Tuesday, August 21 Cambridge Bay, Northwest Territories (Nunavut), Canada

Cloud Nine arrived in the harbor and actually got tied up to the end of the pier in good shape at 0800 this morning. Had some tough conditions the last 24 hours with rough seas and headwinds. No ice though. Great, calm harbor even in the heavy air and we will enjoy our time here for a couple day before departure on the long passage.

Cambridge Bay is another milestone. Here we have passed the last great danger of pack ice in the Northwest Passage which could block us and now we "only" have about 3000 miles of high latitude sailing in the Beaufort Sea, Chuckchi Sea, Bering Strait, and Bering Sea to get to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, where we will surely enjoy a few cold ones with the "Deadliest Catch" crab boats. Looks like we are going to make it this time. Third time will be a charm for Cloud Nine.

The northern peoples and their cultures in the communities here are fascinating. They are heading out now on long fishing and hunting expeditions to gather food and materials from the bush for their winter survival. Although using all the same technologies as the rest of us, there is also a big push to maintain traditional ways and maintain control over their lands. There is huge energy and mineral potential being unlocked with the warming of the north and their is a race on for control of these resources. The native people believe they have rights to this land. Who could argue. But many other countries are arguing that Canada does not even control the resources of the Arctic, and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the future.

Thank you to those again who have helped me along in this process. Next update may be from Alaska, and a rare and successful completion of the Northwest Passage by an American sailboat.

August 17th, Gjoa Haven, NW Territories (Nunavut)

We have been on Raold Amundsen's trail now for many years, but finally arrived at his wintering harbor of two years (1903-04) during his successful Northwest Passage attempt. Gjoa Haven represents a milestone for us on Cloud Nine. This is our 30th day and we have sailed over 3000 miles during this period. The Peel Sound and Franklin Strait areas have blocked Cloud Nine's previous attempts. This time we sailed south right through almost ice-free. We have had amazing weather and conditions to acheive our goal. Success looks very good at this point; we expect to make it and spirits are high.

It is with mixed feelings, however, that I write this, noting that the Northwest Passage is virtually ice-free. Although good for our attempt, it is not a good indicator for the planet. We are really just a mobile piece of data in the climate change equation. We are witnessing history in the making in the Arctic. However any of you feel about the issue, it is undeniably taking place and the peoples of these high latitudes are feeling the changes first and rapidly. We are utterly shocked at the lack of overall ice coverage this year up north.

We next move on to Cambidge Bay from here to repair our radar, reprovision and prepare for a very long passage over the top of Alaska in unforgiving seas.

Tuesday, August 14th "Icebergs and Radar Problems"

News from Cloud Nine's Captain, Roger Swanson:

We are getting on well, but still having radar problems. We fixed the
antenna problem, but now it won't pick up targets. Fortunately it
worked crossing Baffin Bay where we had fog all the way with icebergs, but
it died yesterday. Some of the icebergs show up on radar, but by no
means all of them so we must be very careful. I'm thinking about
ordering a whole new radar and have it shipped to Cambridge Bay. The problem
is to try to find one in Canada to avoid customs delays.

We expect to reach Peel Sound in the morning and head south. Other
than the fog, weather has been good, very little strong winds. Shortly
after entering Lancaster Sound weather cleared and the icebergs have been
thinning out, practically none now. More later.

Updates for the Passage

Please follow my updates under the Sailing the Northwest Passage portion of my blog. I will post journal entries as I can. Sitting in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, currently making final preps, stay tuned.

Follow Cloud Nine

Many of you out there have expressed an interest in following Cloud Nine's attempt to transit the Northwest Passage over the summer/fall of 2007. While we will not have a daily blog per se, we do have a reliable and interesting way to track us daily through the Arctic. *Note these direct links are on my links page on my website. They are hot, the following need to be pasted into your browser. Ham radio operators run a site that will post our position and daily comments at http://www.winlink.org
When arriving at this website go to position locator and then enter our call sign- nøduy. *Note that this is a zero, not the letter o. Once there, a Google map will come up. Zoom in and out. Another site which we use a lot to get our weather and ice conditions is http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html This site is extensive and has everything you will need to see the same information we have. You can have a lot of fun following us us and learning about the Arctic and its environment at the same time.

Sailing the Northwest Passage

August 7, 2007. Arrived at Upernavik, Greenland, some 350 miles north of the Arctic Circle. This is our exit point to move north and then west into Lancaster Sound and enter the Norhtwest Passage. Weather has been good. Ice reports good in the Passage. Counted 79 icebergs in view two days ago. I had to go diving to free the prop of fishing gear 200 miles north of the Circle, quite cold, but good wetsuit and equipment- successful. Some radar problems. Leaving tomorrow. Have now met three scientists from the US, Denmark and Norway. All are here studying climate change. Very interesting conversations. Also talking with locals and others studying local cultures about the changes in their weather, ice, traditional hunting, fishing patterns and all. Changes are happening at a rapid rate. It is staggering. Upernavik is one of those last little places on earth. Enjoying our stay tied alongside the Norwegian sailboat, Yotun Arctic, great guys, very smart and in tune with the Arctic. Next report Canada after crossing Baffin Bay. Important crossing coming up here to position ourselves.
July 25, 2007. Cloud Nine and crew arrived safely in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, 0700 hours, July 24th, in a full gale. Slow going the last 25 miles in heavy air at night and many icebergs around visible only by radar. Winds close to 50 knots. Overall good passage of 644 miles from Halifax, Nova Scotia. We are now in iceberg territory for our next passage to Greenland. Departing tomorrow morning for the Disko Island region of Greenland (about 1200 miles) where we will reprovision before heading on to Lancaster Sound and the Northwest Passage. Track our progress and I will check in as I can.
July 17, 2007. Cloud Nine, a 57' Bowman ketch, has arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the 2007 Northwest Passage attempt. We will be a crew of six underway July 18 for St. Anthony, Newfoundland, then north to the west coast of Greenland. This will be the third attempt for Roger Swanson and Cloud Nine. Hopefully the third time is charm. I was last in the Northwest Passage in 1994. Cloud Nine reached the northern outpost of Resolute, the southern channels were full of ice and we became icebound for a period of time before retreating back out to the east and south, eventually sailing across the North Atlantic to Ireland. The history of the Northwest Passage is rich with adventure, exploration, and great tragedy...
NORTHWEST PASSAGE


Monday, August 1, 1994 EREBUS BAY, NWT, CANADA
So....history. Today’s lesson and why we are here, besides a good harbor, is the Sir John Franklin expedition. His vessels, Erebus and Terror, spent the winter here in 1845-1846. There are still some remains of their winter cabin on Beechy Island, a large cairn at the high point and, of course, the graves of the first three crew members to perish on this fateful expedition.
Little did the rest of the crew realize what awaited them as they buried their comrades. As we solemnly meditated over their frozen tombs, we could not help thinking of the slow, wretched deaths of the entire crew over the next two years. Their vessels became hopelessly frozen in the ice and their food supply was tainted with lead from their soldered containers. They were getting poisoned and did not even realize it. The final history of their demise is still a great mystery to this day......

And so, that’s about it, this is the Northwest Passage.....
It has a fairly short, but highly charged history, full of fatal errors and few triumphs, resolute stubbornness and an eventual acceptance of native ways and Arctic realities. It is a dream world, which did not cooperate with the terms imposed by its conquerors. The Arctic and Northwest Passage have their own dreams, their very own unchanging and somewhat harsh realities that must be accepted on their terms or the consequence is peril. It is on these terms under which we will proceed, or turn back, knowing full well our own limitations and frailties as compared with the immensity and power of this most special and powerful place. This one small spot, Erebus Bay, sums up the history and the Arctic saga very well and speaks loudly, and yet subtlety, of mans’ triumphs and failures in this foreign world.

August 20, 1994 POND INLET, NWT
We escaped and did reach Resolute, but only briefly to refuel, grab a few supplies and see a few new faces. But we have now hit our “go, no go” date and must turn back and abandon our quest to venture through the Northwest Passage this year. We are in peril of becoming frozen in for the season and cannot risk this occurrence. There will soon be a night again, and darkness in the ice is fatal. Cloud Nine is sailing southeast across Baffin Bay to Greenland, and south to some relative safety.

Twenty Years, Twenty Stories

It has taken well over a year to put together, but the first retrospective exhibit of my 22 years of photography is now complete and finishing it's first run at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, Iowa. We had 400 people there for the opening night and it has stayed very busy throughout the showing. The interactive exhibit, which includes photography, journal entries, and ipod stories, weaves together a series of adventures, forming a larger storyboard of life, travels, and challenges. Look for the exhibit traveling around Iowa through 2007-2008. Schedules will be available through the Lakes Art Center. Use the link on the website. Thanks to everyone who has helped with this amazing project.