Two paddling teams heading in opposite directions in the Northwest Passage will pass each other soon.
Kayakers Simon Carrier and Maxime Geoffroy have made a strong start after their roundabout road trip to the Northwest Territories. The pair set off on July 7, paddling west to east from near Tuktoyaktuk toward Pond Inlet. Over the first two weeks, they averaged over 40km a day before slowing slightly. They experienced their first windbound day on July 28.
State of the sea ice in the Northwest Passage as of July 31. The red area denotes heavy, impassible ice. The purple line indicates the usual NWP route.
Judging by their GPS updates, they are still on track and have a great shot to complete the passage, if the ice cooperates. They are currently paddling toward Cambridge Bay, the halfway point of their journey. The sea ice is still blocking the passage from the western to the eastern part of the High Arctic, but it has plenty of time to clear before they reach that crucial area.
Carrier and Geoffroy are approaching Cambridge Bay. Photo: Simon Carrier and Maxime Geoffroy
Rowing the other way
Meanwhile, on Aug. 2, an ocean rowing team led by Leven Brown set off from Cambridge Bay heading west. Brown led an attempt to row the passage in 2023, but the team aborted because of unstable fall weather. Mike Harding is the only returning crew member, while Stefan Hacker and Art Huseonica joined the 2024 team. The new team is not rowing the full passage. Instead, they continued where the last group called off their row.
They made a smooth start but anticipate rough weather soon.
“We expect to anchor in Wellington Bay for quite a few more days unless the weather forecasts should change dramatically,” Stefan Hacker wrote on his blog today.
