Category: Expeditions
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North West Passage – Day 13-19 – Barrow Straight, Peel Sound, Prescott Island and Gjoa Haven
16th August 2023 Wednesday Day 13 We made a break for it last night. Arthur rustled up a big evening supper, Dan was ashore with the rifle, crushing anthracite for the stove and Will and I dragged the dinghy on deck. We carefully wound our way out of the anchorage and set off across Barrow…
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North West Passage – Day 11 – Yes, still in Allen Bay near Resolute
14th August 2023 – Allen Bay near Resolute. We have been unable to get ashore for several days now and have settled into a routine of eating, reading, and playing “….Head” before retiring to bed. The routine was interrupted today when we spotted a Canadian Coastguard Ship called Pierre Addison(?) anchoring just off May Island.…
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North West Passage – Day 10 – Still in Allen Bay near Resolute!
13th August 2023 – Sunday Allen Bay, Near Resolute. We have been here for eight days now. Firstly the ice was the problem but now it is the wind. It has been blowing at near gale force for a few days now with no signs of it relenting. We are not able to get off…
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North West Passage – Day 9 – Still in Allen Bay near Resolute
12th August 2023 17:03 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/46cYwiFJpiw The wind piped up this morning building to a full gale from the east. It was good seamanship for Will to decide to move the boat into the lee of a hill in the bay and to lay out two 35 kg Fisherman’s anchors. We took a transit between two…
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North West Passage – Day 8 – Still in Allen Bay near Resolute
11th August 2023 Friday It certainly now looks like a long stay in Allen Bay. Will was dropped ashore to walk to the Narwhal Inn for weather and ice data while we carried out various boat tasks. I drew the lucky straw with some interior decorating and blacking the stove whilst Arthur and Dan grafted…
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North West Passage – Day 7 – Allen Bay near Resolute
9th August 2023 We got stuck into the job list in the morning. I was cleaning the deck head which gets pretty mucky from the paraffin cooker and the coal stove. The wind was almost still so we took the dinghy to the mainland rather than re-anchoring so that we could walk to the Narwhal…
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North West Passage – Day 6 – Allen Bay near Resolute
9th August 2023 Resolute Bay Yesterday we worked on various tasks around the boat before re-anchoring back near the mainland shore. We were due to have guests for the evening so it would make the dinghy ride simpler. The 60 m of 1/2″ chain is hauled up by a hand winch and then flaked into…
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North West Passage – Day 5 – Resolute
8th August 2023 – Resolute Bay We spent our evening in Iqaluit enjoying fish and chips (and poutine) in the Store Inn. It was washed down with a couple of pints or rather fine red ale. We walked it off by climbing the gentle hill overlooking the “city”. This is where we discovered the need…
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North West Passage – Day 3 – Iqaluit
5th August 2023 We have arrived in Iqaluit on the southern end of Baffin Island. I refrained from buying a cool cotton tee shirt in Ottawa as I wrongly assumed that the temperature would drop as we move northwards. I am now roasting in my expedition thermals. This place feels more like Texas than Baffin…
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North West Passage – Day 2 – London to Ottawa
4th August 2023 A misunderstanding regarding check in times at Heathrow resulted in me booking a night in the airport Premier Inn ready for an early start. I met Dan in the bar where we remained until midnight. The flight to Paris was uneventful other than needing to queue for donkeys to check in oversized…