Leg 2

Blog 19

August 29, 2024

Water Temperature: 31

After a late and rough night at False Pass (located just north of the west side of Bellot Strait), the wind came down and we able to sleep in a bit and prepare for our transit through Bellot Strait. Bellot Strait can be considered the heart of the Northwest Passage. It separates the northernmost part of mainland North America from Somerset Island in the Arctic Ocean.

Bellot is about one mile wide, and about 15 miles in length. What makes it technically difficult are the extremely fast and different currents on both sides (up to 8 knots or 9.2 mph). For us, that meant we had to time our entrance to coincide with the end of the flood tide on our (west) side and be ready to hit the ebb tide in the middle and ride that out to the east side. Complicating matters is that there is perhaps one or two feet of tide on the west side, but two meters of tide on the east side. This is what causes the extreme current differentials.

Above left: Long shot view of our position in the Arctic. Above right: Bellot Strait is in the middle. We will transit from west to east and anchor off Fort Ross.

Luck was on our side as we exited False Pass and we sailed past a mother Polar Bear and her two older cubs who were hunting for some dinner.

Here they are checking us out as we sailed past them. These three are so nice and clean and fluffy white.

Nice video of the Polar Bears going about their day.

The above (amazing) photograph was taken by Raphael Forns from the boat Pinocchio as they passed through Cunningham Bay on their way to False Pass to join us. The Polar Bear had just made his kill and was having his meal. Fascinating to me are the seals in the background that seem so relaxed (obviously relieved that they are not lunch!) That is the luck of the Arctic, we sailed near this area only a few hours earlier and saw nothing but pack ice (but it was in the middle of the night!)

The first part of Bellot Strait was smooth and calm. We were so anxious not to miss the tidal and current changes that we started our passage 30 minutes too early which cased us fight the flood. This slowed us down by a good two knots for the first half of the passage.

The passage was discovered by a British ship looking for Franklin in 1852. It was named in honor of the French Navy officer onboard, lieutenant Joseph Bellot. But not until 1937 could the Hudson’s Bay Company ship Aklavik push through this ice filled strait (Cameron Dueck, 2012, The New Northwest Passage). We had to dodge just a bit of pack ice.

As the evening progressed, the sailing conditions remained moderate, but it started to get cold (an Arctic 40F) and the water temperature dropped to 31F. This gave me a good opportunity to put on my seal skin mittens and Korean Yak hat.

Above and below, we are passing Zenith Point which is on the northern part of Murchison Promontory on Boothia Peninsula and is the northernmost point on mainland Canada and the continent of North America.

As we passed Zenith Point and approached the end of Bellot Strait, the current picked up precipitously and we were suddenly going almost 11 knots which meant we had at 5 to 6 knots of current. The waters below began their witches brew. There was churning, counter currents, eddies, whirlpools - Mōli was lurching in all directions as we held on tight. Anyone who has sailed or motored under the Golden Gate Bridge will have some understanding of the extreme currents we experienced.

Above: We arrived to the waters off Fort Ross at 2300. We found conditions to be cold and calm and we were happy to see our fellow travelers already anchored offshore.

After we anchored, we still had some of our pack ice aboard (we kept it outside!) so Randall prepared a little chipped ice.

Just so you will not be overly concerned with our consumption of sea-faring alcohol, Randall and I are celebrating our passage of Bellot Strait with a glass of melted pack-ice. It is very cold, refreshing, with just a hint of salt and minerals.

Fort Ross is an abandoned former trading post on Somerset Island, in Nunavut, Canada. Founded in 1937, it was the last trading post to be established by the Hudson's Bay Company. It was operational for only eleven years, being abandoned in 1948, as severe ice conditions in the surrounding waters made the site hard to reach and economically unviable. (Wikipedia)

Not far from here, Francis Leopold McClintock established a camp at a place he dubbed "Depot Bay" in the mid 1800's: it was from here that he crossed over to take on the search on King William Island. As the entrance to the Bellot Strait is just around the corner, and he'd hoped to sail on through it -- but alas, even though its strong currents generally keep the Strait ice-free, that year ice on the western side blocked further progress. Still, it was from here that he departed, and here that he returned, just prior to sailing back to England with the news of Franklin's men and the final note found in the cairn at Victory Point.

The spot remained desolate until 1937. That year, the Hudson's Bay Company, in what was to be its last effort at expansion into the High Arctic, decided to establish a trading post at the site for purposes of buying fur. L. A. Learmonth, the legendary trader (and Franklin searcher) was selected to command the post; he was to take ship aboard the Nascopie from the eastern side, and meet the schooner Aklavik which would arrive from the west, to make a meeting of trade from either end of the Northwest Passage.

The Hudson's Bay outpost is still maintained by the Canadian's. It is in such good condition because it is constructed entirely from redwood planks (likely from San Francisco area). While the doors are locked and barricaded on the exterior (for weather and bear purposes), the inside is partially stocked with food and fuel for lost and weary travelers as well as native hunting parties. It is a tradition among Arctic sailors and Northwest Passage travelers to sign the log and to leave the name of their boat and crew (sometimes with accompanying art) on the walls of the cabin.

Above left, I quickly found the marker of friend and past Passageer Michael Johnson on Schooner Gitana in 2013. I hopped on Michael's boat in 2015 in Nome as he completed the passage (we sailed to Dutch Harbor with Nick Wynn). Above right, Juho (pronounced "Youhoe) from the Garcia (manufacturer of boat) Lumi contemplating the almost aged to perfection breakfast drink that has been left in the cabin for many years! He and his partner Sohvi are from Finland and you can follow them at https://alluringarctic.com

Above left is Randall and I with Juho and Sohvi. Above right, we are joined by Damien, his wife and three children traveling from France with their boat Libertaire from Normandy, France.

Randall and I take our turn for a picture. Although we did not see a Polar Bear that day, they patrol the area and we have to be prepared.

It is low tide, so I have a little fun with the beached pack ice. This gives you a pretty good idea of what is floating (the flat top part) and what is under water (the remainder).

Randall declines to "shoot the curl" like I did above, but still appreciates the color and majesty of the ice.

Randall and I climbed to the top of the bluff where there was cairn (aka rock pile) placed there by McClintok's crew around 1857.

On the way down, Randall discusses some combination of weather, schedule, maritime history and difficult crew members with Damian of Libertaire.

Above is the Post Managers residence. The exterior still standing strong.

The inside of the Post Managers house is not faring as well, but much of its old glory including wall paper, wooden trim, built-in bookshelves and fine furniture is still evident.

Looking down from the Post Managers you can see all five of our boats. While at first I longed for the isolation and solitude this latitude offers, I was grateful for the company and experience our fellow sailors provided.

Above: A copper barrel from the Imperial Oil Company which was established in Canada in 1880. They later sold a majority interest to Standard Oil which remains its partner. They were obviously instrumental in supplying heating oil, kerosene and other products to the outpost.

On our final day at Fort Ross, Randall and I were invited over for breakfast by the Forns Family on Pinocchio. Reminder - they are from Quebec, have six children (five are still on board), have been sailing around the world for eight years and have the loveliest dog named Brume.

From left to right: Florence, Charlotte, Raphael (who took the incredible Polar Bear photo earlier in this blog), Alice, Juliet, Marcus and Felix.

Next to me is Johanne with Florence who is not seven, meaning she was not yet born when their journey began. Notice the freshly baked bread - just one of Johanne's specialties. Thank you Family Forns!