Position: 73 23 N 95 39W
Wind Southerley 5-15kts over last period. Sea State up to 3. 1011mb. Light cloud and sun no rain.

31 August, 2010

Well with the change in the wind having arrived, we have rowed a fair bit and enjoyed a day and night of downwind sailing covering 75 miles. As much as in the previous week!. The hare has appeared, although the wind has now died and we are about to row again more tortoise like. The forecast is good for more southerley winds and with the exception of an unintentional gybe as Tony was having a wee over the side which "set him off balance" shall we say, it has been uneventful. We've surfed down a wave at 8kts and reach for the oars when it dips below 1.8kts. We have found an extra bag of Amber's treats that we had forgotten about so are on triple rations of expensive chocolate and sweets during the long night watches. The sun is out.....

Kev

Position: 72 23n 95 16w
Wind 5 kts S, Pressure 1014, Sea state 2-3, Sea mist

30 August, 2010

Last night was a continuation in Kev and Tony's arctic adventures with a further visitation from our ninth Polar bear of the trip so far. This chap was a little more house trained and didn't try to join us in the tent just hung around 15ft outside the tent waiting for us to come out. Finally kev got his close up photos and some video..... Not sure who was more startled this time him or us but he eventually went on his way off into the mist with us following a while to make sure he didn't double back on us. The rest of the night was spent waiting for some abatement in the north wind and big swell. Waking this morning the wind finally dropped away and we made the call to get off the polar bear highway and try and get under way again. Easier said than done and before we could go anywhere we had a two hour engineering serial to dig the boat out of the sand get her up on rollers and refloat her. Packed up we cracked the ice that cacked all the lines and exposed surfaces on the boat and broke out the oars. We can make 2-2.5 kts into light swells and thick freezing mist Slow but steady and if we can maintain it for at least 24hrs that's a third of the remaining distance done. Mid-morning our task is made that much easier by the final arrival of the hoped for southerly winds....... very light southerly winds to be sure but southerlies never the less. As I type we are sailing due north at almost 3 kts and intending to sail as long as the wind allows us to make progress.

Tony

Position: 72 12n 95 12w - no change
1016mb. Low cloud, mist. 5 deg C. N wind 10 knots

29 August, 2010

I was awoken by Tony saying the water was coming in the tent. He had been woken by something. I looked up and saw the poles of the tent above my feet bulging inwards alarmingly. He now recalls the water sound had been confused in his dream by a low growling - there was a bear pressing on our tent. I grabbed the air horn, Tony grabbed the shotgun and the pressure was relieved on the tent. I poked my head out of the other end and straining to look the other way saw not one but two polar bears not ten yards away. Tony opened the other end of the tent, and poking the shotgun out first, then my camera we watched, hearts pounding as the two bears ambled slowly up the ramp behind the beach, as if in slow motion. Fortunately they seemed to lose interest in red domes that make airhorn noises and proceeded down the beach. I managed one grainy photo in the half light. We watched them disappear and laughed, if not a little nervously. The following morning, the boat had to be re-positioned once we had decided we were staying put in the high winds and swell. My idea to let it out a bit to make it easier to float off - but we ended up dragging it back up and anchored it with a boulder to one side, protected by a sand filled inflatable roller that we broke yesterday acting as a fender. The forecast is good for some southerly winds and we are looking forward to Resolute - 153 miles away.

Position: 72 12n 95 12w
Wind 0-20Kts N Swell 5-8 ft

28 August, 2010

On the positive side the bear alarm this morning was a false one. On the negative side when we left the beach the dagger board jammed in position and had to be freed with much effort back on the beach. Once under way we made good progress in strong northerly winds only to find it drop to nothing in the space of seconds. Patience is a great thing and inevitably the winds did eventually return but in up to 8ft of swell and sat off a rocky lee shore our patience and nerves, were sorely tried. As the day drew to a close and with the boat fully reefed we finaly had to admit the swell was too big for us to carry on and we made for shore on a partially sheltered beach on the mainland. A fairly difficult landing in light surf left us with the conundrum of what to do with the boat. Much scratching of heads later we deployed the inflatable rollers and pully system and managed,with one spectacular roller blowout, to pull her temporarily out of the surf. To ensure she escaped the rising tide however we had to do a little more industrial engineering and an hour later we were rather proud of the dry dock we'd cut into the top of the beach. Tent is now up and dinner is on....just another day in paradise.

Position: 72 02N 95 12W
Weather clear - 10-15 knots N, Swell and chop up to 6 ft from N

27 August, 2010

We are like a tortoise in that we carry everything we need in our shell (boat) - and our progress up this coast has been tortoise like. Rest assured if we get almost any consistent wind from anywhere but the north we will turn into the hare. Woke this morning to thick fog over the ice around us, but it soon cleared and we were rowing into horrendous swells from the north. One sails the best course, the other rows to improve the course and speed. It is still only 2 knots max. Still, we have achieved a significnat milestone, getting past the notorious Bellot Strait with its 8 knot tidal streams, and we had a reasonably hard but pleasant day, tacking and rowing, bouncing around in our little boat. Just as we get going, the wind then dies and the rower strips off again, out of the foulies that are necessary in the wind and waves. Rowing in the high choppy seas is hard frustrating work but we have yet to find out how to make progress in this combination of currents, swell, wind and cold. The highlight of the day was another bear sigthing - this time on some rocks in broad daylight giving the opportunity for some photos and bouncy video. Apart from that, much of the same - tent is up and Irish Coffee just being served. More of the same tomorrow but we could really do with a change of scene (wind).

Kev

Position: 71 52N 95.22W
N winds 10 knots. 8 deg. 1014mb. Sea state 3

26 August, 2010

Miracles do happen! well partial ones anyway. After 36hrs of freezing fog we awoke this morning to a stunning day. Bright sunshine and blue skies. This time not a breath of wind stirred the surface of a glassy sea and after a big breakfast we set out rowing through the ice flows and making relatively good progress. With the ipod blasting out some tunes and the sunglasses making their first appearance morale was suitably restored and kev chanced a bit of his eighties disco. Clearly the wind god didn't appreciate his devotees dancing because soon enough we were again being blown backwards by a combination of heavy swell and adverse winds. Swiftly heading back into the shelter of the ice we once again made encouraging progress with a bit of sail assisted rowing. Kev kept control of his morale outbreak and stayed firmly in his seat this time and the gods relented. Dispite limited progress today we both have today down as one of the most enjoyable days of the trip. Threading our way through the ice encased islands and weaving past iceflows to the sounds of the rolling stones takes some beating. Now tied up to a small rocky island about to tuck into a well deserved dinner and then get some sleep before tackling the mass of ice just ahead. Messages from home have been fantastic please keep sending as the only certainty here is that the sun won't last and our morale will need more bouying up before this adventure is over.

Tony

Position: 71 deg 42.4 95 deg 36.0
5 deg C, Force 1 N, 1014mb. sea state slight

25 August, 2010

A slow few days have passed since the last blog. We ended up spending an extra day on our last island due to strong NE winds - we passed a couple of hours in the afternoon moving a huge boulder a few feet with a piece of driftwood. We estimate it is it's first move for 10,000 years since it was precariously dumped by a melting glacier. Since that highlight(!) the last two days have been marked by lots of laborious slow tacking, rowing into wind, thick fog and icefloes emerging suddenly in our path. We had another bear close to our intended landing spot so rowed on elsewhere. The long night 3 hour watches, making little progress but learning about Jacobean Britain from a recording of Simon Schama on an Ipod. It's cold, hard and very frustrating - we have been going for eleven days and have had two days of wind slightly off exactly where we want to go. We've covered 235 miles, hundreds more that don't count weaving our way, and have about 200 to go - we are resigned to only getting as far as Resolute, but we plan to finish the expedition close to the entrance to the passage proper at the site of two Royal Navy and one Royal Marine graves from Franklin's expedition - a bleak but fitting spot. We have just turned to playing cards in the tent having been in the boat for 32 hours. We are thoroughly bored by what would otherwise be idyllic islands. We have a new enemy - no wind, or rather just enough to impede rowing progress. Latest forecast is at least three more days of Northerly winds. We will push on tomorrow, one day at a time, looking forward to company, warmth and everything not being clammy.

