New RTW Route

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

Last summer the Northeast passage was open for 50 days north of Sibirian islands. If it's the case in the future too it's less than 3000nm from Tromso Norway to Nome Alaska. If not intende to visit Greenland the it's a much better route to Alaska from Europe IMHO. So far the Russia has been difficult with the bureaucracy but the open sea further north opens the passage far beyond their territorial waters.

Very cool. It's easy for north Americans to forget about that route

[Uricanejack]

just wondering
Why not do Alaska first?
from the PNW it makes sense to go up to Alaska and back down as a warm up prior to setting off RTW.
By PNW do you mean Puget Sound?
I doubt if I will ever go RTW. I am in the PNW and have just bought a boat with the intent of cruising the west coast. Starting in Portland. To PNW then keep going as time permits.
As a goal possibaly get as far as glacier bay. unlikly this year I don't have time but Prince Rupert is within range. Question is do I bring boat back down or start again from there.?
As a silly plan dutch harbour then keep going. Jappan is possible I doubt I will ever do it there is lots to see between here and Skagway.

South to Mexico? might be a winter trip.
keep going. how much of a pain is Pannama.
Maybe just put boat on a truck and ship to Atlantic? Caribean then Europe
Or great lakes and across via Newfoundland (I loved the boat who wouldn't float) then Greenland, Iceland, Faeroes and Stornoway
Is there any customs there?

All idle dreams. Perhalps i'l go to Friday Harbor.

[Blade Runner]

Well, i actually lived in the Canadian arctic, right on the Hudson straight. Even in summer there are icebergs all over the place. I wouldn't go that far north without a steel boat, serious heating, insulation and winter gear. The winds and fog can be intense too. Seriously intense. If you think you can make it though, I say go for it. If you time it right you can be there at the same time as massive beluga migrations. Thousands of them everywhere.

[Capt Phil]

Good advice, Blade Runner... having fished commercially out of Dutch Harbor for a couple of years in the Bering Sea and the Archapeligo, anyone who is even thinking about doing a NW passage better have a steel boat, steel balls and a lot of luck to say nothing of the right equipment. Navigation is really a crapshoot any time of year. The passage north of Tuk' can be brutal, even in summer and no one to pull you out of trouble. A heap of difference between the sonrisa crew off the western shore of Mexico or the sunny Carribean, believe me. But don't let me rain on the Darwin parade... Phil

[bobconnie]

Listen to capt Phil on this one ! But if ya must do this trip be sure you have plenty of long johns, GOOD weather gear">foul weather gear, warm boots and gloves, and have your lifeinsurence paid up !! Cus it can and do get nasty up there all year around !! Just sayin it's a place I fished when I was young, but I was a lot dumber in my younger days!!

[atoll]

a few sinkings will be good publicity,as they say any publicity is good publicity.........

[cwyckham]

When were the experiences you guys are relating? A lot has changed up there in the last decade. Not easy, by any means, but a lot less dangerous than it once was and getting easier every year.

And yes, plastic boats have been through just fine, but I'm not sure if that is wise yet.

Heck, first boat to sail through was a hobie cat!

[DeepFrz]

I might think about taking this one through.

Boréal 44, « Sailing boat of the year 2010 » in France

[Capt Phil]

cwyckham, I fished the Bering Sea and the eastern reaches of the NW Passage in the early 1960's out of Dutch Harbor along with the Kamchatka Island chain for several years before moving south to the Queen Charlottes and River inlet area. So, yes, we are talking 50 years ago. Perhaps the island locations and long fetches of open water has changed since then but don't think the propensity for crappy weather, navigation and communication issues due to ionosphere interference and the building of a few settlements shoreside have much improved to increase the probability of surviving let alone enjoying a NW Passage has changed much since the St Roche first did it in the early 20th century. I believe that old ship is still in a museum in Vancouver, BC.
I view the passage of the NW route similar to Cape Horn... to say you've done it is a feather in your RTW cap but it is a grueling trip, fraught with hardship, danger and risk. What concerns me is the others put at risk pulling your chestnuts out of the fire when things go wrong and the varying capacity to put up with the rigors of such a passage that the participants possess. Good luck with that! Phil

[Blade Runner]

This is where I was. I was there just last year. In the summer it's not uncommon for icebergs and chunks of ice to wash up on shore. The locals rush to harvest it, melt it and drink it. I'd be wary of ice debris on or just below the surface while in a glass boat. I didn't meet anyone who sailed up there. HOWEVER, I most of the villages up there had sailboats coming in once a year about 80 years ago. On the pictures they looked like wooden boats. Big ones though. So it can be done.

[cwyckham]

Here's an interesting article showing the tally through so far. Only 137 have made it through, including motor vessels, according to the article. A number of those were sailing yachts, some of which were plastic. Not trying to minimize the challenges by any means, just saying it's been done and will be increasingly easy to do as I believe the major issue is with ice which is disappearing fast.

Sail-World.com : Alluring Northwest Passage - the transit tally so far

[TeddyDiver]

The biggest concern nowadays is the lack of wind most of time during the best passage season, that is august and early september. So it means a lot of motoring and reliable drive train, no room for mishaps there due the short season. Thou last summer there was a major storm in early august in east Sibiran side of the arctic ocean.

[Capt Phil]

Although my experience is dated (see post #39), it is not an area I would fool with or go to without much thought, preparation and expense. TeddyDiver is correct... 'no room for mishaps'. I still have nightmares of my time aboard up there. Phil

[atoll]

it would definitely be an intresting insurance claim if all 150 yachts got locked in for the winter by ice flows in one of the bottle necks!

[Viking Sailor]

Just ran across this article. It talks about possible future arctic shipping routes.

Global warming will open unexpected new shipping routes in Arctic, researchers find