Thursday, June 18, 2009

Russ Meets Captain, Crew and Ship


On May 24th I traveled to Long Island to meet Capt. Eric Forsyth and Ed Hopkins, the second member of the crew. I wasn't able to meet Joey, the fourth and youngest member of our group. But I did meet the little ship Fiona.

The occasion was the official Bon Voyage party for Eric's planned circumnavigation of North America, which will include my portion; the attempt on the Northwest Passage. After looking at each other for a few minutes and sharing a beer, we decided we could indeed all live with each other for two months on a 42 feet long sailboat.

Fiona left Long Island on Monday, June 15th at 10:30AM. Sailing to Block Island, she is bound for Provincetown for any needed repairs before heading for the Canadian Maritimes.

I plan on joining the vessel about July 14th in Nuuk, Greenland. From there we are bound for Baffin Island in the 103 year old wake of Capt. Roald Amundsen. The Norwegian explorer completed the first successful transit of the Northwest Passage aboard the 70 feet long sloop Gjoa in 1906.

The past week I've busied myself with collecting the clothes and equipment I'll need for my summer in the arctic. Putting my new ham radio license to work, I'm collecting the names and call signs of people who may interested in, or able to be of help to me during, the trip.

-RR

[The photo is of Fiona "on the hard" just a few days before launch for the Northwest Passage attempt.]

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