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THE SECOND PART OF VAGABOND SAINLING AROUND THE WORLD
Display our map specially designed for this expedition
A very large high had the nice idea to protect us from usual storms at this time of the year, and from South Greenland, Vagabond was able to sail straight to Brittany : 17 days to cross the Atlantic, including 4 hours stop into St Mary's Harbour in the Isles of Scilly for a last toast with our friends from Norwegian Blue. In all, a 17 months expedition, including 5 months at sea, 20 000 nautical miles (37 000 km), and 75 stops.
Vagabond achieved the first polar circumnavigation. While crossing the Davis Strait on 20th of September, Vagabond reached the Labrador Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Her crew is proud and happy today of her success through the North-West Passage, following her success through the North-East Passage, the 2 arctic routes that link the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Sailing these 2 famous passages one after the other, each one without wintering and without any ice-breaker assistance, is a first in the sailing history. Our emotions were worthy of the adventure !
Tonight, the crew was very warmly welcomed by Olga and Yvon. We met Olga last year in Anadyr, she is Chukchi. Her husband Yvon, from Switzerland, is teaching Inuit culture to Greenlanders. Our meeting was fascinating and symbolic after our trip around the Arctic, and we enjoyed some reindeer and muskox meat with delicious French wine.
On 9th of September, after 8 days waiting for ice to open up, a strong gale (50 knots) moved the floes away from the coast for few hours, allowing us to reach Bellot Strait, the Northest point of America. A polar bear and her cub were surprised to see us there, while quickly dodging in and out the ice and pushed by a strong and dangerous current. We finally reached Fort Ross on 10th of September, exactly one year after the sailboats Nuage and Apostol Andrey. Then the wind changed and helped us sailing to Lancaster Sound, while the ice charts were showing that the ice was closing up again behind us...
At the ice edge, Vagabond is sharing the adventure with Norwegian Blue, a beautiful green English sailing boat. If 2003 is showing a record with so many sailing boats attempting the Passage, today's ice conditions are reminding us that a wintering is always possible.
We left Tuktoyaktuk on a sunny 12th August, then we sailed accross Liverpool Bay and around Cape Bathurst the following day. We were then entering the Amundsen Gulf, and the ice pack was there, according to the ice charts. We had to go around the floes further south, in Franklin Bay, where we saw the amazing Smoking Hills, and then we reached quite easily the Cape Parry. From there, without knowing it, Vagabond went into an end and got suddenly surrounded by heavy pack ice. With the information we had on board, we decided to try further north. We turned back, and for hours, we followed the ice edge... >From the crow's nest, at least, France found a tiny passage that might be the one that Peter from Cambridge Bay just described to me by radio. Despite the fog, we went through and reached the Coronation Gulf, via Dolphin and Union Strait. Premonitory sign ? Our long hesitating track just drew the silhouette of a bear. And among the last floes on our way to Cambridge Bay, here is one, looking at us from the water. Even another one, lying on the ice. We've been dreaming about it for long, we were really expecting such a moment, but not with Catherine, Jacques and Pierre on the ice ! Not far from one of the two bears, they didn't see it and they kept looking at us through their cameras and video... The crew was quickly gathered on board, then more calmly, we got close to it and watched it swimming, diving, walking or lying on the ice... It was a big female, she was slowly getting used to our strange boat, and we left her with a beautiful sunset. After 4 days sailing against the winds, which had cancelled our stop in Coppermine (a pity, Gérard and me wanted to see again this village, he went there few years ago by dog team, and I did with a raft in 1992), we were very glad to get south-west winds pushing us at a good speed accross Dease Strait. Our arrival in Cambridge Bay, where Michèle Demai, christener of Vagabond, left her sailing boat Nuage for the winter (2001-2002), came to be in the same time than the arrival of Nuage in Saint-Quay-Portrieux, or home port in Brittany ! We just welcomed on board Matthieu, photographer, who is joining us for few days, up to Gjoa Haven. Before sailing again, I need to dive on the Maud's wreck, not far from the village, this ship was used by Amundsen to cross the North-East Passage (1917-1921). Amazing meeting with the 140 passengers of the luxurious polar cruising ship, we made an impromptu talk for them on board. The captain and his crew, including our friend sailor Henrik that we met here by chance, welcomed us and supply us very well with fresh food. But the difficult ice conditions described north of King William Island are little worrying...
