“High latitude sailing is more popular than ever,” says Simon Winter, “but we noticed that there was more ice this summer than in recent years and so a few boats have been stuck. We heard of one boat being lost, one getting stuck and one being icebound.”
The Devon-based specialist yacht broker points out that it’s not a case like the 1845 Franklin expedition; owners aren’t just abandoning boats in the ice… “Most will get to somewhere quite safe and then maybe have to leave the boat there. The Northwest passage has been harder to traverse this year.”
Officially only two out of 24 yachts that made the attempt succeeded in a season than some are saying has been the most difficult in memory. (SV Thor transited Route-5 West and SV Infinity made a Route-6 East transit – source Arcticnorthwestpassage.blogspot).
Of the rest – 21 other yachts retreated and sadly one was breached and sunk in Bellot Strait without loss of life.
“Getting stuck isn’t a problem as far as insurance is concerned,” Winter says, “we refer to the original cruising plan and then agree a fee if necessary. But the absolutely magical thing about Google earth is that I can get onto it in the office and then look around the locale where they are leaving the boat to see how vulnerable it is – whether a harbour is susceptible to swells or just what the area is like and what is going on around there.”
As the photo above shows…
Simon Winter Marine Limited
www.simonwintermarine.co.uk