Northwest Passage Expedition – daily update 19 September 2024

Missed the last update (16 September)? Click here.

From last Tuesday morning to Thursday morning I flew from Paulatuk via Inuvik, Whitehorse, Vancouver and Montreal to Heathrow. I took some footage along the way.

TRANSFORMATOR TO BE FIXED

In Paulatuk we had to wait for electricians to hop off the incoming flight, fix a transformator in town, then hop back onto the outgoing flight. All other flights delayed or rescheduled, too.

   

   

HYDRAULIC ISSUES WITH THE PLANE

At Inuvik our plane had to be replaced because of hydraulic issues, leaving us passengers stranded in a Breakfast Clubesque situation throughout the night at this Arctic outpost.

 

BREAKFAST CLUB IN INUVIK

A bunch of construction workers ended up playing cards with a 70-year old Inuit lady and her 15-year old grandson. Three ladies were playing basketball. Two kids and one of the construction workers were chasing a chihuahua mixed breed around the baggage carousel (the little furry feller clearly enjoyed it). The airline bought us burgers, pizza, cream soda and root beer. Two lovely elderly ladies got real drunk on tetra pak white wine and got quite abusive. Overhearing the grumpy grannies, bystanders would have been forgiven to think that the whole world is made of f%cks. A night to remember.

 

CLOSE CALL IN WHITEHORSE

The only reason why I was able to catch my flight from Whitehorse at 5am, was because, unbeknownst to me, due to arriving in a different time zone, I had gained one hour. The lady at the oversized luggage counter was super-helpful and relaxed and didn’t give me any trouble. I didn’t even have to pay extra for anything or unpack and re-pack any luggage.

 

VANCOUVER – ONGOING FLIGHT DELAYED

On the approach to Vancouver we flew past beautiful mountains that were almost entirely covered in clouds. At Vancouver Airport I found out that my ongoing flight to Montreal was going to be delayed by two hours. A short while later, Air Canada emailed me to notify me that due to this delay, my ongoing flight from Montreal to London Heathrow had been rescheduled.

 

LONDON FLIGHT RESCHEDULED

Ellie had re-booked her return flight from Sydney to coincide with my return. However now, due to the rescheduling, we wouldn’t be able to meet at Heathrow. Initially we had planned to book a cab with the same minicab driver that had driven us to Heathrow two months ago. A guy from, I believe, Kirgistan or somewhere in that region. He had shown some real interest in the expedition and half-jokingly implied that he’d be up to join, should we ever plan to row Hermione back to Scotland from the Northwest Passage. Good guy.

 

THE USUAL HEATHROW HICCUPS

There were several more hiccups at Heathrow, elevators and escalators not working properly, the online Heathrow Express ticket not working, and so on. When I arrived home and took Ellie in my arms for the first time in two months, it felt like a huge relief. We had some take-away food (a ‘mega’ fried chicken bucket from Thunderbirds with all trimmings and some soft drinks), then caught up on our sleep for the next 24 hours or so.

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?

Would I go on this expedition again, if I were transported back in time a few months, when I had been given the initial offer? Yes, by all means. It wasn’t easy, but it was something that I had always wanted to do, and I – in a weird type-II fun kind of way – did enjoy the expedition. Heck, I’d even go as far as saying some of it was probably borderline type-I fun. Now… let’s get on with life. I’ll need to find new consultancy assignments or a permanent job reasonably soon. This was an expensive childhood dream.

 

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