Fiona arrived in Dutch Harbor, Alaska yesterday morning with her captain, Eric Forsyth, 77, the only person on board. After the two remaining crew members, Joe and David, left the boat in Nome, Eric pushed off alone for the Aleutians. The trip took almost a week. He anchored before dawn Friday morning.
He next job, he said on his website, will be to find a crew for the next leg to the west coast of the United States.
This year Forsyth, unsponsored and financed, he said, "by my retirement checks," sailed with a changing cast of crew members on the Northwest Passage from his home port on Long Island, New York.
[For continuing information about Fiona's 2009 circumnavigation attempt of North America, see Forsyth's website, www.yachtfiona.com.]
Showing posts with label fiona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiona. Show all posts
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
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
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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.
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~
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Fiona Reaches Resolute
Fiona arrived in the small Inuit hamlet of Resolute the morning of Tuesday, 4 Aug. In an email from Russ this evening he writes, "We're stuck in Resolute for a while. Eric was kind of thinking about heading south to 'wait it out,' 'it' being the ice melt. Last night's talk with the Enviro Canada pilots and ice experts convinced him otherwise. They said the lower Peel/Franklin won't begin to be passable by regular vessels for 'two to three weeks.' They have been up here long enough to have a grasp on these things. Unless something interesting develops this may be our turning point. We may be heading back from here in a week or two. We'll see." ~DH~
From Russ Roberts journal entry of 8/5/09:
Holed up in Resolute, we wait. The ice situation 100 miles south in the Peel Sound and beyond prevents passage. The Transport Canada people who fly the DHC-7 (or Dash 7, the same "Transport 922" from the Beechey overflight) on patrol, told us last night that we could expect 2 to 3 weeks before the ice opens. This would put Fiona in a position of not getting beyond Alaska before it freezes up.
That dims prospects. If we are to return to Greenland I would rather leave the boat and fly out of here. My desire does not include turning around, backtracking where I have already been. But I told Eric I am around until the beginning of September, so I have time to stick around and see what happens.
Yesterday I e-mailed everyone from the South Camp Inn here in Resolute. Azzi, a Pakistani from Tanzania, moved to Resolute thirty one years ago. It is his home name. He married an Inuit and has children. He is something of a kingpin in town. When you want something done like getting diesel fuel, accessing the Internet, arranging heavy construction or having a meal, you see Azzi. This seems to prove that in the middle of what seems like nowhere, a person can carve out financial success. Azzi is, I am almost certain, the only man on Cornwallis Island who drives a Mercedes. Even though it is a sensible 4 wheel drive "go in the snow" machine, it is a 'Benz. Everyone else here seems to like Chevys.
Today we will pull Fiona close to shore. Azzi has a 100 feet long fuel hose. Since there is twenty feet of water to within a few feet of the beach, we can get close and put the diesel into the tanks without having to shuttle the fuel out in jerry cans. Before that, though, Eric wants to "sound" the area using the inflatable dingy. It looks like something of a "make-work" project to me. However, it is certainly not a wrong thing to do. More information is better than not enough. Eric, though, seems the kind of man who always wants to be doing something. An engineer, I do not think he is rewarded by the contemplative life.
From Russ Roberts journal entry of 8/5/09:
Holed up in Resolute, we wait. The ice situation 100 miles south in the Peel Sound and beyond prevents passage. The Transport Canada people who fly the DHC-7 (or Dash 7, the same "Transport 922" from the Beechey overflight) on patrol, told us last night that we could expect 2 to 3 weeks before the ice opens. This would put Fiona in a position of not getting beyond Alaska before it freezes up.
That dims prospects. If we are to return to Greenland I would rather leave the boat and fly out of here. My desire does not include turning around, backtracking where I have already been. But I told Eric I am around until the beginning of September, so I have time to stick around and see what happens.
Yesterday I e-mailed everyone from the South Camp Inn here in Resolute. Azzi, a Pakistani from Tanzania, moved to Resolute thirty one years ago. It is his home name. He married an Inuit and has children. He is something of a kingpin in town. When you want something done like getting diesel fuel, accessing the Internet, arranging heavy construction or having a meal, you see Azzi. This seems to prove that in the middle of what seems like nowhere, a person can carve out financial success. Azzi is, I am almost certain, the only man on Cornwallis Island who drives a Mercedes. Even though it is a sensible 4 wheel drive "go in the snow" machine, it is a 'Benz. Everyone else here seems to like Chevys.
Today we will pull Fiona close to shore. Azzi has a 100 feet long fuel hose. Since there is twenty feet of water to within a few feet of the beach, we can get close and put the diesel into the tanks without having to shuttle the fuel out in jerry cans. Before that, though, Eric wants to "sound" the area using the inflatable dingy. It looks like something of a "make-work" project to me. However, it is certainly not a wrong thing to do. More information is better than not enough. Eric, though, seems the kind of man who always wants to be doing something. An engineer, I do not think he is rewarded by the contemplative life.
Monday, August 3, 2009
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:
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Fiona Enters Lancaster Sound
Fiona sailed from Baffin Bay into Lancaster Sound at 10:30 am 1 August. The water has been calm with enough wind to sail at 5 knots. ETA to Resolute is Monday 3 August. ~DH~
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Fiona Crossing Baffin Bay
Fiona departed Upernavik on 28 July bound for the entrance to Lancaster Sound with an August 1 ETA. Winds have been light resulting in more motoring than sailing. Air temperatures are in the 40'sF and water temperature is 55F. ~DH~
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