Locn Tasmania Islands - 50nm south of Bellot. In tent raining. GPS in boat!
Rain. 6 deg. NE 15 to 20 kts measured up a 70m hill

22 August, 2010

The last 36 hrs we have been frustrating, infuriating and enlightening in turn. We've been beholden on the whims of the wind gods and clearly one or both of us has upset them somewhere along the way because they're certainly not playing the game.Yet again the wind seems to come directly from the direction we want to go necessitating a long tiring series of tacks up the coast. This year however we have the added dimension of the 'arctic whirlwind' where the wind changes direction randomnly every ten minutes or so quite regularly completing a full orbit of the compass and leaving us dumfounded as to how to make any real progress, even by rowing hard. The outcome of it all has been a tactical pause in our advance northwards. Two consecutive nights in the tasmania Islands have offered a chance to catch up on some well needed sleep and perhaps reflect a little on what we are here for in the first place. Over the last ten days or so the trip has beeen one long battle with the elements on one hand and the clock on the other. An enforced stop has allowed us a little time to stop and have a look around. It helps that the surroundings have now taken on a more dramatic look with some real topography and distinguishable features but more than anything it's been a time to appreciate the remoteness and uniqueness of the extreme North. It's also given us time to put our lovely tent up, as the rain hammers down and catch up on some of the messages from home and find out what happens in our absence. Lara conveniently seems to ommitted some of the detail from the recent wedding celebrations and there already seems to be a book running on the length of my beard.... I am of course open to bribes but it will have to be substantial to shave it off and disappoint Kate grainger. Kev hopes the music at the rock concert that amber et al are at is a little better than my playlist. (He assures me Earth wind and fire would be an improvement). All in all we are both in good spirits after a walk around the island, a lot of sleep on even ground and some hot food without anyone throwing buckets of freezing water in your face. Thanks for all the encouragement from home. We'll keep dodging 'peter PB' and his friends. For CQ from Kev - next year's trip involves sailing your new table down the Ganges.

Position: 71.114 96.296
Weather: 1011mb. SE variable. Rain.

21 August, 2010

The wind did shift, but didn't abate - leaving the boat getting washed up on the beach. We had to leave, and under foresail alone we were soon eating up the miles. We had an exhilarating sail across a short stretch of open water - it was like riding a bucking bronco in a confused sea - it would have been fun in the solent but here the sense of wilderness and vastness made it all the more special. Then, as predicted, the wind dropped off and we could put up the main sail. Pleasant sailing along the shore, but what a boring coastline, just like 99% of the Northwest Passage - rocks, pebbles and boulders. Tony saw a polar bear on an ice floe, then later as darkness approached, Kev saw a mother and cub on the beach - awesome but worrying. Then it was into 3 hour watches in the gloom - OK when you are moving in the right direction but tedious in fickle winds. At 0700 the wind died and we decided to seek shore as we couldn't row into the northerly swell. We have found a small island maybe 400 yards across, thoroughly checked for bears and we will catch up on a bit of sleep and hope the winds freshen. Pond Inlet seems a long way off and this is almost one week in - we shall see. I think we both feel it is more of the same - but colder and wetter than last year but with the added interest of polar bears.

20 August, 2010

An eventful 36 hrs to say the least. We are already racking up the experiences on this trip and today was testimony to that. It all began in blue skies with a fresh easterly taking us exactly where we wanted to go. After a frustrating few days hopes of big millage were high. No soon had we left the coast however and thick fog surrounded us on all sides the eerie sound of waves crashing on unseen ice echoing across the still water. All too soon the fog cleared and the ice revealed itself and we were pitched into an exhilerating high speed slalom through big ice floes relient on a questionable combination of fine judgement and good luck to see us through. Still the miles passed under the keel as we made rapid progress in the desired direction and we managed to work a full watch routine with the off watch getting a decent amount of bag time. It just so happens that kev was off watch when the next change in weather struck and it was three and a half hours of helming in driving rain for me.... Finally the winds dropped and the cold drove us to seek shelter on the shore. As we dropped the sails and commenced our final run in to the beach it seemed that someone else had chosen just that very spot to spend the evening. A gigantic Polar Bear sat on our landing site waiting for us.... A fabulous sight and one of the aims of the expedition but needless to say we opted to change our landing plans. Out of the frying pan and into the fire applies well here for as the winds began to howl we anchored ourselves to a grounded icefloe and settled in for the night. Unfortunately the floe wasn't perhaps as grounded as we thought and as the tide came in, in the middle of the night we faced a frantic effort to free ourselves from the ice and make a safe landing ashore - sailing under foresail and rowing as hard as possible we just made it as the wind blew us off. And here we sit, after all the excitement we now face something of an anticlimax as we wait once more for the wind. This time it's just too strong to sail or row.

Position: 69 29.4 95 57.4
Weather: Sunny 8 deg. Wind 11 kts Northerly

18 August, 2010

I never really thought of myself as a sun worshiper but it's amazing the difference a little sunshine makes. So far this trip has been exhilarating, tedious and occassionally terrifying but for the first time yesterday it was for a large part of the day quite pleasant. We're still beating into fairly big seas and a persistent northwesterly but under blue skies and with a slight moderation in the swell we were able to sail with just one on watch for the first time this trip. To be able to duck down out of the elements for a couple of hours crack some nav, read a few pages of a book or grab an hour or two bag time, is a luxury that has been so far denied. More contentious is the contribution of the ipod to team morale. More specifically kev's assessement of my choice of tunes is less than complimentary. On reflection he may have a point so any and all new playlists welcome for my next trip.... Twelve hours quick sailing yesterday brought us past the first ice of the journey, large floating blocks of ice that offer a taste of what lies just to the north and a further set of challenges to be overcome.

Tony

Position: 69 04.3 95 56.8
Weather: Wind N 8 kts. Weather lt cloud 1016mb Temp 5 deg.

17 August, 2010

After a late start - fixing a few bits including a leaky cooker, and checking the batteries were charging (they are), we set off into the northerly winds. With both of us on the rail, we could make about two knots in the direction we wanted - tacking backwards and forwards actually sailing at 4-5 knots. Spray regularly washing over us, and finding that our salopettes are not as waterproof as they could be added to the experience. We can't realistically cook hot food underway in these conditions. Although we discussed going further, we decided to call it a day after six hours sailing - the next decent sheltered beach was another five hours away... So, more of the same, small steps which we know aren't enough to get us there at this current rate of progress but surely the winds must change as we found last year. There are some lighter moments when the sun shines and we feel we are beating the weather but mostly it is laborious and the best part of the day is one of three things - putting on your big down jacket, eating hot dinner and getting into your sleeping bag. We haven't cracked the whiskey bottle yet.

Position: 68 54.2 95 49.9
Weather: cloudy lt rain. Wind N 12 knots

16 August, 2010

Just woken from ten hours "sleep of the dead' and feeling all the better for it after a demanding period on the water. Reflecting over the last 48 hrs we have been faced with a very different begining to the trip than last year. The winds are strong and out of the North, our intended direction of travel......at least some things remain the same! Unfortunately that's where the similarities end. Sunshine and relatively flat seas have been replaced by 5-6 ft cresting waves, rain and the occasional snow flurry. It's cold hard sailing and it requires both of us on deck all the time to keep the boat sailing well into wind. One big wave over the side and a cockpit full of water was a fitting welcome to the Arctic but we've learn from that and have the boat moving nicely now. It's still early days and we are starting to establish a routine that fits the conditions. As ever morale is improved by hot food and messages from home so please keep them coming. Patience is a virtue and it is one we are learning to appreciate more and more. We have to set ourself small managable targets on a daily basis and avoid the temptation to look too closely at the overall distance to be covered. We are making good progress and given favourable winds that must surely come we will be well on our way.

Tony

15 August, 2010

Set off at 1830 after receiving our bags off the flight, getting the boat forklifted into the water and then having to take the mast down six times as we tried to remember how to rig the boat. A pleasant evening sail up the coast in a NE direction to round Matheson point led into a dark clammy evening. By 0200 we were as usual for this boat fighting the waves and probably a current as we tried to make progress around the point into the wind. We were going nowhere so decided to stop and wait until the wind or current changed. It was difficult to beach the boat on the steep shore and we have tied alongside a wrecked motorboat and had a few hours sleep. We are now waiting for the tide, and for the ever elusive wind to change to a direction that we don't want to go in. Whilst it is good to be moving, we are reminded of the stark realities of travel in a small boat in the arctic - cold, frustrating but quite surreal as we are lit but not warmed by a milky sun. Our data communications remain fragile but occasionnally work.

Kev

Location: Gjoa Haven

14 August, 2010

Since we arrived in Canada everything has gone staggeringly well with kit arriving from the four corners of the country exactly as forecast and kev even managing to resolve most of the sat phone communication difficulties...... The morning began in a similar vein, a discounted carb loading breakfast followed by free transit to the airport and no charge for the small mountain of extra kit we attempted to squeeze on the plane....... It couldn't last. We may have arrived bang on time at Gjoa but half our luggage remained at yellowknife. Still, Alan Johnson a friend from last years trip was there to meet us at a surprisingly chilly airstrip and first air promise us the errant bags will arrive in the morning.

