FROM THE PACIFIC
... MONTHLY SEA ICE OUTLOOK...
... MONTHLY SEA ICE OUTLOOK...
Looking at the big picture, sea ice break up has slowed significantly during June as expected due to thicker first year and multi-year ice north of 70N. Alaska waters south of 70N are now sea ice free. Sea ice in the Beaufort Sea has begun to melt out from the coast, especially at river deltas. As we look forward through September, we expect sea ice breakup to continue to be slower than the past couple years as there is still a higher concentration of multi-year ice through the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. We expect melting within the ice pack to the north of that band of multiyear ice during July, August, and early September as the ice there is thinner overall.
Small crafts transiting the area should be prepared for delays if this happens.
Its going to be late July before the NW Passage routes open to yacht traffic so enjoy your break to be better prepared and socialize with other voyagers.
FROM THE ATLANTIC
Eastern Canada...
Same basic situation... ICE ... so enjoy ice free Western Greenland!
Recommendation to advance as ice allows and be a voyaging tourist visiting Beechey Island then make an informed decision re routing once conditions are analyzed.
Email: voyageadviser(AT)gmail(DOT)com
REQUIREMENT:
DONT LEAVE PORT WITHOUT A GARMIN INREACH ACTIVE WITH UNLIMITED MESSAGING.
The pattern of melting in this area may be similar to 2016 when a band of ice remained off the coast of Barrow through much of September before completely melting.
Small crafts transiting the area should be prepared for delays if this happens.
In the Beaufort Sea, we expect the sea ice to break up from the Alaska coast northward as is common, however we expect to see the main ice pack melt at a much slower rate than last year due to the much more widespread multiyear ice that remains throughout much of the Beaufort Sea this year.
...BREAK-UP OUTLOOK FOR THE CHUKCHI SEA...
For Point Hope to Icy Cape west to 170W, this area is expected to be sea ice free for the season by the first week of July.
For Point Hope to Wainwright, sea ice throughout coastal waters to 20 nm offshore from Point Hope to Wainwright is expected to be sea ice free by the 1st week of July.
Sea ice is expected to no longer be shorefast from Wainwright to Barrow by the first week of July. Sea ice concentrations throughout coastal waters to 20 NM offshore from Wainwright to Barrow are expected to reach 3 tenths concentration then be sea ice free by the middle of July.
For Icy Cape to Barrow west to 170W, sea ice concentrations are expected to reach 3 tenths by the end of July and be sea ice free for the season during the first half of August.
For the area north and west of Point Barrow to 75N and 170W, this area may be sea ice free by mid-September. This will be highly dependent on how fast the multi-year ice in the area melts. It is possible that this area will not completely melt before new sea ice begins to form in the fall.
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Unless you have an icebreak with an emergency call sit tight in Nome and invest in a gold pan and either go to the public beach or inland and try your hand at finding some color!
Unless you have an icebreak with an emergency call sit tight in Nome and invest in a gold pan and either go to the public beach or inland and try your hand at finding some color!
Its going to be late July before the NW Passage routes open to yacht traffic so enjoy your break to be better prepared and socialize with other voyagers.
FROM THE ATLANTIC
Eastern Canada...
Same basic situation... ICE ... so enjoy ice free Western Greenland!
Recommendation to advance as ice allows and be a voyaging tourist visiting Beechey Island then make an informed decision re routing once conditions are analyzed.
Here is the present snapshot...
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NW Passage questions?
I can help!
NW Passage questions?
I can help!
Email: voyageadviser(AT)gmail(DOT)com
REQUIREMENT:
DONT LEAVE PORT WITHOUT A GARMIN INREACH ACTIVE WITH UNLIMITED MESSAGING.