TUk

Aventura arrived in "Tuk" last night and I got a whole collection of photos from Martin of the island.  Of course, this photo was my favorite.  More updates to follow... Stay tuned!

Ice, Ice Baby

I just got this picture from Martin.  The ice situation does not look good.  As Aventura heads to Cambridge Bay, it looks like the ice is thick and deep.  Meaning, they are going to have to make a few stops to wait out the ice, curtailing a straight shot to Cambridge Bay.  Here's to hoping that it breaks apart for them helping them to reach their next destination without delay.

Lot's of white means lot's of ice.  YIKES!
This could slow things down dramatically.

Oh Canada!

Martin catching up on tales of the Northwest Passage.  (Photo cred: (www.CornellSailing.com)

So far Aventura and crew have sailed a total of 1650 miles.

Navigating through ice.

The second week of the trip required a lot of navigating through ice.  In fact, so concentrated at times that the crew had to have 1-hour watch periods because it required so much concentration to power through the ice.  I would text Martin often, and he would reply back, "Can't talk, ICE!"

Finally, the ice seemed to dissipate and Aventura crossed the demarcation line between the US and Canada.

First landfall in Canada was a small town called, Herschel Island.  Herschel Island used to be a busy whaling station but is now part of the... now let me get this spelled right... the Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park.

Herschel Island (Photo crew: cornellsailing.com)

Once in Herschel Island, Martin and the rest of the crew were greeted by one of the two caretakers of the island, Peyton Lenny.  He reported that they are only visited by two or three yachts per year.

While on the island, there was an old sauna and the crew was able to convince them to fire it up so that he and the crew could warm up their bones in a warm sauna.

So much for warming up their bones.  After spending time in the sauna, Martin was introduced to a proper Arctic baptism.  FREEZING!

Now, Aventura and crew are headed to Tuktoyaktuk "Tuk", the largest Inuvialuit settlement in the area.  Hopefully, once they arrive, Martin will find internet access, because he is already half way through his satellite phone minutes, so our conversations are getting cut shorter and shorter.

More pictures to come!

Ice in all directions

Martin sailing through the ice. 

Aventura and crew have been navigating through ice for the past few days and at times very worried that they might get stuck in it and have to wait it out.  I was very excited for Martin to reach the next stop, Point Barrow, where he hoped to have cell coverage and the internet.  However, once they arrived, it was so shallow that the boat was hitting the bottom so they had to forgo the stop and sail on.

An email I received from the Jimmy Cornell:

"...we left Dutch Harbor 9 days ago, had a good sail north, through Bring Strait, crossed Arctic Circle, then we got caught in a large concentration of ice 30-40 miles off Cape Wainwright (from 8/10 to 3/10)  and spent about eight hours extricating ourselves.  We eventually made it to Point Barrow early this morning, Thursday.  As the ice forecast along the Alaskan coast looks quite favourable we decided to continue without stopping. There is still a lot of ice along the coast, sometimes quite concentrated. sometimes quite wide apart, so it is easy to slalom a course and generally keep to our desired course. Sunny and clear, took lots of photos, but only of ice as not much else, just a few birds around. Still, quite spectacular
scenery. So we are making steady progress."

(Photo cred:  www.cornellsailing.com)

Official Gateway to the Northwest Passage

Today, while sitting in church, I got a message from Martin that Aventura was officially sailing through the Bering Strait and had crossed the Arctic Circle.  Two big accomplishments and marking the beginning of the Northwest Passage.

Here you can see on the ship's radar that Aventura is officially sailing past the Arctic Circle.  (photo Cred: cornellsailing.com)

Once they passed the Arctic Circle, Jimmy Cornell makes a point of giving something special to the crew to make the moment memorable.  In this instance, each crew member got a giant-sized Hershey bar.  Not too shabby.

I am lucky this time around because Martin purchased a nifty gadget that enables him to bounce text messages off the nearest satellite.  It's like having him home.  I text him, he actually texts me right back (if he isn't working a line or his fingers aren't too cold).  Usually my text is, "Call me."  Which he is also able to do since he brought our satellite phone.  This all helps soften the blow that he'll be gone for the next few months while I manage things back home.  Which isn't a big deal since I've done this rodeo before.  However, I really enjoy being able to sync up with Martin and get updates from him.  In fact, he called me later today and I could tell he was cold since his words were a little more pronounced than usual.  He laughed because he said that he was freezing!  So glad that I passed on this adventure because he sounded COLD!

Looks like Aventura will arrive in Point Barrow on Wednesday where Martin will have a little more access to emails and internet  (Always a luxury when sailing).  I'll continue to keep you updated on this adventure.

Fair winds and smooth seas, Martin.

-Kym

(photo cred: www.cornellsailing.com)