‘Fleur Australe’ in the ice covered sea two days ago. Image courtesy of fleuraustrale.fr (click to enlarge)
Dog Beti taking a break from ‘Fleur Australe’. Image courtesy of fleuraustrale.fr (click to enlarge)
‘Ocean Watch’ negotiating the ice. Image courtesy of aroundtheamericas.org (click to enlarge)
Two polar bears checking out ‘Ocean Watch’ two days ago. Image courtesy of aroundtheamericas.org (click to enlarge)
The ‘Bagan’ a motor vessel with a film crew onboard heading westward. Image courtesy of northwestpassagefilm.com/arctic (click to enlarge)
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Northwest Passage wrap-up: ‘Fleur Australe’ through the Passage and ‘Ocean Watch’ into open water
Posted: Aug 27, 2009 09:17 am EST
(TheOceans.net/ThePoles.com) ‘Fleur Australe’ reached the end of the Northwest Passage with arriving at Point Borrow in the west in a very fast time, despite the heavy ice conditions.
At the opposite side in the east, ‘Ocean Watch’ reported they are out of the ice-covered sea.
‘Fleur Australe’
Eight days after leaving Cambridge Bay Philippe Poupon, “Philou”, arrived at Point Borrow the most northern point of Alaska, United States.
According to their French dispatch they anchored in 8-meter deep water near the coast. There was a heavy swell and they were not sure if they would be able to land.
Philou said the navigation through the ice was a challenge and required patience; a big life lesson.
Another life lesson that they learned was when the white ice horizon stretched out in front of the boat and looked insurmountable they climbed high up the mast and assessed the ice from above.
From high up cracks and a small leads could be spotted which helped to overcome the big obstacle. The lesson: “Always get distance to assess a situation and recognize the issues.”
’Ocean Watch’
Herb McCormick described reaching open water, “For as we slipped through the strait from ice-wracked Peel Sound to a clear blue channel called Prince Regent Inlet, we were out of the pack ice, out into open water, and for nearly all practical purposes, out of the Northwest Passage.
Skipper Mark Schrader described their sailing through the Ballot Strait, “The moving ice inside the channel made for some anxious moments for all but with good spotting help from the crew, Dave Logan steered us around the large floes, avoided the rocks, and found the right track through the whole mess.”
Herb said Peel Sound remains the primary obstacle for those hoping to transit the Northwest Passage in small boats. “In 2007 and 2008, Peel opened up in mid-August and small yachts like ours skated right on through.”
“The story is different in 2009. Old ice to the north was dislodged last spring and mixed in with new ice in Peel to form a rather imposing blockade to safe navigation.”
Arctic Mariner
Kevin Oliver and Tony Lancashire said in their latest dispatch that they are keen to get to Gjoa Haven before the month is out as the weather starts to turn into September “and this has already been a bad ice year and an unpredictable season for weather.”
“However we are both now looking forward to the next stage of our journey which hopefully will take us into contact with some evidence of the iconic Franklin Expedition of 1846.”
’Fiona’
Fiona was watering and fuelling in Cambridge Bay and planned to head westward to Tuktoyatuk. Captain Eric Forsyth reported, “Worst of the ice appears to be behind us.”
Herb McCormick said in a dispatch Eric mentioned that when Fiona had become lodged in ice near Resolute the situation was "anxious-making" and Eric continued, "The thing about sailing in the Arctic is that you can do everything right and something might happen out of your control and you might lose your boat."
’Silent Sound’
In their German blog the guys described what they wear onboard.
‘Baloum Gwen’
They left Gjoa Haven on the 25th. Captain Thierry Fabian described their route plan. “In the North West of King William Island we’ll pass through James Ross Strait then in Larsen Sound. After Bellot Strait we’ll stop few hours at Fort Ross.”
A passenger ship arrived at Gjoa and told them Bellot Strait is free of ice. Thierry added, “Last year Baloum sailed from Resolute to Gjoa by Peel Sound so I prefer to take Bellot strait and Prince Regent Inlet this time.”
