Crew

The Crew

Part of the pleasure of the trip came from reunion with friends and deepening of the relationships. I had met Barry and Marina on a 60 day canoe trip on the Back River in Nunavut Canada. Marina lives in Spitsbergen, an island half way between the northern tip of Norway and the North Pole. For her this trip was like a vacation to the south. She had sailed to Greenland twice before and lived in the arctic most of her life so she brought a wealth of skill and knowledge that made the trip more fun and safer. Her long experience of living in situations where her safety and well being depends on her own actions has honed her awareness to pick up little changes in her environment and react to them quickly to head off trouble down the road. Her laughter and good spirits were always welcome and provided a path to defuse the inevitable tensions that come from four people living in a space about the size of a modern bathroom. In addition to being the obvious choice we had made a bargain at the end of the cane trip. Neither of us had a boat at the time but we were both looking. We agreed that whoever got a boat first and sailed to the arctic would invite the other. Since her boat is in Greece, I had the pleasure of having her on mine.

Barry’s background tends more toward the mountains with experience as a ski patrol, search and rescue volunteer/ helicopter ski guide. In the last few years he has taken up sailing in a serious way and made voyages along the west coast of the US and in the Southern Ocean. His easy going nature and ever willingness to do his part, especially the dishes, makes his presence on board a real pleasure. On his own he sails a Tartan 34 on San Francisco Bay.

Jan and I go back to the early 70s when we both lived in Marin County and sailed out of San Francisco Bay. She tracked me down about four years ago when I was planning a trip through the Northwest Passage. She introduced me to the crew of a boat that had just completed the passage after three attempts and our mutual interest in the arctic led to her joining me on this trip. Though a resident of Florida with less tolerance to the cold conditions, we grew to have tremendous respect for her indomitable spirit. Despite the cold and discomfort she was always ready to take her watch on deck with good spirits and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. She owns an Islander 36 on San Francisco Bay.

Carol sailed with me for three winters in the Caribbean, and got to like the warm water and sun. When it came time to go north she opted to meet us on the way back. Because we were late returning she met Marina and I in St. Anthony Newfoundland for the last leg south. Marina flew home from nova Scotia and Carol and I made the rest of the trip to Maine.

As skipper I was privileged to have the support of such good friends and sailors. I heard stories after returning of another boat that had planned on doing the Northwest Passage but turned around and had nothing but complaints about the cold and miserable conditions. We seemed to at least manage in good spirits and at times thrive on the arctic conditions. I was concerned about having 4 people on the boat. At home I need my alone time, but somehow it all worked. I thought that as soon as I got to shore I would be off for a hike by myself, but in fact it was Barry and Jan who usually took off looking for internet of showers. Marina and would take off walking and almost always end up going the same way whether we planned it or not.

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