Andy Fitze is passionate about organizing seemingly impossible sailing expeditions. He is often drawn to the uppermost region of the northern hemisphere, both in summer and winter. Together with his crews, he braves not only freezing 20° below zero temperatures, snow and ice, but also hurricanes with winds of over 120km/h.
The most headwinds, however, he hasn't experienced on the boat. But naysayers just further assure him to leave the beaten paths and defy the odds.
Andy combines 25 years of leadership experience on land with 22 expeditions on the high seas. He stands for robust action and bold leadership by maverick.
In over 20 own expeditions he has sailed across all oceans and navigated over 40 countries to port.
The bucket list of extreme destinations is still long. The beauty and superiority of nature are calling him for many more adventures.
Interested in participating on a cost- and risk-sharing basis among friends. Send us an e-mail
Like you just leave. Head north. Do something different. Something outside the norm.And yes, that’s part of it. That’s exactly why I do this. I don’t want predefined paths. I don’t want standardized experiences. I want the edges. The places where things are not scripted.
So how I get to these maps is actually a big part of the whole story. Because when you do expeditions, you learn pretty quickly that maps are not automatically reliable just because they exist. Especially in a place like Greenland, where a lot of the chart material is simply old and not really up to date.
My name is Saeny and I’m joining Project 68° North as photographer, filmmaker and crew member. This will be my third voyage with Skipper Andy and I’m looking forward to heading north together once again.
Hello from windy and rainy but ever mystically beautiful Faroe Islands. Being here feels like we followed the steps of a crew from a sea folk tale, and reached a mystical green island beyond the fog, where water flows and the food is rich—an island that men would risk shipwreck in an attempt to reach. In fact, Naddod, the Viking king after which our boat is named, did cast off from Norway with his crew in an attempt to find and settle in the Faroe Islands, and a storm blew his ship off course. He overshot the Faroe Islands and ended up being the first Viking to reach Iceland.
After staying up until 2 a.m. playing Rummikub with the crew, our 7:30 a.m. wake-up felt heavier than usual. But this dissipated rapidly as we got our gear on and went on the dinghy to the harbor, so we could row Naddoddur back to the boathouse. Georg constantly directs the crew’s attention to situational awareness and preemptive problem-solving, so that when any situation arises, we’re not disorganized and clumsy in handling it. “We’re about to reach the dock. What do we need to think about? Is there enough space for us to row? Which way is the wind blowing? What’s our plan, and what can you do to prepare?” It’s a good quality in a leader to constantly look ahead to predict and prepare.
Another day of preparations with the boathouse crew has come to a successful close as we get ready for our upcoming voyage. We spent the day practicing rowing Naddoddur in the fjord before bringing it into the boathouse for some final reinforcements. The boathouse team repurposed an old sail to create a sturdy shelter at the bow, which will serve as our sleeping cabin during the trip. Designed to accommodate just two people, this space will be crucial as we face long days, limited sleep, and constant watch shifts.
