North West Passage - the greatest adventure of them all

by Des Ryan on 21 Apr 2010 According to the skipper of a yacht which sailed the North West Passage last season, it is the greatest sailing adventure of them all.

Cameron Dueck, skipper of Silent Sound, one of only six sailing boats that sailed the great Passage last summer, has some advice for those who want to sail there.

'Patience,' he told me, 'Patience. You will never beat the ice, it will always beat you.'

Silent Sound, which after a magnificent performance is now for sale, took four months to cover the 7,000 nautical miles from Vancouver to Halifax last summer. When they left Vancouver in June, they were fully prepared for an unassisted passage.

'When you undertake such a voyage, I don't think you should depend on outside help. We took everything that we thought we could need to make any repair necessary on the way. It's not so easy to get fuel and provisions along the way, and we were mindful of that.'

They also wanted to learn as much as possible about the little known world of the Inuit - to learn how they, and the wildlife, have been impacted by climate change. 'We went out of our way to associate with the locals everywhere we went,' he told me, 'and though the Inuit people have the reputation of being hard to get to know, we didn't find that the case.

'Arriving on our yacht made a difference - these are people who live by the sea, understand the sea, so seafaring people have an immediate bond.'

Cameron has good advice for those who undertake such a journey:

Apart from lots of patience, waiting for the ice to clear, he spoke of the choice of direction. 'East to West if you want the wind to be with you, but the ice tends to clear from the west, so there's an argument for that too. We traveled from West to East, and therefore had to use the engine more than I would have liked. It's a compromise.'

Silent Sound was a yacht made of fibreglass, a choice, according to Cameron, which was budget driven. They added strength to the hull with four layers of kevlar, and had no problems. 'Of course I would have preferred a steel hull, but in the end it was not an issue - we didn't damage the hull at all in the voyage.'

Anticipating the worst scenario, the Silent Sound crew carried a lot of fuel. 'I don't think you should venture into the High Artic without at least 1500nm range, 2000nm would be better.' Faced with a combination of no wind or wind on the nose, they were glad that they carried 1000 litres of fuel.

Much of the Northwest Passage is pretty shallow, says Cameron, so a yacht with a deep draft would be disadvantaged. Silent Sound has a draft of 5.5ft, 'and that was excellent,' he comments, 'we were better of than some of the other five boats that transited.'

The other piece of advice he thinks is very important is not to spend too long in the Passage. 'Even if the ice will allow you to stay longer, you must remember that with Autumn coming the winter gales are starting. You might transit the Northwest Passage successfully, only to be hammered by constant gales on your way south.'

Cameron makes particular reference to good navigational aids, paper as well as electronic charts, and the HF Radio. 'Don't leave it behind. It's still the most utilized method of communication, and there is a radio net operated for vessels by a guy in Cambridge Bay that is very valuable in those remote waters.'

On the last day of their journey, in Halifax, Cameron wrote:

'It’s not often you can say a dream has come true. Today is one of those days, and I’m savouring every moment of it. I am immensely proud of Silent Sound and her crew for completing the Northwest Passage safely, without major accident or requiring assistance. I am equally pleased with the story that has unfolded through the blogs, photos and videos on our website. We did what we set out to do. That makes me very happy and relieved.

'This project has been years in the planning and over the last four gruelling months it sometimes seemed the actual journey itself would never end. The past month in particular has been difficult as we logged over 2,000 miles through rough autumn seas while already tired. Personally, it was made harder by a minor concussion and nagging illness, both hard to cope with on a small yacht on the high seas. The long ride south towards Halifax gave me time to think about what we accomplished and think about all the things we heard, saw, tasted and learned.

'There is change in the Arctic, and it threatens the Inuit’s ways of hunting, their culture and their food supply. We saw only the remnants of the sea ice that normally covers the water, but this ice is core to their lives, and it is hard to over emphasis the impact of its melting. But the current changes in the Arctic are so much more complex than that. Economic development, sovereignty issues, social upheaval and the hunt for resources have once again put these fragile communities at a crossroads, and at every stop we learned more about these challenges.'

But that is not all he will have to say. Cameron Dueck is by profession a journalist, based in Hong Kong, and he plans to share his experiences of the Northwest Passage with the world. Watch this space...

To connect with the Silent Sound website that covered their journey in 2009, click http://www.openpassageexpedition.com/index.html!here

Sail-World is interested in hearing from sailors intending to sail the Northwest Passage in the coming summer season.
Contact cruisingeditor@sail-world.com