As a reminder, the GARCIA Exploration 45 N° 27, N° 35 and N° 38 met up in Greenland in July with the aim of completing this famous and little-traveled route. The forecasts were rather pessimistic at the time, as the ice was still very present late in the year. They did, however, cross the Baffin Sea into Lancaster Sound, taking it one step at a time, each time the path seemed to open up. All 3 chose to pass through the narrow passage of Bellot Strait, only 2 km wide, a little shorter en route, but which ice can also obstruct in strong winds, due to its narrow width. And then to continue along the path known as the Amundsen Trail.
They positioned themselves in Hudson Bay, north of Lancaster Sound, waiting for the right moment to head south towards Bellot Strait. HAURU and NIGHT OWL passed through unhindered. Adriano and Marisa on VOYAGER had a more eventful passage, with 2 other boats. They had to turn back to assist a boat whose underpowered engine was unable to free them from the ice, which was beginning to push against their hull. Back to Hudson Bay for them! But the next day, they were able to pass through.
Marisa tells us about their passage from Bellot Strait:
" The French boat was behind us as we crossed the Bellot Strait. We crossed a strip of ice, picking our way through the small openings, but like a door, it closed behind us. We had a clear path and were happy to continue when the French boat radioed that it was stuck in the ice. We told them we'd wait until they freed themselves. But the ice lifted the boat out of the water and the current spun it around like a toy. The captain (and, incidentally, four experienced sailors on board) sent out a panicked radio message... we could hear that he was terrified and asking for help. We turned around and headed for them as fast as we could, thinking about how we could help them (lines, etc., or just get them on our boat). Fortunately, the ice shifted again and pushed them back. They were now behind us and we showed them the way through the ice to Fort Ross. They were very grateful and came with a French feast and wine. That's when we learned that they had a little girl on board :-( The parents live on the boat, and they have two crew members on board. Neither of them has ever had an experience like this, and the boat suffered some damage (a huge dent in the hull) when the ice lifted them. So we had a wonderful evening, then the ice came back and we had to move... again! We returned to the Lévesque anchorage and of course... we had to go through the ice again, and there was ice in the anchorage too. So we did the night and ice watch and now we're all awake, drinking coffee and chatting about yesterday. GARCIA made an incredible boat. We broke the ice and he's doing really well. "
The entire GARCIA shipyard team is very proud of their achievement and congratulates them once again!
