Northwest Passage Expedition – daily update 2 August 2024

Missed yesterday’s post? Click here.

Got up at 6am to do some admin and to call Ellie. Dozed off again for an hour from 7:30 to 8:30am. Got ready.

Leven and Mike picked us up at 9am. Back to previous night’s dinner place for breakfast. The owner and our waitress were very friendly and seemed pleased to see us back again so soon.

I ordered two cheese omelettes. The others ordered sandwiches and pancakes. The food did not disappoint. Luckily we also got free top-ups for our coffees. We were all a bit excited, perhaps a tad nervous about the start of our expedition. Still, lots of laughs and good banter. Leven paid the bill, because the money from our latest sponsor LPA had arrived this morning, earlier than advised, which came in very handy, considering the many unexpected recent often excessive expenses like £6,000 for a fuel cell. Huge relief and a big thank you to LPA, who are also doing a fabulous job promoting our expedition.

All pics (c) BerkeleySqB except feature photo (c) Teresa Heisler

Untying Hermione took a good 45 minutes. Teresa from the Bergmann crew gave us 4 chocolate and four caramel muffins she had baked, which blew us away. The rest of the crew gave excellent advice like “Don’t pet polar bears” or “Stay away from red-haired polar bears”. Okey dokes.

We gave the crew a bottle of our expedition gin and said our thank-yous and goodbyes.

 

And finally our expedition kicked off and we started rowing Westward from Cambridge Bay Harbour. Such a lovely feeling after all the planning, preparing and waiting.

At around 9:30pm we anchored in Starvation Bay, some 20 nautical miles West of Cambridge Bay. At 10pm Shaun and Patty rocked up in their motorboat and with a package that had been delivered by mail earlier today for Art. Very good of them.

 

At 10:30pm, my first polar bear watch started. Together with Art, while Leven and Mike went to bed. At 2:30am the next day, Saturday, they would take over from us.

There was only one tense moment, when a big head popped out of the water about 20m from the boat. Was it a polar bear in attack mode? Luckily it turned out to be a seal instead. And a cute and very curious one at that.

For tomorrow’s post click here.

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE EXPEDITION

 

22 July – LHR to YCB

2 August 2024 (Cambridge Bay to Starvation Bay)

4 August 2024 (Starvation Bay to Wellington Bay)

12 August 2024 (From Wellington Bay 6h further Westward)

15 August 2024 (53mi/96km from Botany Island to Richardson Islands)

18 August 2024 (from Richardson Islands past Marker Islands)

22 August 2024 (23mi/37km Westward from Miles and Nauyan Islands past Lady Franklin Point – extremely tough conditions – ‘MISSION IMPOSSIBLE’)

23 August 2024 (Dreadful 10 miles – 12mi/19km – that felt like 100 miles to Douglas Island; welcome committee of two dozen seals)

25 August 2024 (An easy 19mi/31km from Douglas Island to Lambert Island; MS Fridtjoff Nansen passing)

27 August 2024 (An easy 7mi/9km along Lambert Island; yacht Night Owl passing by us)

28 August 2024 (STARTING OUR 64MI/104KM PUSH EARLY; passing Hanseatic Spirit, MS Roald Amundsen, yacht Honshu)

29 August 2024 (Arriving at Cape Hope after 64mi/104km – new team best)

30 August 2024 (EMERGENCY BEACHING at a bay next to Cape Hope)

31 August 2024 (CABIN FLOODED; LEAK FOUND)

Mike’s Poem about our Northwest Passage Expedition

3 September 2024 (REPAIRING HERMIONE)

DETAILS OF LEVEN’S MASTERPIECE: THE PRELIMINARY REPAIR and preparation of the re-launch of Hermione

4 September 2024 (A LOT OF DIGGING and another unsuccessful attempt to refloat the boat)

5 September 2024 (REFLOATING HERMIONE, MOTORING TOWARDS PAULATUK; MILITARY PLANE PASSING)

6 September 2024  (BACK TO ROWING AFTER EMERGENCY MOTOR BREAKS)

8 September 2024 (my 50th birthday; ALMOST CRASHING THE BOAT into rocks; Skynet; a pod of whales)

12 September 2024 (starting our last big push before Paulatuk; RUNNING AGROUND 3X; BIOLUMINESCENCE; Northern lights)

13 September 2024 (ALL HELL BREAKING LOOSE – ALMOST CRASHING INTO CLIFFS)

NORTHERN LIGHTS, 15 September, near Paulatuk

15 September 2024 (REACHING PAULATUK)

16 September 2024 (eating proper food; shower; the good life)

19 September 2024 (flying back home; 5 flights; Breakfast Club at Inuvik Airport)

Stefan will be rowing the Northwest Passage this summer – A little Q&A

Northwest Passage Expedition – Kit List

Trevor’s Travel Trivia IX – The Northwest Passage

My home town’s newspaper, Burghauser Anzeiger, has published an article about the Expedition

Post-expedition Q&As – Coming back from the Arctic after two months

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