Mike Coates (62), of Sandsend, will be taking the 72ft charter yacht Polar Bear to the island of Jan Mayen in the Arctic Circle.

The purpose of the visit to the island is to put ashore a party of nine climbers and two Norwegian guides to climb Mt Beerenburg, an active volcano on the island which last erupted in 1985.

It is situated in the Norwegian Sea around 600 miles west of Norway and will prove a tough challenge.

The island is rarely visited and the journey can be treacherous with wild sea conditions and freezing temperatures.

The island was made famous in the film Captain Jack as the island where local man Jack Lanniman – played by Bob Hoskins – built a cairn of rocks and placed a plaque in memory of Captain William Scoresby, the Whitby whaling captain.

Mike and his wife Yvonne have clocked up around 20,000 sea miles on their own yacht Jolly Swagman since they sold their business Coates Marine in 1998.

Mike said: “Jack has told me where the plaque is and providing the weather will allow I’m hoping to be able to go ashore to try and find it,” he said ahead of setting off.

“Although I’ve sailed a Challenge yacht before it will be an experience being in charge of a yacht of this size especially in strange waters where there is little charted information.

“The aptly named yacht, previously called Aviva was part of the Challenge fleet owned and run by the adventurer and sailor Chay Blyth, and was previously used by Dee Caffarey to sail single handed around the world.”

Mike, a former second coxswain of Whitby lifeboat, said people don’t normally go to this region and he has wanted to visit the Lofoten Islands for a long time.

He will co-skipper the yacht working three hour split shifts.

The whole trip will last around 16 days.

He added: “Despite it being summer, the weather can be very inclement with regular winds up to 70 knots.

“The maximum summer temperature is around 5°C (40° Fahrenheit).

“By the time we arrive, the island will be in its six-week ice-free period, one bonus is we should experience the midnight sun for the whole time we are at sea.

“The island is uninhabited apart from the crews who run the Loran navigation and weather station, which is serviced by a Hercules transport plane from Norway; which sometimes has difficulty even in landing in summer.

“Despite the fact it will be tiring with the possibility of bad weather I’m looking forward to visiting an outpost that very few people get chance to see.”

Look out for pictures in the Whitby Gazette when Mike returns from his adventure.