Børge Ousland

Position update 05.57 CEST (10 Sept): 71.39638 N, 144.60849 W

Position update 08.00 CEST (10 Sept): 71.38847 N, 144.06624 W

Position update 13.17 CEST (10 Sept): 71.37992 N, 142.70384 W
(That’s 14 degrees longitude since Point Barrow.)

Position update 17.22 CEST (10 Sept): 71.37056 N, 141.7419 W

Position update 21.09 CEST (10 Sept): 71.36469 N, 140.77106 W
(On the Canadian side of the straight south-north line that divides this nation from Alaska.)
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Expedition Report, 21.16 CEST (09 September):
We are back on track with Inmarsat – we were in a deadzone outside Barrow – and we expect that it will work for rest of the Northwest Passage. Should it fail once again, we still have Iridium as a backup.

We actually needed the time we had in Barrow. Here we managed to fix an improvised forestay with the wire we got from “Peter 1”. As mentioned by Olav, the new one from boat producer Corsair will be waiting for us in Cambridge Bay. Se also changed oil and sparkplugs on the engine, and taped the rudder that had some damages from collision with ice. And of course there was some food and fuel to be taken on board.

The weather and winds have turned out perfect so far. We’ve currently sailing past Nick’s last waypoint and have set a course for Cape Bathurst. Fortunately we have yet to see any ice. Outside Point Barrow the water temperature was a nice, summery 8 degrees (Celsius, mind you), but quickly dropped to 3˚C as we sailed northward. It is now up to 5 degrees, indicating that there are no large areas of ice nearby.

With the genaker and mainsail up we manage 5 knots, which is not bad at all in this rather weak stern wind. So it’s comfortable sailing – nothing like the frustrating headwind and big waves of which we experienced for too much before Point Barrow. Knock wood that these conditions will last!

Ibrahim, our fourth crewmember, has blended in just fine, gradually learning the tricks of trimaran sailing. He also brought along two sets of his native Arab dress, which we all tried with great fun and pleasure. It may be elegant, but the attire is hardly practical for sailing in Arctic waters!

We were sad to say goodbye to our good friend Stas in Point Barrow. His humour and generosity will be sorely missed. Vince replaced Stas as agreed, and with his young energy and eagerness we are pushing to get through the Northwest Passage before it freezes.

Our next port of call will be Cambridge Bay, where Ibrahim will change places with veteran sailor Eric Brossier from France. Eric has previous sailed both the Northeast and Northwest Passages onboard his boat “Vagabond”; he is a very experienced and skillful Artic sailor and explorer.

Regards, Borge

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PS. Here is a selection of various photos from the events of the last few days.
(Editor’s note: Some photos have been added to previous posts, so please scroll down.)

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A good captain knows how to improvise – making a new forestay with some good Russian wire.

No, no – we weren’t so cold hearted that we left Vincent behind. He insisted on swimming out to meed us with new supplies in tow!

Well-deserved free advertising for Continent Express, the travel services company run by Stas.

Good friends are always there when you need them. Stas and Børge…

…Børge and Ibrahim.

Position update 06.44 CEST: 71.7152 N, 151.09004 W

Position update 13.24 CEST: 71.58311 N, 149.31705 W

Position update 16.29 CEST: 71.48703 N, 148.35294 W
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Ibrahim’s good spirit and smile is downright contagious!
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Expedition Report, 04.48 CEST,
This is the first report from the “Northern Passage” after our departure from Point Barrow, Alaska. We are now four people on board, with Ibrahim Sharaf and Vincent Collard in addition to Børge and me. Right now we are sailing due east on the Beaufort Sea, which is the name of this section of the Arctic Ocean that lies off the north coast of Alaska.

We enjoyed a good wind last night, but right now it is calm. In Point Barrow we received new supplies and fresh food, which will last us until we arrive in Cambridge Bay in ten days time.

We have seen little of the coastal ice that lies south of us. Thanks to our excellent ice reports from Nick Hughes and weather reports from Marc De Kayser, we have been able to avoid running slalom between the ice floes in fog or the dark of night, such as we were forced to do off the coast of Siberia. That was a manoeuvre that we are not eager to repeat!

In Point Barrow we experienced how the American culture forcefully displaces the indigenous original culture. There were motorized vehicles everywhere, with large four-wheel drive vehicles and snowmobiles were parked in front of just about every house. I think of this as a warning of how it might become in Norway, should we continue to worship speed and efficiency and embrace motorized traffic to the same degree in our outlying areas. I am thinking particularly of Finnmark, our vulnerable northernmost county, which is home to the Sami people.

Point Barrow is the northernmost American outpost, just as Longyearbyen is for us Norwegians. It is clearly also a tourist destination. We saw a fishing vessel that offered a kind of expedition experience for their passengers. There were groups of people wandering about in white clothing and life jackets who had come to visit this civilization’s outpost in the Arctic. I confess I was a bit frightened by the development I saw, but people we met in Point Barrow were invariably helpful and pleasant.

We are now sailing eastward and look forward to entering the Northwest Passage. Right now Ibrahim is donning layers of warm clothing and putting on his survival suit to take his turn at the helm.

Best regards,
Thorleif

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Today’s forecast:
Weather: Sunny spells, becoming very cloudy. No precipitation. Possibly foggy after 15.00/18.00 UTC.
Wind: After 09.00 UTC becoming 290-310 at 6-10 knots, and after 12.00 UTC becoming 310-330° at 8-13 knots.
(For a more comprehensive forecast, with explanations, please see Weather4Expeditions.com.