The Irish boat on an expedition to the Arctic Circle is still stuck in ice, according to a friend of the skipper, Mr John Gore-Grimes.
Tom Lawlor, a former Irish Times photographer who has sailed on a number of expeditions with Mr Gore-Grimes, said the boat was "iced-in badly", but morale was high. He spoke to him yesterday at lunchtime.
Conditions on the yacht, which is new and quite large, are good, they have plenty of good food, books and music, he said. Their main task was to keep chipping away at the ice on the bow of the boat, and ensuring that the propeller and rudder are kept free.
Mr Gore-Grimes, a solicitor from Howth, was studying ice-maps, based on satellite pictures of the area within a 100-mile radius, according to Mr Lawlor.
By studying the changes in the maps he should be able to predict where an opening will come.
"Weather conditions are very slow to change there. He doesn't visualise being out of there for the next few days," said Mr Lawlor.
Asked about the threat from polar bears who were near the boat on Tuesday, Mr Lawlor said: "There have been no sightings of polar bears today. They tend to be on ice-flows close to water where they feed."
If a rescue attempt had to be made, it would probably come from Norway. "But we're not in this situation yet", Mr Lawlor said. "John Gore-Grimes is probably the most experienced Arctic sailor in the world. He's a very careful and a very safe skipper."
Mr Lawlor has sailed with Mr Gore-Grimes to north-eastern Greenland, from Siberia to Alaska and from Bermuda to the Azores.