We now faced a moment of truth as we approached the boat we had not seen for nearly 12 months.The whole expedition rested on her having survived the long arctic winter undamaged and it was with some trepidation that we opened the container that had served as home for 'arctic mariner' since Sept last year. We need not have worried. There she sat pristine, cradled in styrofoam and ready to take on the second leg of our arctic adventure. After a quiet moment of relief the rest of the afternoon was spent in a flurry of activity preparing for a hoped for departure Tomorrow afternoon. Tonight we're easing ourselves into the rigors of the arctic with a bit of carpet camping on the floor of alan's lounge and hoping for the arrival of our missing bags on a steady southerly.

Cheers

Tony

Location: Yellowknife
Weather: Cloud and occasional torrential rain

12 August, 2010

Although it is great to be back in Yellowknife about to recommence our journey through the Northwest Passage, the challenges have started early this year. One by one we are meeting them. We have a shotgun, food, new oar and tiller, bear alarm system and more electricals than Tandy's and we just made it under the 140lb per person limit on First Air. The challenge of satellite email comms almost beat us. Kev has spent most of the two and a half days sorting USB ports, drivers, firmware updates, ISPs and email protocols and the final issue was an unclear view of the sky outside our hotel in Yellowknife. Hopefully it will work better in the unfettered atmosphere of the Northwest Passage. We're both looking forward to getting on with it, with a healthy amount of trepidation, and not under estimating the challenge ahead. We have been reminded of the bad bits which we had cleverly edited out of our minds and the video from last year. Who knows what challenges lie ahead and we haven't opened the container in Gjoa yet to see how our little boat has faired the winter. Last proper meal tonight....

Kev

Location: Gjoa Haven

6 September, 2009

As we prepare to leave Gjoa Haven in the morning, we look back on a very special weekend spent in the company of very generous hosts. We have been put up in a hotel, loaned a container to store the boat, been out for dinner twice, borrowed a quadbike and received some very generous gifts. The boat has been cleaned, emptied and re-packed, secure in a container overlooking where Amundsen anchored his boat over ninety years ago. We are very grateful to Martin Landry of NTCL who has loaned us the container. We spent a very pleasant evening at Don LeBlanc's house eating Arctic Char, and met the Royal Canadian Mounted Police chief for Gjoa Haven, Pete and his new wife Tracey, and Yvonne who manages the Co-op store. We visited her today, hard at work on a Sunday managing the annual delivery which arrived on the barge last week. Imagine running a busy store where most items get delivered in bulk once a year. A masterpiece of organisation. Pete loaned us a quad and we spent a couple of hours humming the "La, La, La ... La, La, La, La" from the Banana Splits as we zoomed around the landscape - perfect for quads! Alan Johnson invited us round for a fantastic meal this evening. Once again the Nunavut hospitality has been amazing.

We closed the doors of the container reluctantly this afternoon, leaving Arctic Mariner safe but alone and in the cold and the dark. She has been our home for six weeks, and she has been superb. She has been out in big seas, and we have never felt she was going over. She's clocked 7.8 knots downwind, and she is very dry, even as she wallows after surfing down a wave. She is robust - and we've put her through hell - on, into and off the ice, beaching her on rocks, and there are no dents in her hull, just the odd scratch. We've hit the centreboard on rocks numerous times. Her rig is simple and robust, and she can be rowed at over 3 knots by one person. And everywhere we go, people say how pretty her lines are!

We are now very ready to go home. We've had an awesome experience in the Arctic, seeing it from the perspective of our small boat in the swell, on the beach or on the ice. Thanks again to everyone who has helped make this trip possible and for your support along the way.

Kev and Tony

Location: Gjoa Haven
Weather: Awful but we don't care
Forecast: Gales for the weekend

5 September, 2009

Awoke this morning to a complete calm and returned to our bags to contemplate rowing the final 14 miles. However, after the last dehydrated breakfast, the forecast Southerly winds arrived and we pulled off the slickest launch of the trip. A fast sail downwind at up to 7 knots included a momentary near broach, leaving me on the helm to pump out several gallons of water. I claimed it was to save cleaning the cockpit but handed over to Tony for the run in to Gjoa. Again, a smooth landing, and we cracked the last of Amber's "treats" - a miniature bottle of champagne. Not sparkling wine. A long handshake, and we met up with Alan Johnson and Don le Blanc and their eager crew of helpers who made light work of manhandling the boat up a steep ramp and into a container. Again we were struck by the warm of the reception from everyone. We are now in the community hotel, sorting photos and enjoying connectivity with the world. It's really good to be here, and we will post our personal reflections on the trip soon. Thanks to everyone who has supported us with funding, services, goodwill, messages and of course donations to our charity. -K

040200A Sep 09
68 26.7N 96 18.0W
NW F2-3
Cloudy
1007Mb

4 September, 2009

After sending the blog last night we settled into a long, cold and uncomfortable nights's sailing. Just as we reached the middle of the open water passage, the barometer nosedived by 20Mb in just 2 hours. Usually a sure indication of severe winds. The next few hours were somewhat tense waiting for gale force winds out of the darkness but as dawn broke our luck began to change as the barometer climbed again as quickly as it had fallen. As we approached Simpson Strait, the narrowest point of the Northwest Passage where some of Franklin's men are believed to have crossed in their doomed attempt to escape to the south, the tide rose with us and pushed us forward at some of the quickest speeds of the whole expedition. With 170 miles sailed and just 14 remaining to Gjoa Haven we elected to overnight on a low lying barren rocky island. Todd island is known to have contained the skeletons of some of Franklin's sailors and Marines. It seems a fitting place for us to spend the last night of our journey. -T

03 0220A Sep 09
68 30.9 99 43.1
Wind 10kts N
Waves 2-3 NW
989 Mb and dropping rapidly

3 September, 2009

24 hours into our sail now and its getting a bit relentless. Its cold, damp and Tom's rabbit skin hat has made an appearance. Still we are making good progress and are 90 miles into our last 180. Weather dependent we may stop after about 50 miles where we reach land before we get to Gjoa Haven but we are both now very keen to get there. That said, the tiller just snapped as a freak wave hit the boat, drenching Tony. We left the boat to sail under foresail downwind and re-drilled it and bolted it twice. Apart from that, not much to report - 2 hour watches with our half hour changeover, in and out of damp clothes - such is September sailing in the Arctic. -K

02 0412A Sep 09
68 42.6 103 01.1
10 kts NNW.
Waves 3-4 NW
997 Mb

2 September, 2009

Well the storm certainly arrived - with over 35kts of wind an heavy rain. We were up to secure the boat at 0230 where it had been blown round by the wind and again at 1030 where the surf and the high tide had refloated the boat and left it attached only by our long safety line. It took six attempts to build a cairn of boulders as an anchor for the pulley system and secure the rollers under the boat to get it high up the beach. Once done the wind eased, the rain stopped and the tide started ebbing so by 5 o'clock the boat looked ridiculously high and dry. With favourable winds the remaining problem was the surf but at low tide we decided to go, and at 1800 we dragged the boat over the sand and out launching it into the surf as it crashed over the boat, both of us in dry suits, one sailing under foresail and one chest deep, jumping on at the last moment. An exciting day all round, and it's great to be moving again but its now dark and cold. Roll on Gjoa Haven if the winds remain as forecast. -K

01 0400A Sep 09
68 48.8 103 25.1
Wind NW 20+ kts
986Mb
Waves from NW 2-3

1 September, 2009

We woke this morning to a dilemma. The early forecast did indeed tell of moderate NW winds this afternoon, but rather forebodingly they will build to gale force with winds in excess of 40 knots before the evening is out.The dilemma is thus - we have 37 miles to reach the relative safety of Jenny Lind Island, much of it across open water, to make a landfall at night (we do have one now) on an unknown shore. The whole is compounded by the difficulty in assessing exactly when the storm will arrive are correspondingly whether we have enough time to run before it. The issue is brought into focus when we compare it to setting out for France in a 17ft dinghy in thick fog with Force 9 gales forecast that evening. Patience and appropriate risk management have always been key to making this expedition viable and reluctantly we agreed to wait out the storm. In the mean time two hours exploring our bleak surroundings have realised some fabulous photgraphs of a pair of arctic hares, some up close and personal musk ox and a snowy white arctic owl. As we sit in our tent battered by wind and rain we can take comfort in the knowlegde that we made the right decision.

