After our rounding Point Barrow, the helpful wind that had been with us from Tuk faded and left us motoring past Icy Cape by Captain Cook] and beyond.

Near Point Hope, the forecasts began threatening 30 knot winds first from south east and then from south west and west. We could have anchored behind Point Hope and hidden from the south easterly but I was not confident that there would be adequate shelter from the south west and west winds that would follow. There are no real sheltered harbors in the 1000 miles or so from Tuk to the Bering Strait!

The 30 knot south easterly really DID blow on the 12th and led to a rather bumpy day. Until it faded though, it allowed us to hold a course a little west of Bering Strait close-hauled under a stays'l and 2 reefed main.

After the frontal passage, the 30 knot south westerly never blew strongly. We were unwilling to add enough sail to power us through the lighter winds out of fear the forecast 30 knot wind would suddenly come on the scene. We thus went very slowly during the night. By morning, it was clear that an uncomfortable 20 knots rather than a revolting 30 knots was as much as we would get. On went more sail! Of course, things being quite unpredictable in these latitudes, off came sail again an hour later when 20 knots became 25!

The line you see on the blog connects noon positions and salient headlands and thus hides the zigs and zags we make when unable to maintain our course due to wind direction. Concealed are the hour or two of fading south easterly when we were pointed at Siberia and the many hours of south westerly when we were pointed at the Seward Peninsula.

SV Traversay is a 43 steel sloop sailed by Mary Anne and Larry and they are sailing through the North West passage from east to west.

At 14/09/2013 03:38 (utc) our position was 65°39.34'N 168°09.86'W