Ice, ice everywhere
And nowhere to go
The Canadians Ice Service have published the 30 days ice outlook for the Western and Central Arctic.
- Summary for June 18 to 30:
Average air temperatures were above normal values over most locations.
Ice melt was near normal over most locations except 2 weeks earlier than normal over the southeastern Beaufort Sea, in the Amundsen Gulf, and along parts of the Alaskan Coast (all within the Northwest Passage).
Aventura icebound
- Weather forecast for July 1 to 31:
Average air temperatures will be near normal values over most locations.
Ice ahead
Compared to last year, the ice forecast looks much better and there is no doubt that attempting to transit the Northwest Passage from the Pacific end is a distinct advantage.
Based on the current prognosis, our plan to leave Dutch Harbor by 15 or 16 July seems feasible as we should encounter little or no ice in the Bering Strait. As we turn east at Point Barrow, the situation ahead should gradually clear.
In fact, it looks like by the end of July/early August we should have little ice as we make our way east. NW winds may affect us, as they may push ice onto the Alaskan coast, but the way to deal with that is to move offshore.
Dodging ice
At the moment we are almost halfway across the Gulf of Alaska and we have just moved into an area of high pressure and thus light winds.
We are motoring and even if the light winds persist, which is quite unlikely, we have enough fuel to take us all the way to Dutch Harbor, now just under 1000 miles distant.
Arctic rainbow