31 0400A Aug 09
68 48.8 103 25.1
SE F3 Lt Rain 1003 Mb

31 August, 2009

After a still night we awoke to 5 kt NW so packed up and sailed for an hour before the wind died. Rowing was relatively warm so after an hour of my 2 hour shift I dived in for a very short swim. The absence of towels and the difficulty in drying clothes necessitated a half hour naked row under a milky sun to dry off. After all, if Cracknell and Fogle can do it iun the Atlantic Ocean why not the Arctic Ocean. I did miss the sheepskin seat cover however. After Tony's next fast five mile row, we needed to replace a sheared bolt on the oarlock but soon enough we were beating again, the bow headed off by the Easterly chop. Made land in a rocky cove sheltered from both the SE winds and the expected NW gales. Its been a day of contrast - sun rain, warm cold, wind calm and frustrated contented. Now in the tent sipping scotch with rain beating down outside. -K

N 68 53.6
W104 13.7 (No Change)
Wind Light and variable
Waves 2-3
1009 Mb

30 August, 2009

Dawn brings with it more SE winds and a rising swell which experience has proven, limits progress to an agonisingly slow 1 knot crawl in the right direction. More optimistically the Fleet forcasters are predicting the arrival of a weak front sometime this evening ,bringing with it the long awaited NW winds. So far they have been remarkably accurate with their 36-48 hrs predictions and we opt to remain where we are and await the arrival of more favourable winds whenever they appear be it 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning.

Despite the continued frustrations of only 8 days benificial winds in the entire trip we draw inspiration from Sir Robin Knox Johnstons travailles in the southern oceans likewise searching for the ellusive prevailing Westerlies.

In the meantime we are catching up on sleep forfeited to late night 'debating' sessions in Cambridge bay, juggling the charging of all electronic equipment and speculationing on possible options for continued progress. As ever the messages from home mark the highlight of each day.

290500A Aug 09
68 deg 53.6 104 deg 13.7
Easterly wind F0-2.
Wave Height 1-2
Lt Rain 7 deg
1017 Mb

29 August, 2009

You can only fight nature up here to a degree. We set off this morning at speed - at least the boat did sliding on the rollers down the beach (all caught on video). But there was very little wind and we noticed over a knot of current - taking us back to Cambridge Bay. We spent the day rowing and occasionally sailing into the current and the light Easterly winds. The forecast is for more of the same easterlies and then gales but we are both philosophical about our situation. In a small unpowered boat you can only do so much and we always said we needed preparation, skill, patience and luck to make the passage. Our patience is being sorely tested but we remember that some of the apparently unluckiest events have led us to the most memorable parts of the trip. Such is the course of adventure. -K

280200A Aug 09
68 51.8 104 42.3
Easterly wind F4-5.
Wave Height 3-4
Sunny 12 deg

28 August, 2009

Another frustrating day of wind coming from right where we want to go. Making about one knot in the direction so when we saw the winds increasing as predicted we decided to stop on a surf beach and dragged the boat up using our pulleys and the inflatable rollers. Walked in land for a fantastic treat of getting to within 20 yards of a family of musk ox - absolutely superb. Now in the tent (spacious) and discussing our future options. The forecast winds don't help our chances of getting beyond Gjoa Haven this season but more of that later. It is after all only 200 miles, and if we get those winds ...

Note: Additional photos in the gallery.

Location 68 deg 53.0 105 05.3
Weather Clear
Wind 8 kts SE
Wave height 1-2 E

26 August, 2009

We're on the move again after a fantastic break in Cambridge Bay. The hospitality was incredible - never have I experienced people so willing to help two total strangers who arrived on thier small boat. We are rested, fed and have sorted the boat ready for our journey but there was so much more to our four days in Cambridge Bay than that. It was the people we met.

The community is clearly on the edge of the world geographically and there is a frontier town feel but equally there is an air of industriousness and a real 21st century approach to life. We were invited round for dinner with Pete Hamilton and his partner Jean - never have I eaten so much over about five courses - smoked Arctic Char, sausage, steaks, ribs, chicken and barbequed Char - with lemon meringue pie. They have a fantastic house decorated with all sorts of arctic artefacts including various bear skins! Pete has donated a range of Cambridge Bay and Nunavut memorabilia which we will auction along with other items from the trip for Toe in the Water on our return.

Thanks to Tom ancd Kevin Jeffrey's efforts we now have a laptop that charges properly, and a new watermaker. We even managed to get new oars. Vicky in the visitors centre went out of her way to help with all manner of requests while her husband Jurgen, the local Ranger Sergeant even gave us some grizzly bear meat to sample. The bear meat ended up in a stew for our final dinner with Tom where we worked out how to solve most of the world's problems ............

All in all a memorable and enjoyable stop in Cambridge Bay that added so much to our experience and left us feeling recharged and ready for the next phase of the adventure.

Once again we are making slow progress beating into easterly winds but the sun has been shining and the newly fixed IPOD is pumping out a few tunes. The sun has already gone down at 2030 so it will be colder but fortunately Tom has lent us some arctic boots, a down gilet and rabbit skin hat for those cold nights on the helm.

Location: Cambridge Bay
E winds 15-20kts observed in area of Cambridge Bay.

24 August, 2009

Spent a very pleasant day with Tom Livingstone yesterday and went out to Mt Pelly - a huge gravel ridge a few miles north of town, offering spectacular views. We were then treated to Tom's delicious Musk Ox stew. Tom really is the sort of chap who would give you the shirt off his back - even in the arctic!

We met the crew of the motor yacht Bagan, owned by the film-maker Sprague Theobald www.northwestpassagefilm.com and gave them an "interview" standing by our boat which Tony had cleaned for the occasion, on its trailer!

The weather forecast is now saying Easterlies until Friday so our latest plan is to leave Wednesday, battle into the South Easterlies for a couple of days, and hope for the North Westerlies (as usual). We are keen to get to Gjoa Haven before the month is out as the weather starts to turn into September and this has already been a bad ice year and an unpredictable season for weather. However we are both now looking forward to the next stage of our journey which hopefully will take us into contact with some evidence of the iconic Franklin Expedition of 1846.

As ever, thanks for the messages and a particular thank you to our Royal Navy weather forecasters who continue to unravel the mysteries of arctic weather. -K

August 22 - Tom Livingstone meeting the Arctic Mariner at Cambridge Bay. Location: Cambridge Bay

22 August, 2009

The last few miles into Cambridge Bay settlement were slow tacks into wind but having enjoyed almost 36 hours of the previously elusive westerly wind we were in no mood to complain. More than 130 miles covered in a single hit left us tired, cold and hungry but elated to have reached the isolated settlement of 1500 souls in Cambridge bay.

As we approached the shore, Tom Livingstone and his friend Pete Hamilton followed us with Pete’s truck and a trailer. We dropped the sails and rowed right on to the trailer and were lifted from the water only to discover we had timed our arrival perfectly – the weekly BBQ at Cambridge Bay’s only bar was about to start. So after securing the boat, having a wash and dressing ourselves in what remained vaguely clean and looking like a couple of refugees, we sat down to fantastic steak, salad and potatoes, and beer, not an hour after we had finished sailing. In the meantime we had turned Tom’s flat into a dumping ground for damp smelly kit.

After a very pleasant evening meeting some of the residents of Cambridge Bay, we retired to Tom’s flat and he produced a bottle of Tony and my favourite whisky – Lagavulin. Tom only has one rule – My House is Your House-, and we’ve taken him at his word and been made extremely welcome by everyone. We just could not have sorted out our gear without Tom’s help.

So what next? Our minds have been focused each day on the problem immediately before us; Open water crossings against the wind, finding drinking water, freeing ourselves from the ice, getting to Cambridge bay. Rested and dried out, now is the time to switch focus again to the journey ahead. A quick look at the ice charts shows that the ice has largely dispersed on the route to Gjoa Haven. The option to bypass Gjoa Haven and go straight north, as people did in 2007 and 2008 is definitely not open this year. We are aware that we are a week behind our schedule, and will probably continue on Monday to Gjoa Haven and reassess there. We will not make Pond Inlet, but this trip was never solely about covering distance. It’s about the things you see, and the people you meet and it is surpassing my expectations in both respects. We have been invited round to Pete and his partner Jean’s house tonight. Hospitality is unbelievable and we do after all have a few pounds to put back on.......

Location: 68.38. 06N 109.37.05W
Wind: 8 - 10 Kts Westerly.
1015Mb
Cloudy. Light rain.

20 August, 2009

Summary:
We finished early yesterday after struggling in frustrating winds, and having suffered the expectation of forecasted favourable conditions. Once landed, we scrambled up an 800ft escarpment in the vain hope of finding a radar station manned. Although there was no one present, we enjoyed incredible views from the top. We returned to the boat for a sociable dinner with French wine given to us by Phillipe. The wine was probably more chilled than Phillipe had intended and sadly we only had each other for company! We woke at 0430 to west winds but struggled with inflatable rollers to get the boat afloat as low tide thwarted our departure. We succeeded and we are now making good speed. We've got about 100 miles to go to Cambridge Bay, so should arrive late Friday/early Saturday.

