Brazilian Tamara Klink achieved a milestone for Latin America: she alone completed the Northwest Passage, a 6,500 km crossing of the Arctic made possible thanks to melting ice caused by climate change.
The two-month journey between Greenland and Alaska aboard Sardinha 2, a 10-meter-long sailboat, was a personal challenge for Tamara, but also a warning message about the effects of global warming.
“It was the highlight of a two-year project. First I sailed 5,000 km from France to Greenland, where I spent the winter, then I sailed to Alaska,” the 28-year-old told AFP. Between 2023 and 2024, she spent eight months of the winter on her boat in Disko Bay, Greenland, moored in the frozen water.
Born into the famous Klink sailing family and fascinated by the Arctic, Tamara completed the first of her major solo projects in 2021, when she crossed 13,000 km of the Atlantic between Norway and Brazil, in a small sailboat that she bought “for the price of a bicycle” and named Sardinha.
“For me, sailing is important, because I send a message: go after your dreams,” said Tamara, who completed the new route last month. “I don’t care if I’m the first or the last” to accomplish feats, highlighted the sailor, who considers it “gratifying” to have been the first person from Latin America to cross the Northwest Passage.
“This shows that Latin Americans can face sporting challenges related not only to beaches or warm waters, but also to very cold and technically challenging environments”, commented Tamara.
The Northwest Passage connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and was first crossed by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his crew at the beginning of the 20th century (1903-1906). Until three decades ago, it was only possible to cross it with icebreakers.
“Very few people have made the Northwest Passage alone [14]not just because it is challenging, but also because it was impossible. The water was frozen throughout the winter, and partially during the summer”, explained Tamara.
According to the UN, 2024 was the hottest year on record, and exceeded pre-industrial levels (1850-1900) by 1.55°C. “I only found ice on 9% of the route. Talking to scientists and local people, Inuit hunters and fishermen [povo das regiões árticas]I understood that this is part of a general trend of there being less and less sea ice”, warned Tamara. “It will be very difficult to reverse it if we don’t make firm, courageous decisions this decade.”
Daughter of famous sailor Amyr Klink, Tamara inherited her father’s love of exploring places. When Amyr returned home after long months of travel, he told stories about strange animals and battles against storms.
The sailor also took Tamara on some crossings, which gave rise to her first book, “Holidays in Antarctica” (2011), which she wrote with her sisters Laura and Marina. “It was super beautiful for us, as children, to dream about this,” he recalled.
“I was 12 years old when I asked my father to help me start sailing alone. He told me he would help me with zero boats and zero advice: ‘Let me know when you’re ready, and bon voyage'”, said Tamara. “He had all the answers and all the tools, but he gave me the right to make my own mistakes and learn.”
While devouring books about the Arctic, Tamara followed her path with a specialization in the naval field at the Higher School of Architecture in Nantes, France. In this way, he made navigation his life.
“Solitude has more or less become my comfort zone,” described the sailor. “When I’m at sea, on my boat, it doesn’t matter my gender, my age or where I come from. I’m just the result of my choices on board. At sea, it doesn’t matter if I’m a woman or a man, young or old.”