“Yesterday we went on the west coast of the bay where Amundsen built a cabin on a little hill, it was the laboratory to take different measures of the earth magnetic field, direction, horizontal and vertical force of the field.”
“There remains nothing of the expedition; today in this place there is only a commemorative cement block and three wood ships wrecks but more recent.”
They reported good weather.
’Bagan’
The crew are filming the North West Passage. No new dispatches. According to Arctic Mariner they were in Cambridge Bay on 24 August.
’Perithia’
The German boat with crew, Uwe and Kathrin, are attempting the NW passage from east to west as part of a yearlong journey. They struggled in the heavy ice near Resolute, and haven’t done any dispatches thereafter.
Three sailboats and a skiff are heading eastward; three sailboats and a motor vessels are heading westward; and two cruise liners will pass each other in the Passage (‘Hanseatic’ west to east and ‘Bremen’ east to west). The Canadian Coast Guard vessel in the Passage is ‘Sir Wilfried Laurier’.
Sailing from West to East through the Northwest Passage:
Arctic Calling voyage (‘Baloum Gwen’)
The ‘Baloum Gwen’ (White Whale in Bretagne language), started sailing in the beginning of June 2009. The 15-meter sailboat is attempting to cross the Northwest Passage from west (Alaska) to east (Baffin Island) in the summer of 2009. In 2008 the boat managed to successfully cross the Northwest Passage from east to west.
2009 Crewmembers: Thierry Fabing (France, Expedition leader & owner of the yacht), Patrick Reader (Belgium/ UK, Media), Arielle Corre (France), Eric John (France: a skipper), Aline Penitot (France), Gilles Durand (France), Hélène Virlogeux (France).
Around the Americas Expedition on ‘Ocean Watch’
‘Ocean Watch’ departed from Seattle, USA, on 31 May 2009 on a 13-month, 25,000-nautical mile clockwise-circumnavigation of North and South America. Their aim is to spread a message about the oceans surrounding North and South America, how fragile they are and how we need to be aware of the problems and make changes in our lives to help correct them.
The sailboat is a 64-foot steel cutter that will attempt to traverse the Northwest Passage portion of the journey during the Northern Hemisphere summer, from June through September. Likewise, the optimum window of opportunity for rounding Cape Horn at the voyage's southern extremity exists during summertime in the Southern Hemisphere, from December through February.
Permanent crew (US): Captain Mark Schrader (Skipper and Project Director), David Lee Logan (first mate), David Thoreson (Watch Captain), and Herb McCormick (Watch Captain).
Additional crew through the Northwest Passage: Dr.Kris Ludwig, the oceanographer and project manager of Around the Americas for the Pacific Science Center, and Byran Reeves.
Open Passage Expedition on ‘Silent Sound’
‘Silent Sound’ left Victoria, BC, Canada, on 6 June 2009 to attempt a west to east transit of the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic. She spent the first weeks sailing north through the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert, cutting across the Gulf of Alaska to Dutch Harbor and entered the Northwest Passage. They predicted the key challenge will be to get through the portion of the passage from the Queen Maud Gulf to Resolute, which opens only periodically from late August to mid-September. This is the heart of the Northwest Passage. They will sail south along the Baffin Island, Labrador and Nunatsiavut coasts towards Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada their final port.
Their journey over the top of Canada is about 7,000 nautical miles long and will take approximately four months. ‘Silent Sound’ is a 40-foot cutter rig sailing boat.
Crewmembers are: Cameron Dueck (Canada, expedition leader and captain), Hanns Bergmann (German, first mate), Tobias Neuberger (German, expedition doctor and sailing crew), Drew Fellman (American, photographer)
Shore crew: Dr. E.C. (Chris) Pielou is the scientific adviser, Tricia Schers is the expedition’s media relations manager and Troy Dunkley is the expedition designer/webmaster.
2009 Arctic Mariner Expedition
The two men will row, sail or haul their small craft 1700 miles along the west-east route. Royal Marines, Kevin Oliver and Tony Lancashire are navigating the ice-strewn central Northwest Passage in an open boat powered only by oar and sail and manpower.
