Blocked

Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
70°22.969N 148°03.618W

If you'd asked me last year where I thought there might be an ice blockage, in August, during our western half transit of the NWP, I would never have said the Arctic Alaska coast. However, here we are and we are blocked from proceeding further by the current ice conditions. We are just 175 miles from Point Barrow, the northernmost point of the route and we are most anxious to round this milestone and start on our way south. So close and yet so far.

Ice like this is easy to manage.

After two nights in Tuk we had a good run to Demarcation Point (US/Canada border). We'd planned to stop at Herschel Island, but, the favourable east wind was too good to pass up so we kept going. Heavy fog settled in and we slowly continued to make our way west. At this point we were hopeful we wouldn't see any ice at all. The Canadian ice chart showed a slim, but, clear lead close to the shoreline. We encountered a local commercial ship and asked about current ice conditions. The captain gave us the bad news. The clear lead shown is inside the barrier islands along the coastline. Outside the barrier islands the ice is old and thick. He had tried to get through the Newport entrance into the lagoon behind the islands the day before and had to turn back to the Mary Sachs entrance as Newport was totally blocked. This wasn't good news because Newport is the main entrance and has the deepest water. We have too much draft (we draw two metres (six feet+)) to get into Mary Sachs. In very heavy fog we crept our way into Simpson Cove and anchored overnight to study the charts and try to find a way forward. We decided to try Challenge Entrance, between Mary Sachs and Newport. Not as wide and deep as Newport, but, it was our only option.

Tuesday morning the fog had lifted and we set off. No ice at all to Mary Sachs, then, we started seeing more and more rogue bergs and knew we were coming to an ice mass. Five miles to go to the Challenge Entrance and we were in a big berg field. It was fairly open and we were able to play berg 'dodgem' and made it through Challenge. There were a few small bits of ice inside, but, nothing like we'd just come through so, all was good and we continued on our way. As we neared Prudhoe Bay and night fell, the ice became more frequent. When heavy fog descended it just wasn't safe to proceed further. We tried to get to the only anchorages mentioned in the Coast Pilot, but, there was too much ice and no protection from it once there. We turned inland instead and went as close to the mainland and out of the shipping as we could and set the anchor. Miraculously, this area, although very exposed, is free of ice. We can see a wall of it on the horizon, but, there's none here for the moment. We are anchored right next to the Prudhoe Bay main oil production island. There are massive installations all along the coast and a huge, burning, glowing orb sits on the horizon and lights up the night sky. It's an eerie environment to be in. There is a lot of shipping inside the lagoon with tugs and barges all going back and forth to various installations. It doesn't seem to bother them that they are moving the equipment around in only 2-5 metres of water.

Inside the protected lagoons, we have covered half the distance to Cape Halkett, which is still about eighty-five miles west. According to the ice chart, the ice is supposed to end there. We spoke again with our local captain. He didn't know how far west the ice extended but said that Harrison Bay, right next to Cape Halkett was reported to be full of ice a couple of days ago.

Due to our draft we are unable to get into the next protected lagoon, Simpson Lagoon, which only has six feet of water. That would have taken us a long way further west. As it is, our only option is to go back outside the barrier islands now and try and find our way through an eighty-five mile long ice maze. Probably not a smart move, so, we are staying put instead. Southerly winds are supposed to start today. If they arrive they should blow the ice north and clear a path for us. Fingers crossed that's the case. The thought of having to return to Tuk to freeze in for another winter is giving us the willies! There should be at least another three weeks before Barrow starts to freeze in again, so we are hopeful a window will still open in time for us to pass through.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com