Two-men in a boat sailing to the freezing expanse of the Arctic Circle is an "ironic attempt to raise awareness of AIDs in Africa" – says skipper Tom Scalway, and after 10 days out of Amsterdam, with a near-shipwreck experience behind them, they made windfall in a Norwegian fjord on June 6th.

New Media agency Sense Internet is the lead sponsor of a pioneering attempt by AIDs educationalist Tom Scalway to raise funds to alleviate suffering from - and increase awareness of - AIDs in Africa, by sailing to the Arctic Circle from Amsterdam and back in his boat Whisky Mac.

Tom, 36, has worked in HIV prevention and treatment for more than 11 years, much of that time in Africa. "I want this project to highlight the failings in anti-AIDS communications in Africa, while at the same time raise money for the home-based care that is all that can be offered to those in the final stages of AIDS," he said, speaking from Norway. "The AIDs situation in Africa is a mess.

"If a small boat can get the AIDS message all the way up to the Arctic, national governments should be able to get basic AIDS information to those people in the greatest need. At present they are failing to do that," he said.

Sense Internet's sponsorship includes providing Tom and his crew of one, John Kenny (on the first leg from Amsterdam to Norway), Spanish journalist Manuel Moreno (on the second leg to Iceland), with the fuel they will need for parts of the journey - and publicity to help spread the message - and Sense will be keeping close tabs on them during the five months of their 3,000 mile round trip.

"I have known Tom for over 20 years and his work with AIDS has always been an inspiration to all his family and friends," said Aidan Cook, Sense's managing director. "That passion, combined with the very enthusiastic side of his personality, means this trip comes as no surprise. We're more than happy to support the expedition."

In line with Sense's strong environmental commitment, the company has pledged to offset the carbon generated by the fuel used. But much of the trip is taking place under sail. Tom says. "I'm actually going to give half of Sense's money to the AIDS home-based care cause. I think it's the right thing to do. Fuel is turning out cheap. We used only one half tank to get to Norway by going slowly and using full sails."

The voyage so far

After sailing out of Amsterdam on May 24th Whisky Mac experienced trouble - and sent out a May-day signal - when ropes caught in its propeller and threatened a crisis. "We were almost shipwrecked just a few days out of Amsterdam," says Tom.

Then, approaching their first landfall, in Norway, the boat was hit by a bad squall. "We were knocked about quite a bit and to make matters worse we couldn't get the sail down in the conditions," Tom adds, "but we managed to limp into port."

Their itinerary includes two weeks of hugging the coast of Norway before moving on to the Faroe Islands, then Iceland - where they will venture north to an island in the Arctic Circle - and finally Greenland, where they plan to reach the Arctic Circle in early August. Then they'll return either the way they came or by tacking to Scotland and then south through the Irish sea to the English Channel, then east to Holland.

Some facts:

Worldwide, 33 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. 2.5 million people were infected with HIV last year alone. In 2007, 2.1 million people died from AIDS, often in acute poverty, and often stigmatised by their community.

About Tom Scalway

Tom Scalway is a health communications consultant working with major international and national development organisations to improve and develop cross-cultural health communication strategies.

See Tom's website for more information.
See the Arctic4Aids website for details of Tom's route to the arctic.