68 deg 27.2N 110 54.4W
E winds. 7-10 kts
1015 Mb
Sunny

19 August, 2009

After sailing for 25 days we have surmised that A) All decent winds originate in Cambridge Bay. B) All those which don't are weak and useless and we have to row. C) When morale gets low you meet some lovely people in the middle of this wilderness. Late last night we met up with Phillipe and Geraldine on their beautiful yacht Fleur Australe www.fleuraustrale.fr and their four children. We spent a lovely couple of hours with our spirits revived by cognac and conversation. They also gave us red wine and saucisson for our little boat. Rowed on through the night and landed on the beautiful Edinburgh island an 0700 this morning. Now beating into E wind. 130 miles to Cambridge Bay ...

19 August, 2009

AUgust 19, 2009 - Unsung crew member Commando Joe keeping watch on the Arctic Mariner Four weeks on board and not even the slightest of mentions. Blasted officers complaining about three hours on watch ....I’ve been up at the mast in all weathers since day one and no down time for me..... I bet you didn’t even know there were three commandos on this trip! I may only be nine inches tall and my eagle eyes may have been phased out but I’m tugging away on the jib sheets each day with my real gripping hand. Honestly these two bozos would be lost without me. No whiskey and special treats for me just six inches of cord round my waist a face full of flapping sail and the odd arctic bath!!!! Thinking of jumping ship in Cambridge bay if anyone’s got any better offers.
... Commando Joe

Location: 68.28.2N 112.12.08W
Nil wind. Cloudy +10
1015Mb rising.

18 August, 2009

Summary:
The forecast north-west winds never arrived, which put both of us back on the oars in thick fog. After what seemed like days, we finally got a breath of wind which took us past the appropriately named Outcast Islands before we spent a choppy night anchored on volcanic rocks. We're now becalmed and rowing again, itching to make faster progress to Cambridge Bay 160 miles away. Through rationing, we've got enough food to last another week. Due to the cloudy conditions, we haven't been able to make the laptop work.

There have been a number of jokes on the message board suggesting that animals have been killed by the Arctic Mariner team. Be assured, no animals have been killed or harmed during the expedition. The team has felt hugely privileged to have encountered the wildlife that they have witnessed thus far.

Location: 68.27.0N 113.00.06W
Wind NE 2 - 3 (was 0 earlier)
1000Mb
Fog and light rain +7

17 August, 2009

Summary:
It was up and down yesterday with some progress, weaving our way through thick ice and faltering winds, with fog causing flows to appear at 20 yards. However, rowing kept us warm in the freezing fog. Kev was dropped on to a passing ice flow for an action sailing phot. (Managed to make it back onto the boat!) We rounded Lady Franklin Point and landed to look round an abandoned radar station in the fog at midnight. All very spooky (with flashbacks to YO training!). We're now sailing in light winds and fog waiting for the elusive north-westerlies. We're still able to read the messages after spells of decent sunlight. As ever, they're great for morale, so thank you.

August 12th - Dragging the Arctic Mariner over the ice. Location: 69 16.6 -115 36.9

14 August, 2009

Had a relatively quiet day today, after the relief of making land and finding Easterly Winds, again. We could make reasonable progress beating into wind and current, but overall barely more than 1kt in the right direction. Decided to stop where we found a small river inlet, went ashore and found bear footprints on the beach. Went for a walkabout, with shotgun, and I said to Tony - "We haven't had a new experience yet today." Tony replied - "Well we saw some bear footprints." Not two minutes later, and we had an encounter with the owner of the footprints! Decided to reanchor ourselves to an ice floe just offshore... And then Kev got wet feet so we commiserated with the small bottle of Glenmorangie that Amber had tucked into my gear. Then we spotted the 64ft Round the Americas Yacht Ocean Watch. Called them up on the radio, they came and picked us up and we have had tea, fudge, whisky and a look round their fabulous yacht. Really kind of them to stop. Hoping for Westerlies soon.. -K

Location: 69.12.02N 118.12.02W
Wind: Light and variable.
Weather: Sunny Temp: +1

8 August, 2009

Summary:
Adventure in the Arctic is a constant battle with the elements. This time it's the ice which, according to the captain of the area Coastguard ship, is the worst he's ever seen. The predominately north-west winds have forced loose ice into the Strait. Recent satellite imagery apparently shows the southern part of the channel increasingly filled with ice. We now find ourselves locked in a major ice flow, unable to move. We're in regular contact with the Coastguard who advise that there's nothing to be done but wait for the south-east winds to break up the pack. We are drifting south-east at about 1 Kt. It snowed last night and we had a baby seal playing around the boat. Other than that, we're catching up on our books; we could be here for a week. We're safe and comfortable, having made an improvised shelter over the boat with a tent fly sheet.

Location: 69.23.1N 119.03.5W
Pressure: 1016 Mb
Wind: NW 2-3

7 August, 2009

We spent the night weaving through a thick ice field. Some very tight squeezes. We've been sailing downwind throughout the night at about 6 kts. It's been cold and hard going. We came across a Coastguard ice breaker which gave us weather reports, ice details and fresh food, which was welcome. We'll try to RV with the ship again tomorrow as well. The sun is shining and we've done 80 miles in 20 hours; we're currently about 12 miles offshore. To clear up one aspect of the report from yesterday, we found the pictures of the large polar bears in the ranger's hut - unfortunately we didn't take them ourselves! Forecast is for 20 knot winds from the NW tomorrow, decreasing on Sunday.

05 1700Z Aug 09.
N 69 53.9, W 123 16.7
Wind Sp 1 kts
Wind Dir E?
6 degrees C
Clear weather but fog last night
Wave height 0 ft

5 August, 2009

We Rowed All Night - a bastardization of Roy Orbison's classic that has been going through my head for the last twelve hours. After waking to minimal winds we had a short sail to Cape Parry - another milestone and then we soon were sitting on glassy seas. Rowing this boat, in fog, at 3am is a surreal experience with only a seal, occasionally Tony could have touched it, and a packet of Haribo for company. With no reference points but a slowly reacting compass and an arrow on the GPS, the boat sometimes weaves back and forth as the hours tick by. We do a couple of hours each, and sometimes we think the wind has come, and have taken to rowing with the sails up, just generating enough wind ourselves to add to the breath in the air to fill them. We can manage about 2.5 knots and we were setting out across the entrance to Darnley Bay, to Cape Lyon 34 miles away. You just hope that when it comes to your watch after emerging freezing from your nice warm bag that you might sail, but it never happens. Sometimes a knot under sail, rarely more. Strangely its OK, we're making progress and Cape Lyon, now six miles away is another milestone and the last real open water passage. We should make a sheltered anchorage this afternoon to rest and wait out the forecast Easterly winds before setting off down the coast of the Amundsen Gulf hopefully with the Northerly and Westerley winds forecast later in the week. Rations are working out well, we have a day of boil in the bag every fourth day rather than dried food which makes a nice change. We're well into our rhythm now, have worked out power management so can still read your messages which are fantastic - a real highlight of the day. Hopefully you can see the wildlife on the boat and the third commando at the base of the mast. -K

03 0400Z Aug 09.
N 70 09.76, W 124 19.11
Wind Sp 6 kts
Wind Dir W
6 degrees C
Clear weather
Wave height 2-3 ft

3 August, 2009

Oh the difference a day makes The winds are with us and we have taken maximum advantage of it, sailing constantly for the last 30 hrs with sails full and every mile in the right direction. We are now about 120 nm further along our route and have completed two open water passages each of more than 30 miles. The tent is up in a sheltered but desolate anchorage off the tip of Booth Island on the Parry peninsula and Kev is hard at work on the evenings desert. All in all a hard but satisfying day that more than makes up for the disappointments of the last couple of days. We have found a good source of fresh water here and have managed to recharge some of the battery power in the laptop on the long sail over.

The arctic continues to be a endless wonder to me. In the early hours of the morning we sailed SW close to shore for around twenty miles in between our two open passages. Such a foreboding coastline I've never seen the like of before. Known as the 'smoking hills' the cliffs here are quite literally alight, and from deep fissures in the rock sulfur laden smoke pours constantly creating a scene halfway between the hound of the Baskervilles and Tolkiens cliffs of Mordor......

More Belugas sighted today and Kev claims also to have seen a big purple whale. Who am I to question him?

Battery power or the lack of it forces a brief blog this evening, but we hope to be back with more after we make the move to Cape Lyon in the morning......

