Missed yesterday’s post? Click here.
Last night, at around 11:15pm, a yacht called Lumina approached Lambert Island’s Northern tip from the Southeast, like we had done, a few hours earlier, and laid anchor about 2 miles Northwest of us and the island.
YACHT ‘LUMINA’, SAILORS WITH A GOOD APPETITE
When Leven checked Facebook, he noticed that the skipper of the yacht, a Tim Riley, had left a comment under the most recent Northwest Passage Expedition FB post. Apparently Riley and his team-mates ate some of the rations that Leven and last year’s crew left at Fort Ross (see screenshot). What are the chances… I guess the chances are high, because very few people traverse the Northwest Passage, and those who do will almost always stop at the Hudson’s Bay Company hut at Fort Ross, so they would come across the expedition food left there last year. It is my understanding the food was left to make up for the food last year’s team ate and which had been left by others.
YACHT ‘HONSHU’
A 2nd yacht called Honshu passed us at around 4am. Leven spotted them on AIS, the electronic system.
DECISION TO START OUR BIG PUSH 36H EARLY
The sea gradually got a lot choppier. We didn’t get up to much during the day. At around 3pm, after checking the latest forecasts, Leven announced that we would start a 56-mile (64 statute miles, 104km) push at 6pm.
LIFTING ANCHORS
At 6:05pm we had lifted the anchors and were on our merry way in low to no winds and slightly favourable currents. The sun was shining from a slightly misty, cold, Arctic but cloudless sky. The first few miles we averaged about 2.75 knots (3 mph, 5 kph). We passed several islands and gradually the sun set and it got darker, windier, choppier, and with frequently changing, significant, not always favourable cross currents. At times we were averaging 3.5 knots or more (4 mph, 6.5 kph), at other times we barely kept her above 2 knots (2.3 mph, 3.7 kph).
HUNTERS’ LOG FIRE, UNMANNED RADIO STATION
We passed by what might have been a log fire set up by hunters close to the shore, but still too far to spot details and another, presumably unmanned radio station. When the night settled in properly, we noticed a large sailing yacht following a parallel course to ours, about 2.5 miles (4km) behind us, slightly portside. Then a large cruise ship, Hanseatic Spirit passed us, coming towards us.
(c) Top left, Hanseatic Spirit. (c) Top right, MS Roald Amundsen
FALSE ICEBERG ALARM
At around 11pm one of us briefly mistook an object on the horizon and caused great anticipation and excitement on my side: “Large iceberg on the horizon, my 1 o’clock.” It sure looked like an iceberg from such a far distance.
IAIN PASSING US ON THE MS ROALD AMUNDSEN
However it turned out to be yet another cruise ship. We checked the AIS (Automatic Identification System, “the poor people’s radar” according to Leven). It was Hurtigruten’s MS Roald Amundsen. Leven radioed the captain to say hi. When the captain turned out to be a nice enough chap, Leven also casually mentioned to him, that “a Stefan aboard Hermione says hi to his buddy Iain on the Amundsen.” Not sure if the captain actually made the tannoy announcement to this effect as he had implied he would. For those who missed it, Iain from Manchester had sent me a kind email to say he followed my Northwest Passage blog posts and that he will keep an eye out for Hermione on his journey through the Passage with the Amundsen. He had come across the blog while doing a bit of research ahead of the trip.
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
