We are taking advantage of a rare connection to share some news since our departure from Seward at the end of May.
During the first weeks, we sailed leisurely along the Alaska Peninsula with a brief stop in Kodiak to have our engine checked (thanks S/V Galatic and Muktuk).
The long sunny days allow us to observe the wildlife of Alaska, which we are starting to know well: moose, grizzlies, orcas, whales, mountain goats, puffins...; and the vast sandy beaches allow us to complete our collection of glass balls and practice handling the rifle, highly recommended for the Northwest Passage and the presence of polar bears.
At the end of June, we spent 3 days anchored in front of False Pass, sheltered from a deep depression, enduring gusts nearing 60 knots accentuated by the nearby volcanic chain! The Bering Sea is earned!
After 48 hours of sailing north in the Bering Sea and our first walruses, we reached the island of Nunivak, mostly populated by reindeer and elusive musk oxen.
We were joined by our Finnish friends from the sailboat Lumi, also heading to Greenland via the Northwest Passage.
The weekly Arctic ice map currently shows a still compact ice pack (which is normal for the season), so we take the time to visit the various anchorages of the island and meet some Yupik residents of the small village in the north of the island.
The disappearance of the boreal forest gives way to the tundra, easier for hiking but the thawing of the upper layer of permafrost in summer becomes a paradise for mosquitoes, and we prefer walks along the coast in the sand dunes.
We then reached the island of Saint Lawrence, close to the Russian border, appreciated by ornithologists during migration periods.
We are thus approaching the Arctic Circle, which we have already crossed in Norway and Iceland in 2013, but it will be a first for the children!
We are currently in Nome, the main city on the west coast of Alaska at the gateway to the Bering Strait, to complete the formalities for leaving the USA and restock fresh supplies for the next few weeks until Greenland. We are also getting to know the crews of the four other sailboats that will complete our flotilla for the Northwest Passage this year.