According to their website the NorseBoat 17.5 for the Arctic Mariner expedition is constructed of a fiberglass composite, which has been reinforced for the ice and has extra buoyancy and stabilization features. The NorseBoat 17.5 is stable, lightweight at 240 kg, and capable of being rowed with its dual sliding seat rowing set-up or sailed with its robust, high performance rig.
Sailing from East to West through the Northwest Passage:
‘Fleur Australe’
Onboard the 2 masts, 20 meters long French aluminium sailing boat, ‘Fleur Australe’, are famous French sailor, Philippe Poupon, the owner (born 1954), his wife, actress and filmmaker Géraldine Danon, and their four children Nina (13), Loup (9), Laura (2 ½) and Marion (1) - and their dog Beti.
The family departed from La Rochelle, France, on 11 February 2009. Their route took them to Lisbon in Portugal, Mauritania (West Africa), then west across the Atlantic to the West Indies and north to New York from where they arrived in Greenland in July. On 28 July ‘Fleur Australe’ departed from Greenland to cross the Northwest Passage from east to west. 'Fleur Australe' arrived at point Barrow at 11h15, Thursday 26 August 2009.
Skipper Philippe Poupon, also known as "Philou", has among numerous achievements won yacht races across the oceans, particularly single-handed, and has sailed around the world several times.
Yacht ‘Fiona”
‘Fiona’ with owner Captain Eric B. Forsyth and crew left Long Island, USA, on 15 June 2009 to attempt the Northwest Passage from east to west. The route plan goes past the west coast of Greenland, into the Canadian Arctic and Northwest Passage, past Victoria Island, to Point Borrow, Alaska, then south past the west coast of Canada and USA towards Panama and back to Long Island – a predicted 11 month journey.
Crew: Capt. Eric Forstyth with Russ Roberts, Joe Waits and Canadian David Wilson.
’Bagan’
A Nordhavn 57 motor yacht, ‘Bagan,’ skippered by Sprague Theobold. The crew departed Newport, RI, on 16 June 2009.
’Perithia’
This is a German/Bavarian boat with total length 14,65 m. The ‘Perithia’ is a fiberglass hull Bavaria 44 and home to Uwe and Kathrin.
Uwe, 45, and Kathrin, 42, are a couple for 19 years. Six years ago they discovered their passion for sailing. They are taking a year off to circumnavigate the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait.
Planned route: Greece, Algeria, Portugal, Greenland, Baffin Bay, Resolute, NW Passage, Beaufort Sea, Bering Strait, Aleutian Islands, into the Pacific Ocean, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, trough the Strait of Malacca/Malaysia into the Bay of Bengal, Burma, Sri Lanka, the Maledives towards the Red Sea - passing the Arabian Sea and the pirates - entering and reaching the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal back to where they started
Arctic Solo Sail
On April 6, 2009, a small, light and very fast vessel departed Two Harbours, Minnesota on a voyage of adventure to the far North. Captain Tommy D Cook commenced on the journey traveling the length of the Great Lakes to the open ocean thence north to Alaska via the Northwest Passage.
According to his website he decided on the Corsair F-31 UC based on availability, speed (approaching 20 knots or 23 mph) and reputation, plus the added feature of its ability to be towed down the highway at 55 mph.
The Northwest Passage is a sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans along the coast of Northern Canada.
Some history:
- The first to navigate these waters were the Inuits...
- In 1490, Jean Cabot hypothesized that the North-West passage led directly to the Orient.
- Since the 16th Century, Europeans have made several attempts to explore the Northwest Passage in order to develop a maritime passage that would facilitate trade with Asia. The Arctic becomes an obstacle. These expeditions continue for over 300 years.
- 100 years ago, Amundsen became the first to navigate the Northwest Passage, from 1903 to 1906, on Gjöa.
- Since then, several sailboats and other vessels have successfully completed the passage.
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