Book excerpt: This is the story of an extraordinary boat journey that two men made for the fun of it. They rowed and sailed through pack ice, past glaciers and icebergs. They survived whales, polar bears, starvation and capsize. In doing so, they completed the first circumnavigation of the Arctic Island of Spitsbergen in an open rowing boat. Along the way they learned about themselves and about life, experienced a frozen wilderness that will most likely disappear before the century is out. This is a story for small-boat sailors, for lovers of ice and snow, and for anybody who wanted to run away to sea.