Category Archives: Expeditions

The Northwest Passage in 2023

June 4, 2023ExpeditionsAlaskaborg, Albanyborg, Americaborg, Amundsen Gulf, Arctic Cowboys, Area, Arneborg, Bellot Strait, Beyond Her Horizons, Byam Martin Channel, CAA, Caprivi, Concentration, Coronation Gulf, CryoSat-2, Darnley Bay, Eclipse Sound, Foxe Basin, Franklin Bay, Hermione, Herschel Island, Lancaster Sound, Le Commandant Charcot, Navy Board Inlet, NG Resolution, Nome, NWP, Ocean Endeavour, Pasley Bay, Ponant, Pond Inlet, Prince of Wales Strait, Prince Regent Inlet, Que Sera, Royal Wagenborg, Seabelle, Sentinel, SMOS, SoD, Tecla, Terra Nova, Thickness, Trinityborg, Viscount Melville SoundJim Hunt

Prompted by a comment by Tom in the June open thread, the time has evidently come to open the 2023 Northwest Passage passage thread. First of all let’s get our bearings with the help of this map of the area:

and another map detailing the routes through Canadian Arctic Archipelago that have previously been successfully traversed:

As our starter for ten for 2023, there is already plenty of open water in the Amundsen Gulf, together with plenty of melt ponding on the remaining fast ice in Franklin and Darnley Bays:

*“False colour” image of the Lena Delta on June 3rd from the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite*

The Nagalaqa Expedition

August 29, 2022ExpeditionsAlert, Banks Island, Cape Columbia, Ellesmere Island, Eric André, Jimmy Hery, Nagalaqa, Nares Strait, Sachs Harbour, Sébastien RoubinetJim Hunt

Extremely belatedly I’ve just discovered that many weeks ago Sébastien Roubinet set out on another expedition to cross the Arctic Ocean in an ice skating catamaran, now christened Babouch-ty. Seb has already led several similar expeditions in the high Arctic, and on this occasion he is accompanied by Eric André and Jimmy Hery. They set sail from Sachs Harbour on Banks Island at the end of June, and have seen many sights since then! Here are a few of them:

The Northwest Passage in 2022

June 22, 2022ExpeditionsAmundsen, Arctic Cowboys, AWI, Baffin Island, Bellot Strait, Beto Pandiani, Cape Bathurst, CIS, Cornwallis Island, Covid-19, Cruise Mapper, CryoSat-2, Depot Bay, Henry Larsen, Igloo, Inuvik, Karl Kruger, L'Austral, Lancaster Sound, Le Commandant Charcot, Maiwenn Beadle, Marine Traffic, McClure Strait, MODIS, National Geographic Resolution, Noorderzon, Northwest Passage Expedition, NWP, Paulatuk, Peel Sound, Pond Inlet, Pont Hope, Prince Regent Inlet, Queens Channel, Rae Strait, Rota Polar, Scenic Eclipse, Silver Wind, Simpson Strait, SMOS, SUP, Tuktoyaktuk, Typhoon MerbokJim Hunt

After a quiet couple of years due to the Covid-19 pandemic there are numerous cruises through the Northwest Passage planned for the summer of 2022. Some (very!) small vessels are also currently scheduled to attempt that perilous journey. First of all let’s take a look at a map of the assorted routes through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago:

plus another map which includes a few more place names:

Next comes news of the expeditions planned by a variety of intrepid adventurers. According to Karl Kruger’s web site :

In 2022, Karl will attempt to become the first human to paddle 1,900 miles of the Northwest Passage on a standup paddleboard.

The article at the link is undated, but suggests that Karl initially intended to set off for Pond Inlet from Tuktoyaktuk in July 2019, but postponed the trip until the summer of 2020. By then Covid restrictions were in place, so next month provides the first opportunity for him to attempt the journey once again.

The Northwest Passage in 2020

July 14, 2020ExpeditionsBoothia Peninsula, Covid-19, Kiwi Roa, Lancaster Sound, Larsen Sound, McClintock Channel, Northabout, NWP, Peel Sound, Peter SmithJim Hunt

Whilst the Northern Sea Route has opened up early this year, it will be be quite some time before the Northwest Passage follows suit. Nevertheless our old friend Northabout is currently sailing in the direction of Baffin Bay, so now seems as good a time as any to start speculating about the prospects for the Summer of 2020. The passage through Lancaster Sound is already navigable:

Northabout Heads North Again

July 11, 2020ExpeditionsDrifting Buoy, Météo France, Northabout, Prince Christian Sound, Sophie Simonin, Tobias Carter, Unu MondoJim Hunt

Regular readers may recall our coverage of the plucky little yacht Northabout’s circumnavigation of the Arctic in 2016? We are delighted to be able to inform you that (s)he is intent on heading back to the Northwest Passage once again next year, intending to travel from east to west this time around.

Meanwhile this year the plan is to visit the west coast of Greenland before returning to Jersey for the winter. Here’s how the news was announced on the local television channel here in South West England:

The MOSAiC Expedition

September 16, 2019ExpeditionsAkademik Federov, AWI, Fram, Markus Rex, MOSAiC, Polarstern, R/V Lance, TaraJim Hunt

According to the MOSAiC Expedition’s web site:

In September 2019, the German research icebreaker Polarstern will set sail from Tromsø, Norway, to spend a year drifting through the Arctic Ocean – trapped in ice. The goal of the MOSAiC expedition is to take the closest look ever at the Arctic as the epicenter of global warming and to gain fundamental insights that are key to better understand global climate change.

In essence Polarstern will be following in the illustrious footsteps of Tara and Fridtjof Nansen‘s Fram before her, but with vastly more scientists in attendance than previous transpolar drift expeditions.

The Northwest Passage in 2019

May 24, 2019ExpeditionsAmundsen, Antarctic, Bellot Strait, Bremen, Moli, NWP, Randall Reeves, Terry FoxJim Hunt

It is perhaps rather early to start speculating about if, and when, the Northwest Passage will become navigable for the host of small vessels eager to traverse it this summer.

However one such vessel is already en route to the Arctic Circle, so why don’t we take a look at its live tracking map?

The Northern Sea Route in 2018

August 24, 2018ExpeditionsArctic Institute, Bremen, East Siberian Sea, Hapag Lloyd, Maersk, Malte Humpert, Nakhodka, New Siberian Islands, NSR, Venta Maersk, Wrangel IslandJim Hunt

Our usual excuse for an article such as this is an attempt by a “pleasure craft” such as the plucky little yacht Northabout to journey past Russia’s northern shores. I’m not aware of any such plans for this year, but here is some interesting NSR 2018 news. According to Reuters:

The Northwest Passage in 2018

August 19, 2018ExpeditionsAmundsen, Beaufort Sea, Bellot Strait, CAA, Cambridge Bay, Crystal, Dogbark, Franklin Strait, Gjoa Haven, Mikkelsen Bay, NWP, NWS, Prudhoe Bay, Thor, TuktoyaktukJim Hunt

The time has come to start speculating about if, and when, the Northwest Passage will become navigable for the host of small vessels eager to traverse it this summer. Almost one month later than in 2017!

Oden Reaches the North Pole All Too Easily Once Again

August 16, 2018ExpeditionsBBC, Helen Czerski, North Pole, OdenJim Hunt

Our regular reader(s) may recall our extensive coverage of the Swedish icebreaker Oden’s visit to the North Pole (AKA Santa’s secret summer swimming pool) in 2016?

We are now able to report that Oden has been back at the North Pole once again, this time somewhat earlier in the season:

The Great White Con

Putting the Arctic sea ice record straight