We are getting into a good routine, including Stas. There are lots of new things for him to figure out, but he is an eager and fast learner. Having done several Arctic expeditions in the past, he knows more or less how things work.
Our boat is headed towards Novaya Zemlya and Kara Strait, which offers passage near the southern tip.
We have been lucky with the weather, even if the wind is not from the best direction. These waters are know for atrocious weather, but we have had a steady 5 to 6 metre-per second-wind. In the course of the day it is supposed to turn in a more southerly direction, which would be to our advantage.
The importance of rainwater
I have mounted a water collecting system under the boom. We are carrying a limited water supply, only about 70 litres, in order to minimise the weight of our boat, but this system will allow us to collect rainwater. We have made a canvas channel under the main sail, with a small tube at the lower end where we can fill the water in a bucket or other container. With this system, all the water falling on the main sail will end up in this channel, where we can collect it.
It’s a beautiful morning with a low sun breaking through scattered clouds. Temperatures are gradually getting colder. At the moment it is 7.8˚C in the water and 8 degrees in the air.
Water-collecting channel under the main sail.
The collected water comes out of this tube.
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Updated position at 19.20: Here is our present position – roughly halfway to Kara Strait.
Good to see U off Guys, hope U will get trough the Vilkitsky Strait into the Laptev Sea, without problems, that will be our biggest ice challenge as I see on your trip! Regards Espen
Good luck and safe sailing from the summerguests in Mannshausen.
Daniel o Camilla