Icebergs in the Sunrise

/

We arrived at the entry of Belle Isle Straits at the same time the sun was rising..0400 and right on cue we saw the 1st of the Icebergs. These were grounded in the shallows. The shallows were 30 - 40m+ deep.. We passed about 1 mile away from each as they have, we are told, a tendency to spawn Growlers as they disintegrate. We knew the rough area they were in as we had some recent Ice maps. We transited straight on out past Belle Isle and into 50m visibility fog.. We are headed on a more Southerly routing to 53N and 53W to avoid most of the reported Icebergs. From there we route straight North to Greenland.

High Pressure!

/

We have had a remarkable day.. As you can see in the photo..The weather front went through at 0400 with a shower and the visibility improved as we entered Cabot Straits. Just in time to cross the outbound and inbound Great Lakes Traffic zones. So we could finally see the ships. Today we have seen seals and whales in the water around us. Some believe they were Orca’s (Killer Whales) the seals certainly believed so.. and scarpered!! We will be entering Belle Isle Straits tonight and are now looking for our First sign of Icebergs. Water Temp is 12c and the Air Temp is a warm 18c. Sunset is getting later and Sunrise is getting earlier..

Fog!

/

Departed on Schedule at 0630 from Sackville landing Halifax. A beautiful Sunrise before straight in to the fog One long blast from the fog horn every 2 minutes is the music we are hearing today. Continuously….Weather other than the visibility is good SW winds less than 10 knots and seas also SW at 1.5m. Some rolls as we trundle along. All on board are excited to be heading out on the next leg. We are approaching the end on Nova Scotia in a few hours and turning North in to the Cabot Straits between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. We have our new friends onboard, the Ice Pilot Capt. Patrick Toomey as well as our expedition guides and all the gear required from Guns to rods.. Pete and Matt Jess. Very happy to have them join the Team Rosehearty.

Thank you Halifax!

/

We are fully prepped, stored and ready to head on out. Just a few more hours to let the Weather settle outside, SSW winds at 30+ today and a 3m sea state. So we plan an 0600 up and departure for tomorrow..(it is also not a Friday!!) We have had very good support and a lot of interest in Rosehearty while here right downtown. We all look forward to a return visit one day. For now the focus is in moving North to Nuuk in Greenland by the 21st July then on to Disko (Illulisat) by the 26th July. Then our Northern Water crossing to Pond Inlet via Baffin Bay.

Halifax Night

/

We are awaiting departure time, it is a nice quiet evening on board. except the Jazz concert going on next door. A few last minute jobs are being completed and final stores are being loaded. Fire Drills and rescue boat drills conducted. We are watching the weather closely and we will decide tomorrow,Thursday, on the best departure time. Either Friday or Saturday Our route takes us ENE along the Newfoundland coast for 200nm until we turn North at Red Rocks at the East end of Nova Scotia. Past St Paul Rocks and then back to the NE and up the Straights of Belle Isle keeping Newfoundland to Starboard. When we exit in to the Labrador Sea Environmental conditions will determine if can direct Route to Nuuk in Greenland. We may go East 1st to avoid the Ice off the labrador coast. In any event it is 1500 nm and will take us a bit over 5 days and we would hope to be in around the 21st July

Halifax and Sackville

/

11th July 2016

Finally the sun is out in Halifax. After a quiet day off yesterday all is go onboard again today. We have technicians working on our Gyro system that had problems on the way here as well as many other jobs as we do the final prep for the trip North. The weather has improved here today but the Labrador Sea is ugly tonight. Glad we are here. plan is still to depart Thursday or Friday for Nuuk depending on the weather situation. Thye weather to the North is still quite volatile but we are checking several times a day to find “the window” In the meantime we are tied alongside a “flower class” Corvette.HMCS Sackville check Wikipedia for her history. Eye opening. We owe them all so much. It was a miserable boat to live on but a good sea boat seemingly, yet being known to roll even on wet grass. Can you imagine 6 officers and 90 crew on board that boat. We have 12, soon to be more and we are always looking for a quiet space North Atlantic, winter and an open bridge….not to mention the submarine threat.

Chapeau Gentlemen.

Arrival into Halifax

/

9/7/16

We did indeed have a rough evening. Short tacking up the shore keeping the seas 30 degrees off each side of the bow. But they were still 2-2.5 meters square! and at a period of 7 secs we were taking lots of water over the deck. and 25 kts .of wind.. We got to the Sea Bouy at 1000 and after a 2 hour transit up into Halifax tied up at the Maritime Museum dock. Border controls were swiftly done and then we set to desalting the boat..well the girls needed to pose first and thus have made the Blog photo today so Special.Thanks to Hugo, Raya, Renee, Lenka and Jamey….

