I have been sorting through some archival footage from my 2019 transit of the Northwest Passage aboard Oliver Huin’s Breskell. Maybe this will be fun for the armchair sailors. Maybe it will be helpful for those planning a future trip. Like Jimmy Cornell’s:

The High Latitude Challenge 2026-2027

I’ve heard it said that fewer people have transited the Northwest Passage by boat than have climbed Mount Everest. If true, I suspect that statistic may be challenged soon enough. Presently, only captains and vessels are acknowledged. I was only working crew.

Graham Harbor on the south shore of Devon Island is the furthest north I have been so far. Just about Latitude 74°30’36.88″N, Longitude 88° 9’26.93″W. The anchoring experience was pretty wretched. The worst I have ever had. (That’s two, so far.) It was deep, the holding was bad, and the wind ferocious. It was easy to think there might be protection inside the bowl. There was not.

There is a narrow opening to the west of a spit. This opening clogged with ice as the tide came and went. What was worse was waking up to a dragging anchor as the wind funneled through the harbor. Another boat in the harbor, Altego II, from the Czech Republic, topped that. Ice had entered the harbor and surrounded the boat and anchor. Luckily, with some poles, angst, and persistence, they were able to retrieve the anchor. We both moved about the harbor several times trying to get good holding. When the tide retreated and drew the ice out and clear of the entrance, we both made a run for it while the getting was good. Fortunately, this coincided with a weather window we were able to carry through Peel Sound.

I hope you enjoy the videos. Thanks for stopping by.

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