Davis User Stories

April 18 , 2006

WEATHER STATIONS IN ACTION:
Vantage Pro2 Circumnavigating the North Pole; Taking the Cold in Stride!

Here’s a recent picture of Gary Ramos (he’s under there somewhere), with his boat Arctic Wanderer, in their temporary home in Cambridge Bay, Canada. He and his Vantage Pro2 are on their way to making the first single-hand circumnavigation of the North Pole.

Former Bay Area resident Gary Ramos has taken his Vantage Pro2 on a little adventure. He mounted it on his sailboat, Arctic Wanderer, a Folkes 39’ cutter, and set off to undertake the incredible challenge of being the first person to circumnavigate the North Pole, inside the Arctic Circle, sailing by himself.

He left Seward, Alaska, on May 22, 2005, and headed for Kodiak. From there he headed southeast for False Pass in the Aleutian Islands. After a dicey navigation through chunks of ice on his way to Nunivak Island, Nome and Pt. Barrow, the northernmost point in Alaska, Gary made it to Cambridge Bay in the Canadian Arctic in August. That’s where he’s been since, waiting for spring and the ability to move his boat again.

Gary Ramos’ Vantage Pro2 console must be enjoying the toasty 62.7ºF temps in the cabin of his sailboat. Outside, it is -19.3. Look at the graph… it’s clearly a nice warm day…

The Vantage Pro2 has been performing like a champ. “I turned the heat off in the boat in January,” Gary told us, “and it got down to -25ºF. The console display faded a bit, but it was still reading!”

Although the console specifications assure that the LCD will keep displaying data all the way down to 32ºF (the console will continue to function, that is, receive and store data, down to 14ºF), this one is showing just how conservative that number is.

Anyone who wants to accompany Gary from the warmth of their computer room can do so by logging on to his Arctic Wandering web site. Send him some warm vibes while you’re exploring his fascinating site.