Back when there was ice I worked out of Tuktoyaktuk for 5 yrs. (42 ' wood) And know you can't fight ice .you go around ,wait for
wind change or go home In the eastern passages it's all about the narrow passages blocked by
wind driven multi year ice .If it clears , it's onward west. Saw a
photo of Pond Inlet recently ../ A forest of
sail boat masts so things are achanging . Tuk was the
winter haul out for east bound ,turned about at the ice edge .Belvedere wintered beside me for a couple of years in Tuk before she finally made it to
Greenland.,Williewaw was lucky and made e to w in one season. A
single handed Japanese 30'? plastic (e to w) wintered there after an easy
passage Just luck of wind direction back at Pond Inlet .AS the ice situation eased, over the years, I heard about a successful Hobi cat passage but thats unconfirmed. A Brent Swain vessel came through a few years ago As climate change opens up the ocean, big
weather becomes more of a concern . Used to be able to hide behind ice flows but now its more confused big weather patterns coming from several directions .Sets up really nasty wave confusion verging on dangerous. Still challenging I bet, but now we got
GPS so what can go wrong?