North Pole Since 2002, the Russians have also annually established a base, Barneo, close to the Pole. This operates for a few weeks during early spring. Studies in the 2000s predicted that the North Pole may become seasonally ice-free because of Arctic ice shrinkage, with timescales varying from 2016 to the late 21st century or later. The sea depth at the North Pole has been measured at by the Russian Mir submersible in 2007 and at 4,087 m (13,410 ft) by USS "Nautilus" in 1958. The nearest land is usually said to be Kaffeklubben Island, off the northern coast of Greenland about
Old Pulteney Row To The Pole in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, Canada for the biannual Polar Race, which he organises. Having just completed the race, he had taken a rowing machine out of the hotel onto the ice. A friend, seeing him, joked, "What are you going to do next Jock? Row to the Pole!" Jock Wishart publicly announced his intention and the expedition's sponsor, Scotch Whisky brand Old Pulteney, in April 2010. The attempt began on 28 July 2011. The crew departed from Resolute Bay, Cornwallis Island heading across the Wellington Channel to the coast of Devon Island. In open waters they made swift progress to