under the keel, then I’d anchor. That way, if the pack ice came in, I figured it would ground before getting to the boat. “Fuel was the biggest problem. I’d take on 60 gallons and it would have five gallons of water in it.” Gary got as far as Cambridge Bay,
about three-quarters of the way through the passage, where he was forced to winter. He house sat for two months, and had a small Dickinson heater when he was on the boat, which, after closing off the fore and aft sections of the boat, kept him comfortable in the 40° below zero temperatures. Gary returned to “the states” and
worked on a University of Oregon Research boat. He returned to winter on the boat in 2006 but was deported because he was living in Canada illegally. After a trying time with bureaucracy, he got back to the boat in September 2007 and tried to leave, but it was too late – any water hitting the boat immediately turned to ice, so he was forced to head back to Cambridge. Finally, in August 2009 (he’d
arrived August 2005) he convinced Canadian immigration that he had to leave in the summer, so finally he was
on his way again. The ice cleared in August and he finally completed his transit of the Northwest passage. At first planning to go to Maine,
Gary decided, “Since it was only 300 miles away, I’d sail to Greenland instead.” It was a tough crossing – the boom broke as well as the self-steering vane. But he made it to Sisimuit, Greenland, where he left the boat on the hard to make repairs. Then it was back to Seattle to make some money to keep the adventure going. He returned to Greenland in June
2009 and waited until the ice had left Greenland’s southern tip before leaving in July. It only took six days to his next destination, Keflavik, Iceland, where the boat is now. As you read this, Gary will be
winging his way back to Iceland to rejoin the Arctic Wanderer. His plan is to sail to Tromso, Norway, and then to traverse the north coast of Russia, either non-stop or, if need be, a stop in Murmansk. Having been torpedoed by paperwork before, Gary is trying to allay any problems that might arrive should he land in Russia. “I’ve sent about three pounds of paperwork
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48° NORTH, APRIL 2010 PAGE 47
to the Russian Tourist Bureau, who distributes it to the proper authorities, to sail/land across Russia’s Northern Sea.” No permissions have arrived yet, but Gary his hoping it will catch up with him in Iceland or Norway. Hopefully, the wind and ice will
cooperate and Gary can make his way across to the Bering Sea, arriving in Nome, Alaska in September or October. All of course, contingent on the ice conditions, weather and Russian permission. If conditions don’t cooperate, Gary is prepared to deal with the boat wintering over in Russia. “People have left their boats in Russia,” he says.
Whatever happens, there’s not
much doubt that Gary will complete his goal of being the first person to sail around the North Pole via the Northwest and Northeast Passages. And he will have earned it, having endured ice, snow, and mountains of paperwork. This could be his year. To follow Gary on his adventure,
go to his website, where he has information on the voyage and a daily blog. www.arcticwandering.com
48° N
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