Blog
August 21st, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
Again, I write this from a secure, protected and ice-free anchorage just on the west side of Simpson Straight. We pulled into here (McClintock Bay) yesterday afternoon when we saw that the forecast wind was starting to fill in higher than predicted...
August 19th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
I’m writing this from the safe, protected and ice-free harbor at Gjoa Haven. We dropped hook here last night at 2:30 a.m., and never have I been so glad to hear the engine shut down. Two days ago we powered into thick, impenetrable ice...
August 18th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
I cannot say that the past three days have been my favorite. We finally put the “Braving” part into our trip.
After reading ice charts and making our way fairly smoothly down Peel Sound for the past few weeks, three days ago Mother...
August 15th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
Last night the ice charts showed us what we’ve all been waiting for; a solid lead in the ice had formed on the west side of the Sound. This was just what we needed to make the big jump down to Gjoa Haven. Two days before we’d dropped the...
August 14th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
We spent the last two nights in an uncharted harbor 5 miles inland, the depth sounder showed over 100 feet all the way to the end! When we finally dropped anchored some of us anxiously went to land to stretch our legs. Right away...
August 13th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
My name is Sefton and I remember one year ago, when I was initially presented with the opportunity to embark on this endeavor. It didn’t take much convincing to get me out of the city life (Denver), and aboard this arctic expedition. For that whole...
August 12th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
Weather Chart
The accompanying picture is the a representation of the subject of all our attention; an ice chart from The Canadian Ice Service. We download these charts once a day and try to get a picture of the speed and direction of the ice...
August 12th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
The noon ice chart showed us what we’d all been keeping our fingers crossed for; in the past 12 hours the lead we’d been keeping our eyes on had opened considerably and there was no denying it was time to go! We traveled south about fifty miles and...
August 10th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
Polar Bear footprint
Still in Young Bay, waiting for the ice to melt (grass to grow? paint to dry?). We downloaded ice charts last night as well as this morning and the difference we saw was quite remarkable; the central area of The Passage...
August 9th, 2009
| by: Sprague >>>
We’ve made our way a bit further south down Peel Sound and are tucked away in Young Bay, a protected anchorage a little less than halfway down the east side of Prince of Wales Island. We’re not going anywhere in a hurry as the ice south of us...
