Missed yesterday’s post? Click here.
When I got up at noon after a 4h rest, the wind and waves had picked up, but on the plus side at least some of my clothes had dried to some extent.
THE PLAN FOR THE DAYS AHEAD – CURRENT VERSION (CHANGES LIKELY)
The plan now is to row again for 6 miles from tomorrow, Tuesday, morning at around 8 or 9am to a spot on the South coast of Victoria Island that has massive cliffs, protecting us from Wednesday’s expected Northwesterlies with gusts up to 50 knots (57.5 mph/92.6 kph). Alternatively we could leave our current location at the same time but row for 9 miles to the first of many islands in that area. The 6 mile option is probably preferable as best protection against the winds.
HARD ROWING FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT
From early noon or early afternoon tomorrow until Wednesday evening or late night we sit out the Northwesterlies, anchored safely. Then we expect there to be tailwinds for at least two days. We will plan to row hard for 12h or so, then switch to a rotation system that will allow at least one, possibly two of us at a time to get a nap, before switching back to rowing at full steam 12h later or so. Hopefully we can keep this going for two days or more. It’s hard to tell. Chances are we’ll have to allow for slightly more rest time.
PAULATUK HERE WE COME
It would be great to finally start getting some proper mileage in and get closer to our next big stop, Paulatuk, on the other (Southern) side of the Northwest Passage, which is currently still just under 300 miles (345 statue miles/555 km) away. In a perfect world we’ll reach the settlement (official population in 2016: 265) within the next two weeks. We have already emailed the local supermarket to make sure they are open and stocked up. (Not heard back yet.)
AND FROM THERE: THE BEAUFORT SEA
From there it will be around 150 miles (173 statute miles/278 km) until we reach the Beaufort Sea.
CHANGE OF PLANS, WE ARE ROWING NOW
At 11:30pm Leven decided to ignore the weather reports which were predicting strong adverse winds and trust his eyes and instincts. The sea and winds had calmed down and there was nothing (apart from the forecasts) to suggest that this would change very soon. So we all got ready to row.
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
