Last year I wrote an Off Center Guide Post about my inspiration and goals to sail to the Arctic and, ice permitting, potentially the Northwest Passage (
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Phil Faris says:
I know this is an old thread, but I wonder about “preparing” for the perpetual 30+ kn winds. Did you already have experience in such extremely heavy weather beforehand? What temperatures were you immersed in? I’m speculating about a “cruising competition” from San Diego to Japan in which the timeframe is “fixed” but points are earned both for performance underway and for the number and lengths of anchorages and the number of new people met along the route. This suggests a CA to Alaska to Japan route. From what you wrote, only expert, experienced heavy weather passage-makers need apply… right?
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Hi Phil,
Apologies for not responding to your comment until now – a whole year later! I don’t get notifications of comments on my Guide Posts, but I probably should check back more regularly!
I’m not familiar with the competition you mention, but the route would surely be arduous, to say the least, as it is against the prevailing winds. Most voyagers wishing to visit Japan go the other way, making a huge loop from CA to the South Pacific and back to CA via Japan, Alaska and BC/WA. It’s obviously a lot more miles and involves a couple of ocean crossings, but the winds blow the right direction, especially important for the Japan-to-Aleutians crossing and to a lesser extent for the WA south to CA passage.
We were not going to Japan, and we were starting in WA already, so we could take the entire summer season to pick weather windows for when the wind blew from astern. Even still, the season was too short to wait for that every time, so we sometimes sailed in headwinds. Additionally, when the wind was from a favorable direction it was often quite strong. This is because the wind only blows that way in low pressure systems, often manifesting in gales. In good weather, the wind was against us. I would not say the winds were perpetually 30+ knots – we definitely encountered that kind of weather, but that wasn’t every day by any means! We also had some beautiful days flying the spinnaker, the occasional calm, and quite a few “goldilocks” days with a perfect sailing wind.
The weather is quite volatile up there, though, and we covered over 3,000 miles in under 3 months, a definite challenge. A good challenge – we saw a lot of wild places and met some fascinating people – but still a challenge. Trying to go all the way from CA to Japan in one season would be very difficult, I should think. I would much prefer the longer route the other way.
To answer your other questions, yes, we had quite a lot of experience beforehand. We had completed a double-handed global circumnavigation – 4 years, 32,000 miles – aboard an even more primitive, older, smaller boat. On that voyage, we dealt with heavy weather, cold temperatures, and many gear failures. We started the voyage in Maine in winter – we had our first gale off Rhode Island in November. We saw gales off New Zealand; never saw less than 25 knots for our entire 2,000 mile Indian Ocean crossing; and had our worst weather – a storm with 60-knot winds and 30-foot seas – while rounding South Africa’s southern cape. Of course, no amount of experience means you’ll be lucky every time – it’s imperative to remain humble and respectful of all the ocean can throw at you. We’re always learning – no one ever has it all figured out.
You also asked about the temperatures up in Alaska. They vary quite a bit. It’s pretty mild in summer – between 50 F and 70 F, with most days hitting low 60s. It’s colder out in the foggy Aleutians – the average is around 50. (Once you get into the Bering Sea and further north into the Arctic, obviously the temperatures drop quickly. Highs were in the mid-30s when we were on the North Slope in August.)
Finally, yes, Alaska can be challenging, but I wouldn’t say it’s restricted to only “expert” sailors (as a side note, a sailor who believes he’s an expert is getting dangerously complaisant…). There’s all sorts of different ways to cruise Alaska, some of which are pretty beginner-friendly. The Inside Passage from Puget Sound to Glacier Bay is protected all the way, with countless anchorages and many little towns for resupplying. One can do the whole thing as day sails, anchoring every night, and consequently, one never has to be out in bad weather. Even crossing the Gulf of Alaska doesn’t have to be bad if you can wait around for a good weather window. Basically, the less ground you try to cover, the easier it becomes, because you can spend more time waiting for weather and thus not be caught out in bad weather. I say “less ground” because your time is necessarily restricted by the summer season, at least beyond the Inside Passage.
Hope this is helpful! Apologies again that this response is coming so late!
All the best,
Ellen
Michael Costello says:
Great adventure. Beautiful boat can you tell me who designed and or build her. Also interested in what camera and most useful lenses were used. Great pictures.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Thanks for your interest! CELESTE was custom-built for a man in Victoria, BC in 1985. Francis Kinney (who I think had retired from Sparkman & Stephens at that point) designed her and Bent Jespersen (founder of Jespersen Boat Builders in BC) built her. She’s cold-molded, of Western red cedar and Honduras mahogany. Her original owner wanted a classic, and we think he (and then we) got one!
As for photography equipment, our workhorse is a Canon 6D, which we use with the Canon 24-105mm f/4 and the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. We also have a range of other cameras we use for different reasons/situations. They are: the old Canon Rebel T3 with an 18-200mm zoom (versatile) or an 18-55mm (lighter-weight); a Panasonic Lumix “point-and-shoot” with or without its underwater housing and dome-port; a GoPro Hero 4 Silver; and our phones (the best camera is the one you have with you at the time!). Plus we just got an underwater bundle of the Canon SL1 with Ikelite housing and dome-port, so we’re excited to try out the new toy!
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
P.S. You can read a lot more about CELESTE here: http://gonefloatabout.com/about/the-sailors-and-boat/#boat
William Seyler says:
Wow… I’ve never sailed the Bearing Sea but while in the Air Force I was stationed on the Aleutian island of Shemya for a year. The weather there was terrible. I can’t even imagine the conditions that you must have endured out on the water, but I can imagine the spectacular things that you saw! Great adventure. Thank you for sharing it.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Thanks very much for reading! It’s certainly not a hospitable part of the world, but it has a definite fascination, despite (or maybe partly because of) the horrific weather. That said, I wouldn’t want to sail there in winter! September was bad enough!
bob mcCorkle says:
What a great travelog of your voyage. Good luck with the remainder and the NW Passage. Stay well.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed the post!
Donald Holmes says:
A truly enjoyable account. Keep them coming.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Thank you!! I have a few short posts about this year’s voyage coming out on my website http://gonefloatabout.com if you’re interested. Tough with unreliable internet, but there’s a little!
Bob Schartow says:
Stunning photography! Keep us tuned!
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Thank you, Bob! I have a lot more photos on my website http://gonefloatabout.com if you’re interested, both from last year and a little from this year!
Richard Sink says:
Great photo of Shishaldin.
Hope all goes well for you.
Live Long-Sail Far
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Thank you, Richard! I hope the voyage goes well this year too!