(68º30.8′ N, 110º40.7′ W — Coronation Gulf) I received a satellite phone call from the crew this morning. The radio signal has been very weak recently so our normal messaging routine was disrupted. They only stayed in Cambridge Bay for one night before pressing on Westward. While in Cambridge Bay they met Peter Semotiuk, the radio contact who guides all the boats through the Northwest Passage. It was nice to put a face to a voice, and thank him in person for his help.

As they moved West the weather has been rough with 10 foot waves washing over the front of the boat and up the windshield (waveshield). Thankfully the waves were coming from head on so the boat was able to buck them without as much rolling. But this means tiring work and constant switching of drivers. Today the weather improved and is calm, clear and about 38ºF when they called. The Forecast says it should hold like this for about three days. Yes! In other weather news, as it gets later in the summer it is starting to get really dark at night instead of just dusk. This means that they are spending less time driving at night. Still, they are able to cover about 130 miles per day.

Today they saw a new sailboat also going West. It was Australians Peter & Maeva Elliot aboard their 34 foot aluminum sloop Tyhina. The crews had spoken over the radio via Peter Semotiuk, but was the first time the two crossed paths. They are also headed for Alaska, so it’s probably not the last time! You can read about their adventure and see photos at: http://www.tyhina.com/

The crew reports the scenery has dulled. There’s no lovely icebergs to look at! Ha! Also the landscape has flattened out and is nearly as flat as the sea. A far cry from the majestic mountains and towering bergs of Baffin Island. This means that they’ve turned to baking as the chief source of entertainment. Muffins and bread were mentioned. My mouth watered. Too much information?

I also got a tentative schedule from the crew (keep in mind this is subject to weather and whim): 
8/24 – Tuk (Tuktoyaktuk), NWT
8/27 –  Prudhoe Bay, AK
8/29 – Point Barrow, AK
9/03 – Nome, AK

Also note: The satellite image in the website map is NOT built with current images. It is stitched together from images taken at different times of year over the past few years. Often if you zoom in, you suddenly change from summer to winter. I mention it, because if you zoom in on todays coordinates, you’ll see the area choked with ice. Not so. — Randy

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A while back, Kip sent a batch of photos they had collected of inukshuks they’d encountered during their travels through Nunavut. They are a manmade pile or stones that mark harbors and hunting grounds. It is also featured on the Nunavut flag, and on the Winter Olympics logo for Vancouver 2010. I’ve been waiting for a lull in the news before posting. Here is a link where you can find out more about them. Without further ado:

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We left Cambridge Bay and passed another boat named Tyhina with a couple making the same journey as we are only a few weeks behind us.  The Canadian Coast Guard ship Amudsen was anchored behins us in Cambridge Bay doing Arctic research.  After leaving in sunshine we encountered some bad weather.  Shane the man just had to go out front to the bow to make a cover for the chain anchor locker which was starting to link.  As he went our a wave just happened to come along and drench him!  All had a good laugh including Shane!

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Hi Geraldine fans. I had a chance to record my conversation / interview with the crew today and ask them your questions. It ended up being about an hour long. They were using the phone and internet at the local hotel: South Camp Inn. The staff there were so accommodating and it was nice to have a more solid connection than the satellite phone. I’ve discovered I’m not much of an interviewer, but I hope you enjoy hearing the familiar voices (total download is nearly four megabytes):

Editor’s Note: I just got off the phone with Charlotte (parts shipper extraordinaire) who had heard from the crew via satellite phone. They arrived at Resolute, population 300, while snowing and cold at 7:00pm after a day of rough weather. Headwinds and choppy seas made for taxing driving which fell mostly to Pat and Shane. They were in bed at the time of the call! They did say they managed to see more polar bears today. They are anchored in a sheltered spot and will be sleeping on the boat with the heater cranking. They are comfortable but tired.

Laying low for a bit

The watermaker parts have not arrived as scheduled in Resolute. Charlotte said she would track them down as soon as the shipping office opened at 6am (3am for her!). I told her if there’s any justice there will be a pound of Peet’s left for her. Though the parts are delayed, the crew will likely be in Resolute for the next day or two as they wait for the weather to improve. This is good news on the sleep front, but also will allow for the parts to arrive. There are still two other boats waiting to traverse the heart of the Northwest Passage. One is going East to West along with the Geraldine, The other is waiting in Cambridge Bay to go West to East.

Next steps

The ice forecast continues to improve. Since the crew left Pond Inlet, the changes have been dramatic. From Resolute, the Geraldine will head almost due south before turning west again. The area ahead once choked with ice are breaking up and The Passage is opening up right on schedule. The next “major” stop for Geraldine is Cambridge Bay, which is on the other side of the current ice bottleneck (and after the turn West). They expect to be there in about a week if the melting trends continue. Once to Cambridge Bay, the ice should become less of a concern. That is the big picture, tomorrow calls for doing laundry (nobody wants to be O-U-T, haha!)

The crew is currently only 300 miles from the magnetic north pole! Amazing! Thank you very much Charlotte for the update and for your diligence in shipping and tracking parts.