04 July 2015

Cruise to the Baltic

No, Helena and I are not off again (alas!), but Eric Forsyth is. He and his crew will be sailing Fiona 'down east' to Maine, then across to Nova Scotia, and finally up to Newfoundland. From there, they'll be jumping off across the North Atlantic aiming for a landfall in Scotland.

To get there, they'll have to wind their way through the ice field off Newfoundland which, as of today, is still pretty busy! The chart below (updated daily by the North American Ice Service -- who knew there was such an organization?) shows the number of bergs the Ice Service is currently tracking in each area. Since Fiona will be heading almost due east from Newfoundland, they'll be running through the trailing edge of the field.

I've been watching this chart for a few weeks and the ice field is steadily retreating from the warm weather, but it's anyone's guess if it will be gone before Fiona begins her crossing. Just one of the many interesting aspects of the cruise!

Icebergs currently tracked by the Ice Service

You can follow the ice field yourself at this link: Ice Service. Just click on "Today's NAIS Iceberg Chart".

Another interesting thing to watch is the weather in the North Atlantic. By clicking on that link, you can see the kind of weather they'll be facing on Fiona. From what I can tell from watching this chart for a few weeks, they won't be bored!

You can follow Eric himself on his Facebook page and on his website. He generally makes a short post every day, weather and satellite phones cooperating.

Helena and I will certainly be following along. Good luck Eric and crew!

Here is a 1-hour film about last year's cruise to the Antarctic, on which Helena and I crewed on the Brazil and Caribbean legs. We even make a couple brief appearances in the film! Check it out. You can watch it full-size on you computer by clicking the 'full size' button.



Fiona Battles to Reach Antarctica from Lew Schatzer on Vimeo.



Next Up: Sharpening the Saw

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, and Happy Independence Day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done, not everyone is able to accept and go for it. I was in the last year on a similar expedition https://poseidonexpeditions.com/antarctica/. I advise everyone to go there. This is a very beautiful place. Travel and explore the world!

    ReplyDelete

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