‘An Earth unstable.’ These are the words Dr Geoff Wilson uses to describe the current findings of his carbon-neutral voyage from pole to pole. Joining him is his 23-year-old son Kitalé Wilson, a filmmaker who spent his early years immersed in adventures, from Africa to Alaska. First setting sail in August last year, the world-class polar explorer and world record holder for the longest solo, unsupported polar journey is on a mission to prove exploration can be sustainable. 

Undertaking a series of seven expeditions that include Patagonia, Antarctica and Iceland, before finally arriving in the Arctic Circle, Wilson and his crew attempt to record the impact of climate change without leaving a carbon footprint. 

‘We felt the effects [of climate change] most harshly in Patagonia, with very unstable glacial melts and holes in the ice only explainable by climate degradation and change,’ explains Wilson.

‘The entirety of Project Zero’s focus is to discover how hard it is to travel, adventure or explore in a carbon neutral way. All this means is that we make extraordinary effort to measure our carbon production, to get there as low-carbon producing as possible and to offset all our production by planting trees in the round, in real time.

‘It’s difficult but it can and must be the way we adventure going forward if we genuinely love the wilderness we explore.’

And while, for most, the wilderness means a weekend camping in a forest, for Wilson it is traversing the most remote and vulnerable environments on the planet. And, it seems, there is no better setting for a renowned adventurer to enjoy some father-son bonding.

‘It’s just a joy to be alongside my son,’ he says. ‘It has added some stresses, as I am responsible for crew and family, but he is now such a great survivalist himself I don’t have to worry – too much!’

Speaking from somewhere between the Caribbean and Halifax, Nova Scotia, the captain of Nanook X (a sustainably retrofitted sailing yacht), and his son are documenting and sharing the journey in real time. The pair has already navigated engine failure during their Tasman crossing, 72-knot winds and a polar hurricane.

‘The biggest challenge so far has been the long hours at sea away from family and friends, to be honest. Plus, the huge number of violent sea storms we dealt with in the Southern Ocean – one which could have ended it all if we had not managed it so well as a team.’ The strong relationship between the father and son adventure duo has been integral, it seems, to their safe crossing.

‘We bring out the best in each other and work seamlessly as an on-ice team now. I am very proud of our father-son mateship and teamwork – a bond forged in the very harshest of places.’

Follow Project Zero’s journey at @projectzero_earth; projectzero.earth