Yet again your messages are an endless source of morale for us both. -T

02 1430Z Aug 09.
N 70 16.0, W 129 43.3
Wind Sp 7 kts
Wind Dir W
8 degrees C
Clear weather
Wave height unobserved

2 August, 2009

Awoke at 2am to a change in the wind! Now packing up and ready to depart. Further to our rushed blog yesterday - we've had a day of reflection, maintenance on the boat and ourselves, and spotting caribou and snowgoose. We've worked out that we sailed 370 nautical miles in the first week, although only 170 in the desired direction taking account of all the zig zags and yesterdays tribulations. So, the forecast is for NW winds late tomorrow but whatever happens we have to move somewhere because we are down to our last 6 litres of water (our reserve). This is despite using the osmosis system which we borrowed from the military but it is old and has now broken! That said, after we'd made 3 litres of water, we were sweating and probably drank most of it anyway. We tried to pressure purify the water from a putrid pond on our island used by the caribou and birds but all it did was turn from dark green to light green. The rest of the day has been spent doing electrics - we have found that the laptop uses lots of power and will have to limit our use of the battery onboard so less Ipod listening in future. I stupidly blew the fuse in my multimeter but have mended it with a cable tie and now fixed the meter in position so I can't blow it again. Messages are fantastic. -T

01 1700Z Aug 09.
N 70 16.0, W 129 43.3
Wind Sp 14 kts
Wind Dir E
8 degrees C
Clear weather
Wave height 3 ft E

1 August, 2009

What can I say - 90 miles sailed, lots of downwind sailing, 21 hours in the boat and we are 300 yards from where we were 48 hours ago. It's a tale of hindsight, a bit of bad luck and much more. I'm typing this as fast as I can because the solar cells don't seem to charge the laptop for more than a few minutes. We set off Friday lunchtime having strengthened our rudder able to sail straight towards Cape Bathurst, a significant milestone on the trip.

After an hour or so we were back to beating, and after a long tack almost exactly half way across we decided to continue despite the increased wind and strengthening winds. We made some progress, now wearing our drysuits, with significant swell until we were five miles from our destination shore, 26 miles from the other shore where the wind was blowing us to. Although the boat handles the waves really well, with as small a sail area as possible, the boat was still being blown over and the waves kept knocking us off course. Try as we might we could not make anymore headway. We had to turn and run back, the agonizing 26 miles. We dropped the mainsail to run back under foresail alone. In the process the gaff hoist ran through its jammer and out of its pulley on the mast - in hindsight we should have checked the knots in the end! The main sail hoist had done the same but was flailing around just out of reach but still going up the mast. Tony managed to grab it. At this point, in a moment of pure comedy, Tony had a minor stomach upset and had to use the bucket! We managed to rig a system to hoist the gaff using the main hoist and were eventually sailing in much decreased winds, back to Cape Dalhousie. Of course without the gaff working properly we couldn't even if we wanted to, have sailed upwind again for Cape Bathurst.

It now being 0400, the miles inched by. We de-rigged from drysuits and slept alternately before arriving back in an anchorage that dries out on the sand. Our tent is up, we've just had 16 hours sleep and I spoke to the weather forecasters and we might just might see some westerly winds tomorrow. -Kev

301700Z Jul 09.
N 70 16.0, W 129 43.3
Wind Sp 7 kts
Wind Dir SE
8 degrees C
Clear weather
Wave height 3 ft E

30 July, 2009

Thursday morning and I'm lying in my 'Slug' under a damp cloth cover in a space that's just a little too small for two young children with Kev for company. Cozy, no doubt but getting a little aromatic.

The wind remains the bane of our lives at the moment. Inevitably it's blowing from exactly the direction we wish to go!!!!!! It has been for four days now and is forecast for at least another couple of days. We're not swearing at the sky yet, but if this doesn't let up soon there may be a few choice words being spoken. For those land lubbers amongst you a word of explanation as to why our progress may seem rather pedestrian. Essentially a sailing yacht cannot sail directly into wind and in order to make any progress at all we must beat to wind. In layman's term on long Zig followed by an equally long zag neither of which are in the right direction but put together slowly inch you closer to your destination. It's a constant battle between boat speed and angle on the wind. Coming off the wind increases your speed but means your zig gets just that little bit longer. Pointing closer to the wind means you have less distance to cover but you do it very slowly. Needless to say course selection is a lively source for debate. None of this is helped by the 3-4 ft waves which can easily stop a 17ft boat dead. Enough excuse making, we content ourselves that we have indeed sailed about three times the straight line distance on the chart.

That said morale is high and we are starting to drop into a routine. Weather and off shore sandbars (everywhere) have kept us on the boat for three days now. Mornings usually consist of waking to the gentle rocking of the boat on it's anchor, Kev proclaiming in a moment of optimism that he's sure the wind has moved a few degrees off our nose........ and then settling in to make breakfast in a steady easterly! Meals are dehydrated for three days with a 'wet' ration day one in four. Most are surprisingly good but here's the obvious dud one in there and we've resorted to paper scissors stone to decide who gets what! (My record at spoof is just too feeble). Before slipping we don layer after layer of clothing. In my case a thermal poly pro top and bottoms, a t-shirt, lightweight trousers, aquafleece, micro fleece, gillet, sallopettes, Semi dry top, hat gloves and head over. It's usually just after struggling into all of this that you decide you need a pee. Within an hour of waking we are usually off and sailing or occasionally pulling on the oars. We both start the day on watch together but as the morning drags on one or the other of us will hunker down in the bow of the boat and either grab some sleep or crack some admin. Passage planning, blog writing etc. As the day progresses we will stand alternate watches of usually no more than 3 hrs or so. After that the cold and tedium of time on the tiller begins to tell. We have recently set ourselves daily targets to achieve governed principally by practical considerations of finding shelter for the night. Although we've proved our ability to sail continuously while living on the boat. Beating to wind in moderate seas takes it's toll on both us and the boat and a few hours at anchor each night has been a blessing.

So yesterday we started out with the tentative aim of crossing Russell Inlet and making Cape Dalhousie. After a long sail which saw us picking our way through a field of mini bergs and then an equally tricky maze of sandbars we finally made our destination at 0130 this morning tired but content.

When we tumbled into our pits last night we have to admit to a little despondency about the continued easterly wind but after reading all the messages from home, today seems very much a different day and just perhaps Kevs southerly tinge to the easterly has finally shown up!! -T

291430Z Jul 09.
N 70 08.1 W 130 34.8
Wind Sp 15 kts
Wind Dir ENE
8 degrees C
Clear weather
Wave height 3-4 ft NE

29 July 2009

The wind is not being kind to us. After a very pleasant night spent at anchor (in six inches of water) we awoke to a glassy sea and rowed for a couple of hours until yet again we could make faster progress tacking. We've both decided we are more sailors than rowers! We're traversing a NE peninsular and the wind is NE. We had another close encounter with a beautiful iceberg and some more belugas, just as "I'm on the Top of the World" by the Carpenters came on the Ipod. The wind freshened into the evening, but we were still making progress towards Cape Dalhousie, 20 miles distant. Just after 10pm when we were planning to eat, we had to reef the mainsail twice and it became impossible to beat into the four foot waves. The boat rides the waves brilliantly but it was time to find shelter, off the wind. The coast was last surveyed before Tony was born and unsurprisngly the sandbars which are huge have shifted somewhat. Tony donned a drysuit and in a moment of comedy, layed out our trusty anchor in knee deep water.

After dinner at 1am we slept on the boat and have just awoken to similar winds. We may have to stay here a while given that the forecast I've just received is E winds for next four days - bastard. We now find ourselves near the top of the Tuk peninuslar, all we need is a wind shift. The weather is fine but we are glad of our Rooster Sailing clothing which keeps us warm and dry.

I am constantly reminded of being a tortoise, slow steady progress into wind carrying our house and all we need with us. We've both now christened the bucket although we miss not having a newspaper....Water may become an issue, we may have to use our reverse osmosis watermaker to convert sea water. It's challenging in many respects - the compass has 40 degrees variation, you can hardly see the land more than a mile offshore, the sand bars are everywhere. But 24 hour daylight helps and we've only had a few spots of rain so far.... and we are amply rewarded by the scale, remoteness and novelty of sailing a sea that was frozen just a month ago. - Kev

272000Z Jul 09.
N 69 58 0.22 W 131 34.172
Wind Sp 6 kts
Wind Dir E
8 degrees C
Clear weather
Wave height negligable NE

26-27 July 2009

A lot of firsts have occurred over the last 36 hours that have served to remind us what a special experience we are privileged to enjoy..... Tak..luk..tuk..a luka tuk tuk.... the pronunciation of which defeats me, was a real slow laborous beat to wind in light airs through the early hours of the 26th. At some point during the sail in I woke Kev to wish him a fine birthday, received the expected grunt and continued on in to towards the settlement...... At 0600 after a long night our impressions of this remote outpost on the top of the world were none too favourable. Yet again we were to be surprised. Despite the isolation and all the social problems that go with it the inuit living there proved to be amazingly welcoming and hospitable people. within a few hours we'd met most of the children in the hamlet, it's mayor and finally the padre. Andy Yorke was actually the former padre back visiting his old haunts on a working holiday from his new parish on the Isle of white in the UK. Suffice it to say we were looked after incredibly well and introduced to a host of fascinating locals. Kev even got to sample fresh caribou steak and dried fish as a birthday treat.

