Marc Pédeau and Bénédicte Michel aboard Opale, their Allures 44, have just returned from crossing the North West Passage. This unusual journey of 15 months and a distance of 16,000 nautical miles is told to us by Marc. It allowed the couple to reach Alaska through the NW Passage by leaving La Rochelle in June 2018.
A couple in love with the sea
Marc is a lover of cold seas, and a passionate and experienced sailor. He started his career with Les Glénans, continued with GIC (Groupe International de Croisière) for 40 years, and has sailed all over the world. Telecommunications engineer and young retiree, he finally sees the possibility of accomplishing with his wife Bénédicte and his family, this dream of boreal countries which animates him since many years.
A carefully prepared sailboat
They bought this Allures 44 in 2014, built in 2011 and named Opale. It is a full aluminum dinghy of 13.60 meters long, 4.25 meters wide and 1 to 3 meters draft. These 2 essential criteria allow to cross the ice and to get closer to the land to benefit from their protection in remote anchorages.
Marc testifies: "s1"s2"p1"says Marc. You have to be careful and go very slowly, even if the hull pushes aside the floating pieces. The rudders located under the hull must be protected because you can only see the upper part of the "s1". This is often much larger underwater and can protrude. Two long poles of 4 meters allow to keep them away from the sides of Opale and to limit the ragging.
The beauty and the sacred power of the landscapes crossed mark the apogee of this adventure during ten and a half days of navigation in total, including five and a half days non-stop and without anchoring, to reach Cambridge Bay.
Opale continues its long cold road along the Canadian and Alaskan coasts to reach Nome in mid-September and discover a nice American city in the time of the far-west and the gold diggers. Marc and Bénédicte's sailboat cannot stay here, because the sea is freezing and wintering on land is not possible.
The trains of lows are tight in the Bering Sea and it is not necessary to wait to take it. Opale reached Sand Point (Aleutian Islands) to conclude this 6300 nautical miles journey (equivalent to 3 times the Atlantic crossing) over a period of 4 months.
When you decide to cross the North West Passage, you have to accept that you will have to do a large part of the route under motor. Either there are strong lows, in which case you seek shelter, or there is a squall and you move forward under engine. We must make sure not to arrive in the Bering Sea too late in the season, as it becomes dangerous from the end of September.
New adventures ahead
Opale has been in dry dock at Sand Point, this large North American fishing port, for over a year and a half now.
« We hope to pick him up as soon as the US borders are open because we miss him a lot ». The playground of the next navigations is established, with the discovery of Alaska during the summer of 2021, then next year the coasting along the West coast of the United States and Canada, and by 2024-2025, Australia, New Zealand, Patagonia and Antarctica.
Beautiful projects to come.
This journey is not for everyone. However, Opale has written a page of this mythical passage. The discreet authors of this performance are the proof that it is possible for sailors to triumph in the North West Passage. Marc is willing to share his experiences and the sailing wisdom he has acquired over the years. And he concludes with a touch of mischief in his voice: " Are you going to take the plunge? »
