Northwest Passage 2009

[Blake]

polarbear.JPG (51.59 KiB) Viewed 519 times

Polar bear encountered near Resolute, NWT, by the Westsail 42 Fiona.

Sprague Theobald and his crew aboard the Nordhavn 57 Bagan have reached the safety of Gjoa Haven after a horrific two days battling ice that threatened to wreck the boat. The same ice jam caused Fiona, a Westsail 42 about 60 miles north of Bagan, to call a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker for assistance.

In an email, Theobald described the experience: "After 2 long days, we finally broke out of the ice and when we saw the new chart showing none ahead (except for the occasional growler) I went to my cabin, shut the door and broke down and cried like a baby . . . I've never know any pressure or mental anguish as I did the last few days. The chances of Bagan being on the bottom were well over 75%."

Click here to read more in Theobald's latest post on his blog.

The fate of Fiona is unclear since this brief post: "Last night, 16 Aug, we got hopelessly trapped by the ice. Despite a favorable ice report we encountered 8/10ths ice, with many old, i.e. large, bergs. We spent the night tied to one of them but had to leave this morning when another 'berg collided with us and tipped Fiona over. We got away but the space around us is shrinking. I called the Canadian Coast Guard at noon and they are sending an icebreaker, due here tomorrow. We are NOT in immediate danger."

Click here to see where SPOT aboard Fiona has the yacht located.

Meanwhile, Philippe Poupon and his family managed to pass through this section of the Northwest Passage without a hitch 10 days ago. They visited Gjopa Haven and now are in Cambridge Bay with their sailing vessel Fleur Australe.

If the name Philippe Poupon sounds familiar it's because Poupon, until his retirement from ocean racing, was one of the most successful solo sailors ever.

There is no word yet on the whereabouts of Polar Bound, the other trawler yacht attempting to transit the Arctic this summer. Click here for a newspaper feature on David Scott Cowper whose exploits under sail and under power are legendary.

There was a fifth yacht approaching the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic but it remains in Labrador. Singlehander Tommy Cook aboard a Corsair 31 folding trimaran has decided to delay his attempt to 2010.

There are four sailboats in the hunt from the Pacific.

Ocean Watch is crossing Queen Maud Gulf on its way to Gjoa Haven from Cambridge Bay. Baloum Gwen is still in Cambridge Bay, waiting for favorable wind, while Silent Sound is just east of Cambridge Bay.

Two Brits, career Royal Marines, are sailing, rowing, pushing and pulling a 17.5-foot open sailboat toward Cambridge Bay in their quest to conquer the Northwest Passage. They are about 160 miles southwest of Cambridge Bay. Their vessel is a NorseBoat 17.5 Sailing & Rowing Cruiser built in famed Lunenburg on Canada's Atlantic coast.

As noted on the Ocean Watch blog, "One thing was clear: If these guys were running the British Empire, there'd still be one."

Blake August
Northwest Passage Dreamer

[Blake]

From Northern News Services Online:

Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Monday, August 24, 2009

IKALUKTUTIAK/ CAMBRIDGE BAY - Sailors trying to make the trip through the Northwest Passage are encountering an unusual substance this year - ice.

Cambridge Bay resident Peter Semotiuk has been using his radio to provide information on ice conditions to help guide ships through the Northwest Passage for more than 20 years.

"Other than what I read, I'm not a scientist as far as the environment and ice goes," he said. "But it's not as open this year as it has been the last two years, that's for sure."

Semotiuk said the ice conditions are still "pretty good," though areas of the passage in the Central Arctic were still blocked the week of Aug. 17.

"What is a little bit unusual is a place west of Cambridge Bay called Dolphin and Union Strait. There still is ice today and it's not really totally open," he said.

Semotiuk said as many as nine boats are attempting to sail the Northwest Passage this year. He said it is the highest number of ships since he began assisting boats more than 20 years ago.

"I think probably because everybody in the world is telling them that the passage is opening up and because of the global warming news in the media and so on," he said about the high number. "Perhaps another thing is there is more modern equipment. People have GPS and digital phones and digital lines of communications and this sort of thing."

Areas of the passage, which was ice-free for almost two months in the summers of 2007 and 2008, were blocked by thick ice this year, according to Roger Provost, an ice service specialist with Environment Canada.