In the late afternoon we headed off north refreshed and revitalized making good speed into a strengthening breeze. Easterly winds forced us north throughout the day and it was not long before we found ourselves far out to sea. Again we had crossed the mental hurdle of standing well out to sea and allowing the land to drop clear out of site. It's a uniquely isolating feeling to be this far north in such a small craft but we were not to be alone for long in the early hours of the morning I spotted our first mini ice berg drifting right into our path, again I woke kev but this time received more than a grunted response as we both dived for cameras. Shortly afterwards the silence was broken by a pod of beluga whales sounding all around us. A rare privilege that I will not attempt to describe here. The weather throughout the night was significantly colder than we've seen already and in the constant struggle to stay awake we were massively helped by ambers IPOD play lists. Finally after more than 50 hard miles of beating into a chilling polar wind we closed to within sight of land and eventually put in on a long stretch of sandy beach for a pair of hours. Once again we had a reception party this time a magnificent Caribou charging down the beach towards us, shying away only at the very last moment..... An incredible sight although we're still unsure if he was trying to run us off his patch of beach or simply trying to escape the hordes of mosquitoes that subsequently assaulted us. Test firing the shotgun at an old whale vertebrae (We both hit) brought a smile to both our faces almost as wide as that following a cold sea bath!!!!!!!

An incredible day that goes to reinforce our new found zeal for taking each day at a time... as I type kev is barechested on the oars rowing in bright sun shine across a glassy ocean, a far cry from the previous nights cold and discomfort.

A big thank you to all who've written on the message board please keep them coming they are a huge source of encouragement to us both and give us something more to talk about... -Tony

250600Z Jul 09.
69deg 24.4 N 133deg25.4W
Wind Sp 12kts recently now 7kts
Wind Dir NE
10 degrees C
Clear weather
Wave Ht 2-3 ft white capped NE

25 July 2009

A day of realities setting in. We've learned a lot and latterly its been hard work. The river is far behind us - those heady days of steady following winds, and flat water. Before we left we saw a caribou lolloping along the shore and before the river delta would release us we had to follow a narrow bouyed channel into a headwind. Need less to say, tacking, we grounded several times, once when we couldn't get the centreboard up and we deployed in pants or naked to free the boat. Really frustrating. Then for all of the early evening we tacked into a F4, having managed (successfully) to row into it. We were cold and tired so we've just cooked and put our little cover up while the boat bounces around. We're about ten miles from Tuk and will probably put in to solve a couple of minor issues.

Both of us have felt the relentless nature of this venture. It's hard graft - you have to be really disciplined to put things away, and to get the right clothes and to eat and drink. We're making good progress, but it's slow into wind but I guess it's been fun to solve the problems of today. And now, laying on the "bed", all is again well with the world. No-one said this was going to be easy. And we haven't got to the ice yet.... -Kev

240500Z Jul 09.
68deg 32.4 N 133deg54.1W
Wind Sp 5kts
Wind Dir SE
15 degrees C
Sunny light high cirrus but dark clouds several miles to North
Wave Ht Unobserved

24 July 2009

We're moving at last. This is fantastic. Sitting here in the front of the boat listening to David Bowie - the first of Amber's Arctic Mariner Ipod compilations, sailing in light airs. It's ten O'clock at night and the sun is still high in the sky, a passing Inuit just gave us a "White Fish" which we have filleted and will cook for tea. Awesome. We're making just over 3 knots but 1.5 knots of that is the river current, so its not quite as fast as we can row but hey! We just saw a beaver (in the river). Tony is now goose-winging the boat. Even if I could send photos I won't today because actually its pretty similar to the Potomac outside Washington.

This morning was spent packing food - a huge job but it just all fitted into the underfloor compartments. The boat is tightly packed to say the least but its all in. We nipped into town for a last pizza, bought the very last minute items then a quick handshake and we cast off, rowing for the first four hours, mosttly one at a time. We might be getting lulled into complacency by the current but it's great to be free of the town, of all the packing and having some time to think. -Kev

23 July 2009

The boat is in! We collected her this morning from the hangar, videoed some great fork lift truck driving to get it on to the trailer that we had borrowed from Olav - the owner of the place we are staying - the aptly named "Arctic Chalet". Getting it off the trailer was somewhat more difficult, despite Tony's newly acquired trailer reversing skills - Olav had loaned us the truck as well. I won't say it floated off - we lifted it and pushed (in sustained drizzle) and eventually she was afloat. No damage, no leaks, everything dirty. I rowed her up river (against a 2 knot current) to be near the "Chalet".

The afternoon was spent sorting gear while the mosquitos attacked. Still our Rooster Semi Dry tops are comfortable and keep the mosis off. I was worried the gear wouldn't go in the boat but apart from food under the floors and our personal gear we are almost there.

We put some stickers on the boat and rigged her for sailing. I can't wait to be off but we are both really tired tonight. I worry that we won't be able to access most of the gear but the same is true on any boat - our spares and tool kit will be dug out when we need them. It seems everything is in the forward locker - tent, snow stake, 40m of rope, anchor, spares kit, shotgun, 1st aid kit, drysuits, charts, reverse osmosis watermaker to name a few. Then its 60 miles north down the river, out into the shallow Kugmallik Bay and we're well and truly into it. Nothing to do for forty four days but force a route...and the ice isn't clearing as fast as it might. -Kev

22 July 2009

Kev at the start of the Ice Road

Lady Luck is still with us so far it seems..... Last night as the only thing not to appear on the carousel at Yellowknife was the newly aquired shotgun!!!!!! We did think she may have left us....... fortunately she was only taking a break and the airport staff discovered the missing weapon in a dark corner of the planes hold!

The morning started early for us both as our body clocks clicked in at 0500! Journals updated there was little excuse to stay in bed and Bridget took us out for breakfast Canadian Style. What we didn't realise is we were on the menu!!!!! Our first encounter with the Arctic mosquitos left me short of a good half a pint of blood and clearly the food of choice. I'm hoping Kev is just an acquired taste and that he'll be catching me up on the bites count soon enough! No one likes to suffer alone.

When we finally did get to the cafe the eggs benedict with smoked arctic char proved well worth the sacrifice....... Roll on 40 days of rations!

With full stomachs Bridget dropped us off at the airport bang on time for the flight up to Inuvik. To put it in context we left yellowknife to fly another 2 hours north into the even higher arctic!

Inuvik is a real frontier town at the end of the Ice road of 'Ice Road Truckers' fame. For the first time I'm starting to feel we have arrived at the top end of the world. Today we married up with the boat and she looks to have survived the journey north remarkably well, we'll know more in the morning when she goes in the water. While we do our final preparations for a scheduled departure on friday we are staying in the Arctic Chalet with Olaf, Judi and their 30 Huskies! Fabulous.

To steal a few words from the great orator this may not be the beginning of the end but it is the end of the beginning. -Tony

21 July 2009

The day started early and the crew arrived at the airport with Kev wearing a T Shirt emblazened with the infamous quote from Jaws "I think we're going to need a bigger boat".

Worries were many - we had much to achieve in Edmonton. The flight could be late, we might not be able to send the food, we might get stung for massive excess baggage, would we actually get the shotgun? The free excess baggage came through from Canadian Affair, and after watching Marley and Me on the flight, we arrived in Edmonton. We had an extra hour waiting on the runway to disembark while I waited patiently fuming, after which we met up with Rob McClusky and Tommy Docherty from the British Army Training Area Suffield who gave us a few extra rations, and then with almost no persuasion offered to take us into Edmonton. We grabbed 60 desserts from the Outdoor Shop - I hope we like Three Berry Cobbler, then it was off to the Gun Shop. Gordon McGowan and Niki Zuk were all ready with the "weapon", a bag, licence and a mix of shot and slug. A quick lesson - (the last time I fired a shot gun was on door hinges) and we were off. Back to the airport having added three hours to an already 15 hour day for Rob and Tommy! The free excess baggage from First Air was all set up, we dropped some food and some charts off to be freighted to Cambridge Bay, checked in the weapon, and 100 kilos of gear and we're now sat having a beer....

So everything has worked and people have been really helpful. The list of tasks is now complete! It's been an almost surreal couple of days. I've laid awake at night quite a bit over the past months thinking/worrying about the admin but it has finally all worked out. The really challenging problems start when we get in the water. I had broken the trip down into a series of milestones mentally - getting enough funds to buy the boat, getting the admin done, getting in the water, getting our first open water transit. Steady on, lets not get ahead of ourselves - I'm still in a bar, but it's been a really productive couple of days.

We were met at Yellowknife airport by Bridget Storrie, wife of an old friend Rick who sadly is working away, and she kindly put us up for the night before our flight tomorrow. Yellowknife is a fantastic place just by the Great Slave Lake - small boat heaven.

