The rowers are stuck on a small island at Cape Parry, with winds forecast not to change for a few days. Meanwhile there is a wall of sea ice barreling down towards them from the Beaufort Sea, driven by the same wind.
Looking at the Navy forecasts, it isn’t obvious if the ice will make it all the way to their island, or stop just short.
They have a difficult decision to make even if the weather improves – do they row 40 miles across the bay ahead of them; do they stick to the coast down to Clapperton Island and reduce the open water row to 20 miles or do they follow the coast all the way round the bay via Paulatuk?
In theory, now that they’re around Cape Parry the wind should assist them, as it’s coming from the West-North-West. However, it’s a damn strong wind!
And with that wind, the ice follows: https://sites.google.com/site/apamsr2/home/pngcby32/
They’ve updated their news and it looks like they’re starting to run into ice troubles.
http://www.mainstreamlastfirst.com/news/
That’s been up since this morning!
In the end they will be rescued by a fossil-fueled machine.
Meanwhile – another near disaster. http://www.beyondthecircle.com/the-journey-not-the-destination/
Now, they’re in trouble. The ice has already cut them off.
Three of the four expeditions are now stalled. I guess waiting for more favorable winds or for massive melting. The fourth is the lone rower, and the Ocean Rowing Society doesn’t have his location on their site. At least as far as I can tell
The ice cube soup looks to be a detriment for tomorrow’s travels…
They are looking like idiots, but hey, whatever flips their boat-:)