Polar Bear and Aurora

Following our arrival at 0100 in the morning and a long day on the sea, we all sleep in, me to 1100 - that speaks for itself. The wind we’re weathering is not strong, it’s just the wrong direction - a good time to relax. Unfortunately the forecast for the next week doesn’t look like quick progress. Tonight the wind shall stall and a favorable SE wind shall set in, which can take us to Point Barrow, the northern-most point of the USA or even a tad further.

In the Thetis Island anchorage the usual suspects Vanuily, Aglaia and Aegir are anchored with us. As the day progresses, Aglaia leaves first around noon, a few hours later Aegir and then finally at 1700 Vanuily. I can’t make sense of the early departures: the wind has still not turned and the new wind should last more than long enough. Why motor upwind? Still the departure of 3 highly experienced crews can’t be neglected and we pull-in our departure to 1730.

Just after we finish our early dinner, a splendid Arctic Char with orange sauce, carrots and sweet potatoes, a huge Polar Bear shows up on the beach. He comfortably strolls along the island scanning the beach for food. We are being ignored. It’s amazing how these giants can emerge from nowhere.

We set course for Point Barrow and as we motor with 6 knots, I regret our early departure. The wind will come! And it slowly builds. For the most part we sail with gennaker and genoa wing-on-wing and in this configuration we catch up with the early leavers. During the night the sky lights up: green curtains of aurora ripple from horizon to horizon and reflect in the black water. Our first northern lights of the voyage. We miss the polar day, but the returning darkness brings its own reward. With a couple of hours of wind left, I would really like to continue beyond Point Barrow to Peard Bay. The Periplus guide mentions that the Peard Bay “has seen its casualties” but on the chart it looks like a good stopover. Strategically the 50 additional miles south are valuable for the continuation. I send an email to Victor Wejer and inquire for details, which I promptly receive: Peard Bay is indeed a treacherous place. One sail boat was lost in 2013 and another one had to escape in 2006 when in waves it began slamming onto the bottom at anchor. Not worth the risk for us, we pull into Barrow Elson Bay at Point Barrow.

The decision pained me a lot, but: safety first. As Hugues of Vanuily likes to say: “Better to be anchored and to regret not to be sailing, than to be sailing and regretting not to be anchored”.

We drop anchor at 1500 (-8). The water is dark brown with mud, the place not charming at all and we are going to stay 4 or 5 nights here without permission to go ashore. Tough luck!Read more