All posts about: Blue Planet Odyssey

For complete information on the Blue Planet Odyssey sailing rally see here.


Northwest Passage Gate Opens

location 57′ 10N, 51′ 43W

Today, 31 August, is exactly 3 months since Aventura left London bound for Arctic Canada and the Northwest Passage. Since then we have covered over 6000 miles and are now …

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Update on Northwest Passage

We just had news that on Friday the first sail boats managed to go through Bellot Strait westbound. The boats were Arctic Tern, Novara and Gjoa. Having overcome that major obstacle, they are now …

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Change of plan

location: 60′ 39N, 51’03W

Iceberg in front of Nuuk

With Doina’s exception, all Aventura’s remaining crew disembarked in Nuuk, and flew home. We had just finished preparing Aventura for the long passage …

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Musk ox of the North

The Australian yacht ‘Drina’ first informed us of these shaggy ungulates via a boat email telling us to keep our eyes peeled for Musk ox and walrus on the rocks and tundra of Cuming …

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Roundup and Farewell

We’ve been stuck in ice, walking among ivory animal bones, talking with Canadian Inuit, and lots more over this 2014 summer.

We’ve seen Dundas Harbour and the great Polar bear (Ursus maritimus), Cuming inlet …

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Northwest Passage Report

Michael Thurston on Drina reports from Port Leopold:

The ice situation is almost unchanged.

No yacht has gone through Bellot Strait as yet. We on Drina are still at Port Leopold, have not made our …

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Northwest Passage still blocked by ice

Based on a report received from Michael Thurston on Drina.

One week since Aventura gave up the attempt to transit the NW Passage, the ice situation remains uncertain. We are now anchored at Port …

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Erebus & Terror Bay, Beechey Island

There were already two boats anchored in the bay when we arrived – Manevaï and Lillian B. They were, like us, waiting for the ice to melt so the Northwest Passage might become navigable.

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Passing Baffin Island

Yesterday we finally escaped the grip of Lancaster Sound and reached the open sea. We are now sailing past Baffin Island with icebergs dotted about around us, but easy to …

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The Blue Planet Odyssey continued presence in the Northwest Passage

Michael Thurston (left) and Jimmy Cornell aboard Drina in Dundas Harbour, Devon Island

Despite the decisions by the captains of both Suilven and Aventura to turn back east and not attempt the Northwest …

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Beechey Island

Located at the western end of Lancaster Sound, Beechey Island is the site where the ill-fated expedition led by Sir John Franklin, spent their first Arctic winter in 1845-46. Two well-equipped ships, Terror and …

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A turning point

Cuming Inlet is a deep fjord that penetrates some 11 miles into the heart of Devon Island. Its steep sides, rising to several hundreds of meters, are a silent reminder of the passage of …

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People of Arctic Bay

Immediately when we jumped off our orange dinghy and into the frigid waters of Arctic Bay we were met with a sea of expectant faces who all clamored and hollered for our attention. All boys, …

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Arctic Bay

The Inuit name for Arctic Bay, Ikpiarjuk, ‘the pocket’, describes this bay best, a deep indent protected on three sides by tall hills. Arctic Bay is located off Admiralty Inlet, on the northern tip of …

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Blue Planet Odyssey to leave from Key West

The US East Coast start of the Blue Planet Odyssey fleet will now leave from Key West in Florida, not Miami as was originally announced.

We have received a warm invitation from Read more


VIDEO: Aventura trapped by ice in Arctic Bay

14 hours beset by ice

Trapped by ice from Sail the Odyssey on Vimeo.


Westbound boats for the Northwest Passage

The ice forecast for this season issued at the beginning of July gave the impression that this would be a normal year in the Canadian Arctic. On that basis, those planning a …

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Secchi in ice

The earliest recordings of measuring the clarity of water was by the German naturalist Adelbert von Chamisso during a Russian expedition in 1815–1818. The Secchi disk was invented in 1865 by Pietro Angelo Secchi who …

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The waiting game

We are still waiting for the ice situation to improve, so there is not much to do but deal with routine maintenance jobs, read, watch DVDs, listen to music, receive visitors from other boats waiting …

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Atlantic Odyssey detour to the Arctic

A sleek green ketch flying the Australian flag made its way slowly into Dundas Harbour and dropped anchor close to us. Standing out on its lifelines was a white banner with a large number …

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Beset in ice

Aventura motoring through ice

Well, since the last of my logs, we have acquired a new experience to tick off our bucket-lists.

By our decision to sail to Arctic Bay, we were …

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Icebound

The Canadian Ice Service published on 1 August the ice forecast for the next month. Although in general terms conditions in Arctic Canada are described as normal for this time of year, …

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Arctic Tundra

When you picture the Arctic terrain, you imagine rolling ice sheets and sky-high glaciers, right?

Well, ever thought about what happens in the summer when all that begins to melt and some of the ground …

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Change of scenery

The long term forecast for the ice to start retreating in the approaches to the critical part of the Northwest Passage gives the first or possibly second week of August as a …

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Blue Planet Odyssey Yachts Meet The Cold North

Aventura and Suilven at anchor in Dundas Harbour, Devon Island, Canadian Arctic (Lat 74°31’ N, Long 82°30’W)

On July 24th two yachts met in the cold waters of Baffin Bay at 74°N, a place …

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