Missed yesterday’s post? Click here.
Got up at 7am. Left Starvation Bay at 8:30am, after it took much longer than planned to take in the anchors and get everything ready.
While the wind and the waves were not that strong, the currents were against us and comparatively strong. The area we passed through today was either incompletely/unreliably mapped or entirely uncharted. The badly mapped sections didn’t “add a bit less information” than well mapped sections, they were just ridiculously wrong.
Often it might just say “Obstruction” for an area of a dozen or more square miles, without any added pointers. In one such area, I was at the helm. I spotted an area or more like a long, thick band where the water had a slightly different colour and wave pattern. So I alerted our skipper, “Suspicious area one mile straight ahead. Water different colour and wave pattern.”
A little while later “Suspicious area half a mile ahead.”
Then, another tad later, we were approaching the area rapidly, with just a hundred yards to spare, reading off the display: “Depth 10 metres… 9 metres…8 metres… 7 metres… 6 metres… 5 metres… 4 metres… 3 metres, turning towards port.” Leven had previously given instructions to do a sharp 120* left turn in case we should reach 3m depth. This was in order to avoid losing our significant momentum while avoiding the obstruction.
At around noon we arrived at our next anchorage location. The intention was to stay there for a few days and sit out the bad weather. Mike and Leven started their 4h rest times, while Art and I were watching for polar bears. A rock that looked much like a polar bear gave us both a little fright.
Leven never laid down, but was busy checking charts and forecasts on different apps, including listening to the Inuit hunters thoughts on their app (to which everyone with $55 to spare can subscribe).
At 2:30pm Leven announced his decision: the good weather window to get to the next sheltered bay was sufficient. We were going to start rowing again at 5pm and were expected to arrive at 1am or a bit later.
Getting everything ready took less time than expected and at 4:30pm we were on our merry way. Initially we were struggling, barely making 1.75 knots (3.2kph, 2mph). Leven later told us that he had come close to considering a U-turn. However, after half an hour the currents had turned more favourable and we had found our rhythm, ploughing along at up to 3.3 knots (6.2kph, 3.9mph), pretty descent for the conditions, rarely dropping below 2.4 knots. At 10:45pm we arrived our shelter for the next few days, Wellington Bay. We were all enthusiastic. 16 Nautical miles in reasonably decent but far from perfect conditions, on top of the lengthy morning row of over 5 Nautical miles.
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