Vagabond escaped from Barrow on 26th July in between 2 storms. The 2 previous days were spent with Mike Horn, half-way on his expedition around the Arctic, a great meeting that we didn't want to miss (read more news from him here). Then we had to leave our friends Kristin and Wendy, who welcomed us in their homes as the weather was too bad for us to go back on board, and Henry, who told us a lot about whaling. Pushed by the strong West winds, we were sailing fast without taking too much into account the ice floes slowly showing up. Pack ice went closer and closer to the coast, we had to play with the sandbanks to keep away from it, and we were enjoying more and more our shallow draft. In about less than 1,5m deep, we went around drifting ice at Kaktovik, and we reached Demarcation Bay where ice just closed the entrance after we dropped the anchor inside. Vagabond was first driven ashore on a sandbank unknown on our charts, after that we managed to sail a few milles before getting trapped by ice, then in canadian waters. 4 days of patience, observation, very long detours, impacts against ice... were needed to reach at least Herschel Island. But what a great scenery ! Being part of the drifting floes is a great privilege. Herschel was an important whaling site from 1890 to 1907, Amundsen became one of the last witness of these slaughters that were only for baleens, for ladies corsets. Whalers were wintering at Herschel to be on the spot when ice was breaking up, so came problems like alcohol, drug, suicides, epidemics... In the past, up to 2000 Inuvialuit were living here all year long, nowadays, only 2 Territorial Park Rangers and some visitors are coming to Herschel Island in summer. From the top of the island, we went looking at the ice pack as far as the eye can see, surprised to be out of it. A new storm blew off the Mackenzie Delta, our route was open, and on 7th of August, we were little sorry to leave Richard - the chief Park Ranger - and his guitar. 5 milles away from King Point, where Amundsen's Gjoa spent her third wintering, a strong North wind suddenly packed the ice. Stuck again. Compression was high, so much so that Vagabond was pushed up, thanks to her hull's shape (photo). Our position was not very comfortable, and during 2 days, we tried to get used to live in a 15° tilted environment. This time the pack ice was silent, no breathing, no moving, everything stuck with the powerful ice pressure. Propellers are well protected, but I was afraid for the rudder. And yet, when the wind changed, we went quickly back to the water, without any damage. In permanent contact with the canadian coast-guards, regularly checking if all was fine on board, we finally officially entered Canada when we arrived in Tuktoyaktuk on 10th of August, after having crossed the Mackenzie Delta. Adventure is not yet finished, drifting ice are on our way again, only one sailing day ahead...
We entered the Chukchi Sea, where we saw many whales. In Point Hope, Steve, chief of Search and Rescue, told us passionately about spring whaling, still like it was 2000 years ago. The skin boats are brought to the ice edge, then 8 people are paddling to move each boat. Meat is then brought back to the village with dog sledges. Not far from the new village, Steve showed us the old village, still inhabited 30 years ago. He took us inside his ant's house, whom he was bringing wood and water daily when he was a young boy. The house is in good shape, built with whale bones and jaws, and mud, half underground. Steve looked at us leaving, sitting on a sand hill, we will never forget his witness. In Barrow, we were very well welcomed on board the Canadian Coast Guards ice breaker, Sir Wilfrid Laurier; this was the opportunity to learn everything about ice conditions, ice is only few milles away from us. Catherine (artist and cook), Jacques and Pierre (cameramen) just joined the crew, and we are heading East !
"Les Portes Glacées du Pacifique", film of the expedition of Vagabond by the North-East Passage, will be broadcast again on French TV channel France 5 on Friday 11th July at 15:35. We just received all our emails you have sent since 14th of June, we will reply to you as soon as possible. To contact us more quickly, please check our web site.
The film of the first part, "Les Portes Glacées du Pacifique", 52 minutes, will be broadcast on 28th June at 16:32 and on 29th June at 23:00, on french TV channel France 5:
While sailing along the Kuril Islands covered with snow, we had to go around, and sometimes to cross, some wide areas of floatting ice, coming from Okhotsk Sea. It was a real pleasure for us to get back to ice navigation. Our route has been worrying some coast-guards, one of their ships one day came to stop us, using a green flare. After the short radio contact that followed, we received a 'bon voyage' from the reassured authorities. Several groups of killer whales crossed our route, wonderful. On 8th April, we were very warmly welcomed in Japan. Hot baths, sushis and sake were contrasting with the snow storm and ice floes in Kushiro harbour. After few hours, japanese high technology was on board, as we were given a fast and cable less internet connexion (harbours only !), and a mobile phone. Later, we received a mobile phone with a GPS included, a new equipment to test for the manufacturer. Our new friends are glad to see that our cameras, computers and watches are from Japan, without forgetting the engines of Vagabond ! Already 1750 nautical miles and very nice stops behind us : Kushiro, Hakodate, Miyako, Kesenuuma, Shiogama, Iwaki, Katsuura, Seabornia, meeting the fishing people, their beautiful gardens, and famous cherry trees. Many fishing boats and innumerable nets that we have to take care of while sailing along the coast, but no sailing boats, excepts few dinghies in a protected bay.
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Heavy ice conditions this year in the Arctic. Polar Bound and Dagmar Aaen seem to be trapped for the whole winter in the dangerous Franklin Strait, where we waited for 8 days before being able to force our way further, we were then only 50 nautical miles ahead of them. The Canadian ice-breaker Pierre Radisson could not help them last week, the ice pressure was already too strong. In Russia, the Chelyuskin Cape remained surrounded with a lot of ice over the summer, the sail boat Campina will spend the winter in Tiksi and will try to complete the North-East Passage next year.
