A novel use for a pair of knickers (From Bucks Free Press)

Arctic Survey Blog: A novel use for a pair of knickers

4:20pm Saturday 14th March 2009 in News

By Ann Daniels

Posted on March 7

Support for the ice team has come from many quarters over the last few months, most recently in the form of a pair of knickers.

These were kindly donated by a supporter of the Survey prior to departure, and have now been shredded and attached to one of my ski poles.

This then allows me to navigate using the wind.

Due to our proximity to the Magnetic North Pole, our compasses are currently going haywire.

The earth’s strong magnetic field on this part of the ocean means that the compass needle simply spins uselessly in its housing.

As such, we’re currently relying on more traditional methods for day-to-day navigation, using the sun, for those few precious hours each day when it graces us with its presence, and using wind direction, as indicated by the panties…

• Taken from the blog at www.catlinarcticsurvey.com