"The past two years it was very easy, it was ice-free almost all the way," Provost said. "But this year, it's another story."

Provost said the reason is twofold.

"More multi-year ice came down from the Arctic Ocean and it's been fairly cold during last winter and the ice was thicker and that is the main reasons for it," he said. "Ice coming from Arctic Ocean is one thing, but it was colder last winter than previous winters."

Cooler temperatures this summer also contributed to the ice conditions, Provost added.

"This summer wasn't as warm as the past two summers for that area and you combine everything together and that's the result we have," he said.

Provost said the area around Dolphin and Union Strait was particularly clogged by ice.

"We have ice starting at Victoria Strait and up to just the southern portion of Peel Sound, Franklin Straight area," he said in an interview on Aug. 14.

Provost said the ice in the area is slowly melting and is expected to open.

"For the portion of Dolphin and Union Strait, the ice is melting slowly but it's melting and the passage should open over there," he said.

Cameron Dueck, captain of the sailing cutter rig Silent Sound, said he and his crew left Victoria, B.C., on June 6.

"We ran into some ice but for us it's been passable," he said. "We've certainly encountered ice, but we so far have not been stopped by the ice and we feel lucky for that," he said.

The 64-foot steel ship Ocean Watch was not as fortunate.

"When we got into Dolphin, we got a fair amount of ice. We had two days that were a little anxious making," said captain Mark Schrader. "We wandered around in the ice for about 14 hours and we only made about 10 miles to the good. We eventually got out and found open water and then it was fine."

Schrader said he was not surprised by the ice conditions.

"I expected it to be difficult. I expected to have more days like we had in Dolphin and Union Strait than the clear days that we've had," he said.

Patrick Reader, a crew member on the Baloum Gwen, said the crew was stuck in pack ice near Barrow, Alaska, for 24 hours. After that, the passage was clear until the ship reached Dolphin and Union Strait.

"We saw some groelers. it was quite difficult during the Dolphin and Union Strait," he said. "The ice coverage was around 30 to 60, 70 per cent at certain moments."

All three boats are documenting their trips to raise awareness about climate change and its effect on the Arctic.

[Blake]

Cameron Dueck, skipper of Silent Sound, is reporting regularly for CNN on his team's sailing expedition through the Northwest Passage and how climate change is affecting the region.

[mfbrookstone]

Hi Black,
"Fleur Australe" (skipper Philippe Poupon) cross Barrow point yesterday 11h15 Z ...now he sailing to Behring and hope to stop in Nome this weekend...
All the best to you Maurice
http://www.mauriceuguen.com http://www.twitter.com/mauriceuguen http://www.fleuraustrale.fr

[Carlo]

Hi Black,
"Fleur Australe" (skipper Philippe Poupon) cross Barrow point yesterday 11h15 Z ...now he sailing to Behring and hope to stop in Nome this weekend...
All the best to you Maurice
http://www.mauriceuguen.com http://www.twitter.com/mauriceuguen http://www.fleuraustrale.fr

Félicitations Maurice, and the crew on the Fleur Australe.
Bon voyage

Carlo Pays-Bas

[Blake]

Here's how Sprague Theobald wrapped up his Northwest Passage adventure:

We saw Russia and the U.S. at the same time and came within 900 miles of the North Pole. We visited Greenland and Alaska in the same summer & on the same boat. We saw the water temp go from 70 degrees to 30.5 We dodged icebergs in two major oceans. We went as far north as 75N, traveled 1/3rd of the way around the world and cruised 8,500 nautical miles through eight different time zones. Bagan sailed three oceans in one summer, traveled further west than Hawaii and last but not least, transited from the east coast to the west cost via The Northwest Passage.

For more, click here to reach his blog.

Here are the blogs of all yachts that attempted the Passage this year:

Fleur Astrale
Fiona
Perithia
Ocean Watch
Silent Sound
Baloum Gwen
Arctic Mariner
Cap'n Lem

It was quite a year in Northwest Passage history. The number of transits—23—was the most since the first record passage by the explorer Amundsen in 1903. It included yachts, cruise ships, cargo ships and even one rowboat.

I wonder what the future holds for the famed waterway across the top of the Americas?

Blake
Northwest Passage Dreamer