Leaving France on July 4, 2019, Clara and her father - the router Christian Dumard - made for Greenland on July 23 after more than 2400 miles aboard their Sun Fast 37 Happy Trip . On stand-by since August 4, they cast off this Thursday, August 8, in order to set the Northwest Passage record without assistance and only under sail. They crossed the starting line to establish the reference time at 17:14 UT (19:14 French time, at the Arctic Circle)
"This time, we left. The ice window is, for the moment, much better than last year. The passage is much clearer and it seems possible to use Peel Sound, which could be more favourable than was the case a year ago in Bellot Strait. This is a good point for us, because it is quite wide and therefore interesting to sail. But the challenge is obviously far from simple. We will have to take into consideration all the different parameters" commented Clara.
Indeed, forecasts suggest that the route between Greenland and Alaska could be sufficiently clear of ice to set a record.
"Today, the Baffin Sea is completely clear, whereas in 2018, a tongue of ice was embarrassing. The ice seems to melt really faster and the water temperatures are clearly higher. We do not observe this phenomenon of ice fragmentation that permanently fed the water body and this is again a good sign for us" adds the young woman.
Because last year, the Dumards had already tried it, before have to give up the ice cream having decided never to let them pass. Let's hope this new attempt is the bonne?!
