Friday, April 6, 2012

Norwegian Idiot Arrested

The Norwegian who went to Antarctica without permission in January is now in custody.
Bad hair day, Jarle?
Self-proclaimed "Viking" Jarle Andhoy and four others (incl. NZer Busby Noble) were arrested by the Chilean navy last weekend. When found, his yacht Nilaya was drifting between Antarctica and Sth America after its boom snapped; food and diesel were low.
You'll recall the headlines earlier this year when Andhoy spent weeks sneaking around the ice illegally. He was looking for evidence of missing sailboat Berserk, which sank in McMurdo Sound in Feb.2011, killing three. Andhoy and a mate had been travelling across the ice on quad bikes when Berserk sank: a week's search-and-rescue operation covered more than 25,000sq km, in treacherous seas and 180kmh winds. Andhoy said he returned to find answers to the sinking. Well, hello! It was one of the worst Antarctic storms in 20 years!!!
In January, Busby Noble claimed he'd been below decks repairing an anchor and fell asleep, thus becoming an unintentional stowaway when Nilaya sailed. Yea, right. Transpired he was an acquaintance of one of those who died, and a maori activist. First thing this bro did when he reached the ice? Plant a maori separatist flag! Jeez! Give it a rest!
No, give them "arrest" - the appropriate response to this foolhardy unauthorised barely planned risk-taking. Norway's media and hundreds of Facebook fans were treating these "Wild Vikings" as heroes for cocking a snook at authorities and going to the ice without permission. Duuhh, this ain't an anti-establishment game! These clowns would've expected total support if they'd got into trouble, yet did not conform to safety protocols, thus putting others at high risk/high cost to mount search-and-rescue ops.
There was never going to be any evidence to find: this was just a
'f***-the-system!' trip. So no glorious Viking exit into a southern sunset: Andhoy and cohorts deserve everything that's coming to them.

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