Peter & Ginger - Exploring Under Sail

Morale was high aboard Irene during our stay at Cambridge Bay. We were halfway through the Arctic and ship and crew were in good shape. The only repair issue we had not been able to fix enroute (a broken watermaker pump bracket) could be welded here. We would top off our diesel fuel, having used only a very small percentage of our capacity since the last fill up in Tuk. It seemed that we were doing well in the Arctic environment overall– crew was warm, rested, and we were dealing with challenges effectively enough. Although much of the eastbound fleet was still ahead of us, we had narrowed the gap considerably. And we shared the anchorage with two of the most experienced vessels, Tranquilo and Abel Tasman. As newcomers to the NWP we took comfort from their presence. We felt like we must be doing OK in our effort to time our push to get through Bellot Pass and the thick ice hanging in that area if these two seasoned Arctic veterans were nearby. Not too early, staying clear of

We are leaving Cambridge Bay, Nunavit, Canada today. Getting close to the most technical part of the trip as we get near the ice. We are making new friends, taking lots of photos and enjoying our trip. When we get real Internet it will be possible to post photos and updates. Cheers! Ginger and Peter

On August 11, 2017, Irene rounded Cape Bathurst (catching a glimpse of the smoke from the famous Smoking Hills underground coal fire at sunset) and entered Amundsen Gulf and the region of the large islands of the Canadian Arctic. We were happy to be making progress to Cambridge Bay, 675nm from Tuk. Cambridge Bay is roughly the NWP half way point and a milestone we were eager to reach. Our DeLorme text sat phone warned us of a big ESE blow brewing in the region, so we checked the charts for shelter. Of course, the Arctic is notoriously poorly charted, so it’s hard to feel confident that what looks like shelter on the chart will actually give protection from the waves, or have enough water to get Irene safely anchored. We noticed the wind was predicted to be considerably lighter east of Dolphin and Union Strait, so it made sense to get east as far as possible as fast as possible. Our wind began to get lighter, so we fired up the trusty Isuzu engine and started motor sailing. As a

Early in the planning stages of our NWP adventure we decided it made sense to stop at the Canadian Arctic native village of Tuktoyaktuk. It was one of the few places in the Arctic that a boat could refuel without ferrying jerry jugs in a dinghy, we could clear into Canada at the RCMP outpost, and re-provision food items at the grocery store. And for Peter, it was just fun to say Tuktoyaktuk. How could we miss it? Irene threaded her way through the shallows and tied up at a small wharf according to instructions from the Mounties. At low water we rested on the muddy bottom. Typical of river estuaries, water seemed to go up and down at random times unrelated to the tide table. An RCMP truck pulled up, drove us to the station, and processed Irene and crew into the country and even took us to see some pingos . It was probably the friendliest experience checking into a country that we have ever had.