Funday the 8th July

/

We left Rockland Maine 0545 this morning bound for Halifax. Weather was indifferent. Sometimes foggy other times clear After getting “off” soundings we started across the Bay of Fundy. The wind got up to around 30kts but was just forward of the beam. So Staysail out and off we went at 12 kts. Strong wind against tide and 2m seas made it uncomfortable for some that stayed up late.. But it is now Calmer. We are now approaching Sable Island at the Southern tip of Nova Scotia. Again fog banks. We expect 20kts on the nose for the last 120nm to Halifax so we will be easing up to keep the pitching and pounding down. So all is good on board with Carrot and Ginger soup follwed by an Italian Sausage Spagetti for dinner!

July 4th 2016 part 1

/

A beautiful day. In fact, exceptional. Maine Keeps delivering… 0530 still morning..not a breath of wind and only the sound of Curlews.. 1000 lots of boat traffic on the way to the parade in Vinalhaven.. 1400 up anchor and off for an afternoon sail. What a Great sail..20kts of wind from the Southwest..A bit chilly at 12 knots. Then Cake…Happy 4th of July everyone…

Fox Island Thorofare Maine

/

Vinalhaven 2nd July 2016

The Cold front did indeed arrive at the same time as Landfall. 40 Knots of Wind, constant sheet lightning and torrential rain made navigation extremely challenging. However from inside the boat there was nothing but calm and quiet. only the instruments told the story and helped us through the night..

We arrived in Rockland at 0230 and Anchored off the town. Morning broke with a West wind in the high teens and no sign of last nights weather. After a quick tidy up we picked up anchor and cruised over to Fox Thorofare where we are anchored. A bit squeezed in but we left plenty of space for the car ferry.!

A beautiful sunset tonight and a calm anchorage… Time for a quiet sleep.

Off to Maine

/

Cape Cod 1st July 2016

We have moved from Newport. We left at 0600 this morning. A beautiful quiet morning. We decided to pass between Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod. Out Through Pollock Rip Chanel Timed the tide for slack water but there was only 2m under the keel. Lucky the swell was low as anticipated.. We crossed the Right Whale breeding ground at 1400 and lo and Behold there they were Cavorting, Breeching and Sounding.

We have left the whales behind and are now moving up the East coast of Cape Cod Towards Penobscott Bay in Maine. We have an ETA of 0230 in the anchorage at Rockland Harbour. And so does a cold front.. Tomorrow we shall move over to Vinalhaven

Sea Trial 22-6-16

/

Sea Trial Newport RI 22-06-16

A beautiful day in SE New England saw us up early and off the dock at 0830 for a final Seatrial. All the new Electronics such as Infra Red Thermal imaging Camera, Searchlights, New Gyro and radios were all checked out. The Camera will even follow a Radar target that is being tracked.

Engineering was fully checked, the rebuilt Gearboxes, Engines, Steering all went through there paces. 1850 rpm and 14 knots…

Then up with the sails and all checked out. A quick tack or 2 and then back to the dock where the Preparation continues. A week to go before the OFF…

All the Best

Hutch

Captain David Hutchison Master

 

Preparation Continues

/

As departure Dates draws nearer, preparation continues apace. All crew are hard at work and there is a frizzon of Excitement building up on board. Sails are back and installed. Electronics are installed and surveyed. Tenders are checked and new safety equipment installed. Sea trials are due on Wednesday. Soon we will be in the clean up mode and start detailing the boat. 1st to Maine and then onwards to Halifax and Nuuk in greenland

Newport Ship Yard, Rhode Island

/

The preparations for the upcoming Adventure to the North West Passage and beyond are well underway. Rosehearty is in Newport Shipyard.

Maintenance for now and the future is well under way as well as preparing the boat for a different environment she was intended for.

We are checking and servicing everything that we can. We have added a couple of new tenders to help offset not having the 45’ Wally. These are a 21” Zodiac with 2 x 70hp Yamahas and a 14’ Zodiac inflateable with a 40hp Tiller steered Yamaha outboard. We are working on the storage issues for these 2 boats.

We are upgrading electronics and giving the boat some redundancy in Communications by adding an Iridium Pilot and a SSB radio. For sure communications

for the next 2 months up north will be a challenge. All Phones and personal devices will be off for the duration due to limited and costly Bandwidth restrictions in these remote areas.

—  Captain David Hutchison, Master