I mentioned the start of Ella Hibbert‘s long voyage in her yacht Yeva over on this year’s Northwest Passage thread. Ella and Yeva have now crossed north of the Arctic Circle near Iceland and have begun their attempt to circumnavigate the Arctic in a single summer by sailing past the north of Iceland in a westerly direction:

According to yesterday evening’s update from Ella’s shore team:

Ella’s had a tough time of it today, which is why she hasn’t posted her daily vlog. After days of drifting, she has wind and lots of it.

“35-40 knots, but the wind’s not the issue, it’s the sea state. Massive waves, breaking crests and spray.”

She’s having to run north to take the waves on Yeva’s stern as it was getting too dangerous to sail with them coming over the beam (side-on).

“Having the weight of the Norwegian Sea dumped on me in the cockpit was pretty miserable. The cockpit literally filled like a bathtub with me in it.”

The tracking map above suggests that conditions have moderated and Yeva is back on course for Cape Farewell

[Update – July 4th]

Ella and Yeva have rounded Cape Farewell and are now heading northwards towards the start of the Northwest Passage, which begins when they cross the Arctic Circle once again:

[Update – July 16th]

After departing yesterday afternoon, Yeva has returned to Nuuk. Presumably following some teething troubles after her recent repairs:

Watch this space!