Fiona Arrives Gjoa Haven

Entry from Russ Roberts journal on 8/20/09:

46 miles to Gjoa Haven at 0815.  It will feel good to get there.

Rae Strait is bumpy this AM after overnight winds which have swells unsettled.  It's raining and damp.
 
Last Message received from Russ on Wednesday night: "Quiet night tied to floe. Underway 6AM. Motoring well. 130nm (nautical miles) to Gjoa. Biggest story on this trip is how little story there is. Glassy water. Visibility great today. Egg salad sands for lunch. Advise all well!"

The SPOT tracker sent coordinates at 1:04 PM this afternoon locating Fiona in Gjoa Haven. Congratulations to Fiona and crew on a safe passage through icy Peel Sound, Franklin Strait and Larsen Sound. Hopefully hot showers for all! ~DH~

A moment to reflect upon the ice. When one embarks upon the Northwest Passage, even in years of minimum ice coverage, one has to expect to "get up close and personal" with big hunks and sheets of frozen water. One must accept the possibility that any vessel other than an ice breaker or ice hardened ship could be lost due to damage by ice. Vessel loss or damage must be placed into the "acceptable risk" equation.

My personal emotions on this trip are fueled by the fact that I do not own the vessel I sail upon. I can only feel vicariously what Eric of Fiona, Sprague of Bagan, Jovar of Perithia and the other boat owners are experiencing as the reality of the Northwest Passage begins scraping, gnawing and shrieking against their beloved hulls. Polar ice creates noises only Steven King or Bram Stoker could describe in words! Not knowing what damage may be accruing below the waterline is a mystery I'm sure none of them enjoy.

My primary concern, that feeling I am closest to as a non-owner crewmember, is personal safety for life and limb and the safety of those with me. At no point in the Peel Sound or Franklin Strait, at the points of maximum ice concentration, did I ever fear. The imminent danger of a swim in the Mustang suit due to hull rupture never came close. In the event that our situation had deteriorated and the sad eventuality of sinking did occur, the land was always close. The radios, Epirb and SPOT beacons always functioned and stood by in case they needed to be employed to send a "Mayday." The options for safety aboard and ashore and help if needed always remained open and available. We never exhausted our plans for a safe outcome.

-RR

Waiting Game

The winds have shifted from the south to the north slowly pushing the ice in a more southwesterly direction and hopefully opening a passage with low enough ice concentration to make it possible for Fiona, Perithia, and Bagan to arrive in Gjoa Haven soon.

12:03PM Email from Russ: "All well & happy. Waiting game. Fog. Wind shifting. 'Breaker Laurier ETA late tonight. Rec'd e-mail from Sprague on Bagan; all well, they are tied to floe and drifting 57 miles south of us. We drifted 12nm north last 18hrs [always staying about a mile offshore]."

11:32PM Email from Russ: "Got clear of ice and underway this PM. Made 15 miles. Now tiny anchor sitting on another floe to hold while getting more clear sea room ahead. 'Breaker' Laurier decided to hang out in Ross. We didn't need them for anything. If nothing else, it would have been nice party..."

Note added by RR on 8/29/09:





Earlier Fiona had called Coast Guard Station Iqualuit to give them a 'head's up,' a sort of 'float plan,' on where we were and what was happening; that she was surrounded by ice, making no progress and awaiting a change in the ice drift. They indicated Laurier was headed in Fiona's direction, we postulated perhaps in anticipation of the Hapag Lloyd expedition cruise ship Bremen steaming in from Greenland, and would check in with us upon arriving in the area. Iqualuit Coast Guard recommended that we review our abandon ship drill and make sure a "go bag" was packed and at the ready.  This seemed wise since ice can change rapidly and there was always a chance of our vessel being crushed.  They requested that Fiona check in every six hours via the Iridium phone with a position and status report until she was once again underway in clear water.

After two days and a half days of drifting with the ice, and a night about eight miles offshore maneuvering to find an open passage, Fiona started back in toward the forecasted open lead along the coast.  It was a magical journey through an 'ice bayou' ... lots of twisting and turning in channels that continued to open, open, always open ahead of the boat. Rather than being 'tortuous,' as others have reported, I found the trip in toward the open lead to require little effort . However time consuming it might have been, there was a wonderful 'meditative' quality about it.

Photo is Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, Sir Wilfrid Laurier. ~DH~

Fiona Anchors at Beechey Island

On August 2, Russ, Eric, and Joey visited Beechey Island where Sir John Franklin's Expedition wintered over 1845-46. Armed with Fiona's shotgun as a precaution against aggressive polar bears, they visited grave sites of crew members who lost their lives there during Franklin's last Northwest Passage expedition. Position, 74 43N 9150W. Fiona planned to sail to Resolute today, 3 Aug. ~DH~

From Russ Roberts' journal:

We are in Erebus & Terror Bay.  Arrived at midnight.  The Russian Akademic Ioffee, anchored nearby, left shortly after our arrival.  Raised on Channel 16, he is on his way to Resolute and will be there at 7 A.M.

This morning awoke to find Fleur Australe anchored near the bay's mouth.  We are further east in fifty feet of water.  Later, we took the dingy to shore, paid respects to Franklin's dead and prepared our own contribution to the collection of correspondence compiled by passing vessels over the years.  They are all stored in pieces of metal pipe.


While napping this afternoon a trawler anchored nearby.  My bet it's Bagan.  Now there are three here in the bay.  We heard an overflying Dash 7, call sign "Transport 922," call on "16."  He was calling for Bagan but Fleur answered.  The airplane asked about points of departure and destination, advised on Canadian law regarding dumping trash or oil, bid the boat a good day and left.

By 8 P.M. we were underway for Resolute.  The estimated time underway is ten hours.  Passing the trawler Eric saw the name "Pitch Perfect" on the boat's side  He suspected that was the name of the boat.  I had not heard of a "Pitch Perfect" transitting the Northwest Passage this year.  However I gave him the benefit of the doubt that two Nordhavens may be making the run.  I was disappointed Eric did not call upon the vessel so we could say "hello" and solve the identity mystery on our way out of the bay.



Off watch tonight I dozed.  I seemed to remember the name of the trawler as "Silent Spring."  In my slumber I thought Rachel Carson's book title to be a good moniker for a NWP transiting vessel intent upon bringing attention to the environment.  Upon awakening I remember the name "Pitch Perfect."  It had nothing to do with Rachel Carson's book!  How did my sleep turn that into "Silent Spring?"  However, I do not think it's "Silent Spring" or "Pitch Perfect.  I think the boat is Bagan.

Clearing the headlands of Beechey Island we look back to see the sails of Fleur Australe.  Phillou, even in the light wind, has all canvass spread and looks to be taking a course closer to land, more direct toward Resolute.  Our course goes somewhat south to clear ice that shows on the forecast chart.
 

Links to Beechey Island and Franklin Expedition:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechey_Island

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin