Posts by pwsadmin

Sunday August 31, 2014 (72o 42’N 77o 59’W): Pond Inlet It is now 5 pm. Pete has rowed ashore and if all the flight connections go well, he should be returning with his  friend and fellow mountain climber, Eli Simon.* We plan to have dinner and then leave shortly thereafter. The winds down Baffin Island…

Friday August 29, 2014 (72o 42’N 77o 59’W): Pond Inlet We left the magnificence of Tay Bay shortly after noon on Wednesday and began sailing, then motoring, to arrive at the village of Pond Inlet early the next morning. For the first time in months, twilight gave way to near darkness as the wind died…

Tuesday August 26, 2014 (73o 30’N 80o 43’W): Tay Bay The arctic has been very gracious in granting us our retreat. Which is to say we have had an excellent start on our first leg homeward bound and are now anchored in Tay Bay, a magnificent spot on the west side of Bylot Island. We…

Monday August 25, 2014 (73o 52’N 90o 18’W): Port Leopold We have decided to abandon our attempts to go through the Northwest Passage. We plan to depart Port Leopold today, beginning the 2000 plus  mile journey back home, heading east via Lancaster Sound then down the along the coast of Baffin Island, past Labrador, Newfoundland,…

Sunday August 22, 2014 (73o 52’N 90o 18’W): Port Leopold Since Friday, we have remained anchored in Port Leopold along with the yachts Catryn, Drina, and Gyoa. Together with their crews, we’ve been going on long walks on the neighboring bluff and having daily meetings to share information and opinions  as to whether or not…

Friday August 22, 2014 (73o 52’N 90o 18’W): Port Leopold (Due North of New Orleans, 2600 Nautical Miles) The Lillian B. will stay in the Arctic until August 28th for one last shot at making the passage this year. This decision is based on rapid changes in the ice conditions, plus the experience and optimism…

Tuesday August 18, 2014 (73o 02’N 89o 09’W): Arctic Bay, We are anchored in the picturesque harbor of the village of Arctic Bay, off Admiralty Inlet. The final decision to depart Beechey Island was precipitated late Sunday (Aug 16th) by the afternoon download of the ice charts and weather report, indicating short-term favorable winds for…

Saturday August 16, 2014 (74o 44’No 91.47’W): Erebus and Terror Bay, We have now spent a week in Erebus and Terror Bay, hiking the surrounding hills, and waiting for access to the remote outpost of Resolute, described in the Yachtsmen Routing Guide NWP2  (by Victor Wejer, Toronto, Canada, Jan. 2014, victor1@ca.inter.net ) as: “Resolute Bay…

Wednesday August 13, 2014 (74o 44’No 91.47’W): Erebus and Terror Bay, We have now spent three nights in Erebus and Terror Bay, keeping close watch on the ice charts, waiting for a band of ice between us and Resolute Harbour to either move or melt.  The bay is a two by four mile wide bowl…

Sunday August 10, 2014 (74o 44’No 91.47’W): Erebus and Terror Bay, By Sunday, the high winds at Rigby Harbour had calmed down to around 25 knots. Given that we had dropped our anchor in eight feet of water, retrieving it was timed for near high tide and at  12:30 (EDT) we departed Rigby Harbour, heading…