"When sailing alone, even sleep is dangerous.
Matt Rutherford knows this all too well. As he travels the Arctic, far from his home port of Annapolis, Md., the moments Rutherford does get to rest are precious.
"It just becomes extremely difficult to get any sleep because if you hit the ice, you essentially die," he said.
Rutherford is attempting a maritime first: to circumnavigate the Arctic Ocean completely alone, some 10,000 nautical miles in total. The 45-year-old veteran sailor's journey takes him across the North Atlantic, along the Russian Arctic coast and eventually through the Northwest Passage in Canada."
Henry Larson, Rob Schmitz, and Michael Levitt report for NPR August 9, 2026.
Source: NPR, 08/14/2026
