Learning about chaos
Published on 23.07.2011 - Crossing the Arctic Ocean
The two frenchmen have a hard time aboard Ti Babouche. First they have to negociate ice chaos, second they do not meet enough open waters.
They knew it before the start : the very first weeks of the voyage were going to be quite difficult sailing. The compression zones near the shores are very chaotic and not at all suitable for sailing, the ridges are generally high and difficult to negociate by foot, (how about with a catamaran?), the pack ice is dislocated and the open waters are not at all present.
That the kind of landscape Ti Babouche and her sailors have met during the first days after the left Point Barrow. On 19 July, Sébastien wrote in the expedition blog : "...Where the hell is the way through ? Big day in the white out and the chaos. Enormous Chaos ! Obliged to slalom between the ice canyons. We're looking forward to meet another time zone. Having said that, the waters were magnificent, both men were amazed that the waters were so pristine and so transparent. We have also met some animals : seals, gulls, fishes and even a shrimp! At the end of the day, we have done some scientific sampling. ..."
Having said that, the two feenchmen are progressing towards North : on 23 July, they had reached the point 73°31'N / 161°28W ; since the start at Point Barrow (71°23′20″N / 156°28′45″O), they have done about 270 km, an average of about 28 km per day.
