Tuk Arrival

Wednesday, August 19
Tuktoyaktuk, NWT
69º 26.8N  133º 00.1W

After a solid first week slogging it out against tough headwinds, we finally got a break. The wind went into the East, Gjoa kicked up her heels and we were off on a broad reach in NE25-30 knot winds. We set a new noon-to-noon speed record of 172 miles (average 7.2 knots per hour) which will be hard for us to beat. We kept up the pace for almost two days and surfed into Tuktoyatuk just as the wind started to die, great timing and a great run!

We are here for a brief stop to refuel and top up our provisions before heading west again. Just our luck again to pick a bad ice year for the western half of the NWP. There is still a lot of ice very close to the Alaska Arctic coastline, unusual for this time of year. It has been receding gradually and we hope by the time we get there in a few days it should have dissipated enough to get by. We crossed paths with a megayacht the other day who reported that they just barely squeaked through it.

The tongue of ice almost reaching the coastline has been hanging around for weeks, but, is less concentrated now.

 Tuktoyaktuk, or, Tuk as it is commonly referred to, is a small hamlet of around 950 people located near the delta of the Mackenzie River where it empties into the Arctic Ocean. There is no road access other than a winter ice road. A new all-weather road is currently under construction and expected to finish in the next couple of years. It has an excellent natural harbour and good facilities.

Tug and barge outbound from Tuk