Category: North West Passage
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North West Passage – Days 46 – 48 – Nome to Home!
18th – 20th September 2023 We spent Monday working on the boat. My main task was cleaning the deckheads. The paraffin cooker and anthracite burning stove leave their grimy marks on the ceiling. In the evening we were invited aboard Que Sera as the Skipper, Antoine, was celebrating his birthday. The strongly built aluminium boat…
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North West Passage – Days 44 and 45 – Nome, Alaska
16th September 2023 – Day 44 – Nome Saturday We arrived in Nome at about 21:00. (Population 3,500)The downwind sail became a tad exciting as we approached the harbour entrance. It was hard to hold the course without gybing but we managed to get close to the entrance only to find a tug with a…
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North West Passage – Days 44 – Sledge Island towards Nome
16th September 2023 – Day 44 Saturday It is 05:00 and I am lying in my bunk having just come off my watch. Although it has been raining, it is hardly noticeable as we are sailing downwind so the rain falls on the back of your hood rather than your face. You only notice the…
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North West Passage – Days 42 and 43 – Cape Lisburne to the Bering Straight
14th September 2023 – Day 42 Thursday In theory, according to the original plan, we should have arrived in Nome today, so we are a little bit late but not too bad especially considering our long weather-bound period in a bay near Resolute. When the long trick is over we may have been the first…
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North West Passage – Day 40 and 41 – Barrow Point to Cape Lisburne
12th September 2023 – Day 40 and 41 Tuesday It’s 05:00 and I’ve just come off my watch. There were fog banks turning to drizzle and it was very dark. Temperature is 2°C. You forget about darkness when thinking of high latitude sailing because generally it takes place in summer with 24 hours of light.…
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North West Passage – Day 38 – 39 – Kaktovik to Barrow Point
10th September 2023 – Day 38 and 39 Sunday I started my watch badly. Firstly I asked Dan if he could turn off the navigation lights. I thought it was wise not to waste battery power using lights during the day. Dan pointed out that he had just turned them on as it was about…
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North West Passage – Day 36 – 37 – Herschel Island to Kaktovik
8th September 2023 – Day 36 Friday Yesterday we arrived in Pauline Cove, Herschel Island late afternoon.(Population of Herschel in the summer is just 4 rangers, in the winter the island is deserted). We pumped up the dinghy and went ashore. We wandered around the preserved historic buildings from the old whaling port and met…
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North West Passage – Day 34 – 35 – Tuktoyaktuk and the voyage to Herschel Island
6th September 2023 – Day 34 Wednesday We arrived in Tuktoyaktoy (Population 900) in the early hours. Entering the harbour in the dark required carefully attention to the various leading lights. We couldn’t make out any alongside options so we dropped the anchor in 11 m in the centre of the harbour and rigged up…
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North West Passage – Days 32-33 – Passage to Tuktoyaktuk
4th September 2023 – Day 32 Monday We are currently about 30 nm from the Baillie Islands. There is Snowgoose Passage which cuts off the corner, but it is too shallow for us. From the mast spreaders it is possible to see the Smoking Mountains about 30 nm off our port beam. They burn permanently…
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North West Passage – Days 30-31 – Lady Richardson Bay towards Tuktoyaktuk
2nd – 3rd September 2023 – Days 30 and 31 Saturday and Sunday We never did light the bonfire on the beach but spent the day on the boat hoping lassitude wouldn’t creep in. Champagne is the recognized treatment for lassitude*, but we have none on board. The good news was that the weather forecast…