The gear underneath my sons' trains!

20 July 2009

Unbelievably hectic last day of packing and preparation. The last item (canisters for our charts) arrived this morning, just in time though I originally ordered them four weeks ago. The satellite phones work and we can send and receive email. The locator beacons are registered. All batteries are charged. We are taking three pairs of underpants each, four socks. When Tony arrived last night I was in the middle of a surprise bubbly and cake party for friends from round here wishing us well. It did provide an opportunity for Tony to model all the clothing!

Thanks to everyone who has helped us get this far - too many to mention here and for the continuing sponsorship. We fly to Edmonton tomorrow, pick up the weapon, some food and send a parcel to Cambridge Bay. Then its off to Inuvik for Wednesday afternoon, pack this mountain of gear and set off hopefully Thursday evening...

14 July 2009

Well we are into our last week. I've learnt how to fibreglass repair, finalized the equipment and Tony has been working on getting our food into Canada due to Customs Restrictions. Despite being reassured that air freighting it in was easy, it has now eluded us and we are frantically sorting out an in country purchase solution. Talk about last minute. However the gun issue is solved. The licence, rifle to hire, and the ammunition is all waiting for us in Edmonton. I still have to work out the final comms details when I get the satellite phone on Friday, and then let people know the numbers and codes for our GPS Locator beacons. We will be able to receive email and read the messages that are left on the website but we are not setting up direct email - the last thing we need is someone sending us a large "video" file for "entertainment" that will take ages to download at vast expense on the satellite link.

Donations are coming in a steady stream - my heartfelt thanks to all who have donated so far. Remember it is all ultimately in a good cause, and most of your donation will go to Toe in the Water, to help rehabilitate the growing number of injured soldiers and marines. As you will be aware, its been a really bad couple of weeks for fatalities and injuries in Afghanistan.

29 June 2009

I had long since planned a weekend of serious gear sorting and packing with Tony at my place this last weekend. I hadn’t bargained on the fact that the new bedroom that my wife and I ordered five months ago was being fitted on the Sunday. I explained to Tony the obvious relevance of new bedroom furniture to my participation in the expedition and, in a British heatwave we removed the old fitted wardrobes, packed food, finalised the equipment and were trained in 1st Aid by Tony’s girlfriend, Lara, (a doctor) who spent the entire weekend packing our medical kit and writing idiot-proof instructions. Thanks Lara!

Just heard that the boat is almost at Inuvik. Many thanks to Dean Smith of “Allen Services” who has agreed to take to boat from Edmonton free of charge thereby almost negating the extra charges incurred by customs. So, the boat is in place, flights are booked, we’ve almost bought everything we need, and we now have to see if / how it will all fit into the boat. I feel almost ready, overall quite well prepared; of course there are things we could have done more of, but we are almost there – at the start point…

25 June 2009

There is lots to update this blog on, my apologies for not updating it more frequently.

Tony’s last few days in the US were extremely busy. Apart from buying the numerous spares required for the boat, and spending more money than we planned, he also had to arrange for the collection of the boat by the trucking company, who eventually arrived at the last possible moment on the day he was due to fly back to UK. So amongst packing up his flat, trying to sell his Ford Mustang car (which someone helpfully crashed in to), he was persuading the carpenters on the US Marine Corps base to build a cradle for the boat, fork lift truck drivers to lift it, all late on a Friday afternoon. Our thanks to all concerned, not forgetting the marina manager for his powers of persuasion and allowing us to keep the boat there….

Our little boat, complete with about a third of our gear then began its long journey up to Northwest Canada. With Tony now out of communications on Salisbury Plain on exercise, I spent a couple of late evenings trying to answer the questions that Canadian Customs were rightly asking about taxes. “So you exported the boat to the US for six weeks and now it’s back in Canada…” You can see their point. Initially I thought this was going to incur significant extra charges but all was eventually resolved and I don’t think we will have to pay any extra as we are exporting the boat on completion of the expedition. Thanks to Greg Johnson of BBEX Logistics for his perseverance.

Meanwhile, getting a gun license in Canada initially proved a lot harder than I anticipated. We have been advised to carry a shotgun that fires large slugs as protection against polar bears when we are ashore. Trying to understand the bureaucracy, whilst explaining why we needed a 12 gauge pump action shot gun, I spoke to locals in Inuvik, Gun Shop owners in Edmonton and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I even started to acquire a license in UK so I could import a weapon from UK. I eventually spoke to Brigadier Simon Knapper (the Defence Attaché in Ottawa) who has sorted it all out, even with a backup plan! We are looking forward to taking delivery of the weapon in the car park of a Gun Shop in Edmonton during our stop over!

4 June 2009

Spent yesterday afternoon with the Royal Navy Fleet Weather forecasters in Northwood who have kindly agreed to monitor the weather and ice information, tapping into some Canadian sources and then send me a simple forecast via my Satellite phone on the route. They also gave me some basic polar climatology. Really kind of them to help out. Also the Canadian Ice Service have just issued their seasonal forecast. Its not quite as good as I was hoping as they had a cold snap in the spring that thickened the ice in some areas but they are still predicting ice break up in the central region at the time we need.

I met up with Rob from Be-Well foods, an expedition nutrition company this morning. He has kindly agreed to a generous discount, and gave very useful advice on calorific intake and matching different food types. He should also be able to freight the food on to Canada, with half going to our, hopefully, mid way stop in Cambridge Bay.

I’m now hoping to leave slightly earlier than originally to minimise the time we spend sailing in the second week in September when the weather turns. There is lots to do, but things are starting to come together. The boat should be starting its long journey today or tomorrow.

1 June 2009

The list of things to do gets longer and the time remaining is getting shorter. Tony has done a sterling job of getting the boat ready for its departure to Inuvik before he comes back to UK. We had an issue with the pivoting mast which has now been resolved, although our eventual mast will not pivot but it is significantly reinforced for our trip. All in all we both agree that is more important. The sliding seat monorail has been fixed and severely tested, and we must thank Mark Cox for his help, use of his extensive workshop and participation in the rowing trials.

Phil McLean continues to support, and we are most grateful for his donation in the form of a voucher he sent us for the chandlers where Tony has been buying all the bits for the boat and the ever increasing spares that we might need en route.

Support continues to come in from diverse sources. Rooster Sailing have offered a very generous discount on their clothing which should be ideal for us. They make some really innovative gear that will keep us dry and warm, given that we are �in the Spray zone� but don�t have the ability to get out and dry off after a day�s sailing. It fills a gap I was concerned about that is where to pitch ourselves between dingy sailing gear and yachting gear. Thanks to a mate of mine Nick Carus who put us in touch with Steve from Rooster Sailing.

12 May 2009

A lot happens in a month. We are now committed to sailing all the way from Inuvik, so the distance is now 1700 miles. My planning figures are to move for 5 days a week, the others being bad weather and stops in the few towns en route. Of those five days we need to do 50 miles per day in ice free waters and 35 miles where there is 1/10 ice. Ambitious - maybe. We will leave some time around 25 Jul and aim to finish by 18 Sep.

The trial of the boat in Washington DC went really well. See photos in the Gallery. Kevin Jeffries, the owner of Norseboat delivered it and commisioned it with us demonstrating all the special modifications he has made. We sourced two very robust monorail tracks with sliding thwarts and fitted them into the boat, although this stretched our finances a bit. We formally named and launched the boat – she is simply called “Arctic Mariner”. Many thanks to Phil McLean, another Norseboat owner who drove down to sail with us, and provided some excellent Scotch to celebrate her launch. We managed a boat righting trial and found that she rights easily and doesn’t ship much water. In fact the scuppers fitted by Kevin Jeffries drained quite a bit of water rapidly. We can’t understand why the self-bailer doesn’t work so will seal the hole in the hull and use the scuppers and bilge pump. We had a fantastic day’s sailing in all weathers – the boat did over 10 knots downwind, and although she has no boom she points really well. Tony and I went out to test the self bailer and got caught in a 20-25 knot wind, with current and waves all in the same direction. The boat struggled to make headway in this (the effect of the wind on the boat and the current was taking us up river at over 2 knots) so we reverted to oars. Rowing hard together put strain on the mountings for the monorail so we need to re-brace that. But I’d rather know now than in the passage! If there was one thing I wasn’t expecting it was how heavy 240kg is to haul up the beach but we have some inflatable rollers to assist us. Overall the trial was very good, and of course we find that we need lots of little bits for the boat. I am very grateful to Kevin Jeffries for all his hard work – he stayed with us all three days, and I’m impressed by the simplicity of the fittings and systems on the boat, its drainage, and of course its stunningly beautiful lines. She looks gorgeous but we are both well aware that she won’t stay as pristine.

Hopefully the website will improve its look in the next few days. Terry Hudson has kindly agreed to redesign it for us.