sponsor, Sartech Engineering, is providing two EPIRBs. The ACR GlobalFix all in one EPIRB has an internal GPS engine which would immediately transmit exact position along with the distress call upon activation.

For additional security, the team is also carrying a McMurdo E3m EPIRB.

MJ Information No: 18390