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Ice poles and crew in action Lancaster Sound AN ACCIDENTAL TOURIST IN THE ARCTIC PART TWO CANADA, DUTCH HARBOUR ALASKA BY HENK HAAZEN The story of an ancient Southern Ocean Sailor onboard a superyacht through the North West Passage. W e were finally stopped by the pack ice while travelling along the north side of Lancaster Sound. We had tried working our way through the pack for a while but then decided to anchor in a small bay for the night in the hope that the northerly winds would carry the ice south, clearing the northern coast. This worked well and we were able to move again in the morning. Most of the people onboard including the owner and the cook are Italian, and we eat in an Italian restaurant for lunch and dinner. The table gets set if at all possible, and I���m becoming a dab hand at laying out the silver ware, so the next clients onboard RV Tiama should be warned that there is going to be a whole new standard coming up for the next charter season��� or not?! Occasionally I make the mistake of putting the knife and fork on the wrong side, but I reckon it probably pays not to get too good at some things. We all get together for ���apperativos��� at seven every night weather permitting. This is cocktails and snacks followed by a proper sit down dinner with wines and dessert spread out over a nice period of time into the evening. None of this sitting down quickly to get your food down with Italians, no, we have a good time and a chat I can tell you. It is tough, like living the good life in Italy, only to be transported back to the high Arctic as soon as you go on deck; a fantastic combo and way to go. We have been blessed with the weather. Billy Budd is a great sailing boat even in light winds but there has not been much 22 Professional Skipper January/February 2013 wind, hence a lot of motoring and the need to refuel in the remote town of Resolute. This outpost is more of a camp than a town and a few things have changed since I was here last. There are a lot of new houses and overland expeditions to the North Pole use Resolute as their last ���big town��� in the Arctic, which has two hotels and a small supermarket. There is no wharf and to refuel we have to take the boat as close as possible (40 metres) to the shore at high tide, and then the fuel truck backs up on the beach with a long hose. This was an interesting exercise in seamanship, especially with a light onshore breeze, and our skipper carried it off in good style without beaching the boat, although I think he might have had to change his knickers afterwards. Due to the lack of ice we have been able to circumnavigate Somerset Island, travelling down Prince Regent Inlet and through Bellot Strait which was clear of ice, and then back north via Peel Sound into Parry Channel. The last time I was here, exactly seven years ago, Bellot Strait and Peel Sound were full of ice and we had to turn back as there was no way of getting through the NWP. We, and this is the royal we as in fact it is Cristina who decides, are now thinking of taking the Northern route which seems almost possible. This means travelling west into Parry Channel and then southwest via Prince of Wales Sound. The last time a sailing vessel was in Prince of Wales Strait was in 1851, HMS Investigator, with the slightly rogue Captain McClure who more by accident than design, discovered the final stretch of the NWP. They got stuck in the ice having to overwinter for two years in a row and were rescued by a sledging party from another ship that found them while looking for the lost Franklin expedition. HMS Investigator, however, never made it through Prince of Wales Strait.