In 1893, when there was no consensus whether there might be sea or land around the north pole, the polar explorer Fridjof Nansen had a theory that there is only

In 1893, when there was no consensus whether there might be sea or land around the north pole, the polar explorer Fridjof Nansen had a theory that there is only sea, and that the currents flow the ice over the polar region from Eastern Siberia, over the pole, towards Svalbard and Greenland. So he set up an expedition, 12 men and food for 5 years, sailed north of Eastern Siberia and deliberately stuck the ship in the ice. Then waited ...for 3 years, and yes, finally emerged from the ice on the other side, near Svalbard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansen%27s_Fram_expedition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansen%27s_Fram_expedition