In the winter of 2028, somewhere above the Arctic Circle, a 16-metre steel ketch will let itself get frozen into the pack ice.
On purpose.
The boat is SV Windfall. The captain is Thomas van Thiel. He’s an Ocean Nomads ambassador since the beginings, a long-time skipper in our network, and the kind of crew you want next to you when something breaks.
This is the project he’s been quietly preparing for years.
Meet Thomas
Thomas learned to sail on a lake in Almere. From the Weerwater and the Gooimeer he worked his way out to the IJsselmeer, the North Sea, and eventually across the Atlantic. One step further out each time.
His father, Philippe van Thiel, ran Haddock Watersport in Almere. Philippe passed away a few years ago. Around the same time, Thomas got endocarditis, an infection in a heart valve. The recovery was long.
He spent those years working on his boat. Somewhere in that work, the Arctic became the next thing.
Windfall
SV Windfall is a 16-metre steel ketch designed by the French naval architect André Mauric. Many Ocean Nomads have sailed on her and we’ve organized a fleet from Galicia to Portugal once for which SV Windfall was the lead ship. The last few years going through every system on board, asking the same question of each one: will it still work alone, with backups, far from anywhere with help.
Steel handles ice better than fibreglass. Ketch rigs give you more sail options when the weather turns. André Mauric designed boats for long passages. Windfall fits what’s coming.
2026: the Atlantic warm-up
Before the ice, the ocean. In 2026, Thomas takes Windfall across the Atlantic as the support vessel for a different kind of attempt.
Belgian adventurer Koen Darras is trying to be the first person ever to cross the Atlantic solo by kitesurf. Roughly 3,000 nautical miles by kite alone. Windfall sails alongside as support. Thomas gets the ocean miles. Koen gets a backup that doesn’t disappear over the horizon when the weather closes in. They connected via the Ocean Nomads community! It’s what we do and what our mission is. With Ocean Nomads we also be sailing the Atlantic and departing the same day as Koen & Thomas from the same port!
The timeline
- 2026: Atlantic crossing with Windfall as support vessel for the Koen Darras kitesurf attempt
- Summer 2027: reconnaissance expedition above the Arctic Circle
- Winter 2028: overwintering, deliberately frozen into the pack ice
- Summer 2029: if the ice permits, an attempt at the Northwest Passage
Three years of building from here, with one already in the bank.
Why this, not a record
Thomas put it himself:
The expedition isn’t about records. It’s about preparation, self-reliance, and respect for the area.
Ocean Nomads is a community of ocean-minded people. Thomas is one of the captains in our network, a long-time ambassador, and somebody members have sailed with for years.
A few of his support crew came up through the Ocean Nomads network too. They joined a trip a couple of years back. They stuck around. They showed up at meetups, online and in person. Now they’re crewing with him on Windfall as the project builds. That’s the network turning into actual ocean miles.
As the project builds, the network keeps supporting along the way. Members along the route through the new map. Arctic prep notes and citizen science resources in the updated resource library. The Ripple Log for the impact moments worth tracking. It’s the kind of support that used to mean ten WhatsApp chats. Now it lives in one place.
Looking to help over summer?
Thomas has put a call out on the Ocean Nomads noticeboard. For volunteer crew over summer 2026. Refit help. Coastal passages. Atlantic prep. If you’ve been looking for hands-on prep miles before a bigger project of your own, this is the kind of opportunity that doesn’t come around often. The open crew slots are in our spring and summer 2026 crew calls.
Follow the project
Thomas shares updates from the build, the refit, the Atlantic crossing, and eventually the Arctic on his project site. He also gives keynote lectures under the title Into the Arctic, where he shares the preparation and the why behind it.
If you want to follow along, support the build, or book him for a talk: intothearctic.org
If you’d like to sail with Thomas in person before he heads north, he sometimes skippers on Ocean Nomads sailing trips in 2026 and into early 2027, and when he needs crew on his mission (which he will), he re-crews from the Ocean Nomads community. Come say hi to Thomas in the next Ocean Nomads Member Meet-up, each new moon.
Fair winds, Thomas. We are sooo proud!
Want to meet more of the captains and members building the future of ocean sailing and expedition with adventure, impact & community? Join Ocean Nomads.
