Get out and EXPLORE

This Voyage is not like any other voyage we have ever undertaken, therefore there will be special additions, exceptions and rules connected to this voyage. This voyage is a true Expedition, which needs Expedition crew! Are you up for that? A passage through the North West is not to be taken lightly. And so, we are calling it an attempt, until we know we will get through. This decision is not just ours, but is made in deliberation with the Canadian Coast Guard, Ice pilots etc. The attempt through the North West will start on the first of August and will take 49 days between Ilulissat, Greenland and Nome in Alaska, USA. This stretch of over 3400 NM will be littered with Icebergs, will give us the opportunity to set foot on Iniut land and also have a stretch of a few days sailing, straight through the night and day. This Expedition has it all! If the attempt might fail and the ice stays too thick trough the winter, we will have to return East. As a member of the Expedition, you are aware of this and accept the chance of a different end port, Halifax, Canada. We have chosen this port as it still gives us some amazing sailing ground to cover if the North West is closed and is easy to fly from as it is connected to many airports in the rest of the world. The last three winters several vessels, even 17 yachts, have made it through the NWP. But this does not mean, that the Ice will clear in the summer of 2019. If you become a member of the Expedition team, we will explain and sort out all possibilities. 

The Expedition starts at Ilulissat on the first of August. Clearing in at Pont Inlet the 6th of August where our journy in Canadian waters starts. The next steps will depend on Ice conditions but will roughly look as follows: After clearing customs and Emigrations We set sail for Lancester Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, Belloit strait, Franklin Strait, Larson Strait, James Ross Strait, Rea Strait, Simpson Strait, Queen Maud Gulf, Dease Strait, Coronation Gulf, Dolphine and Union Strait, Amundsen Gulf, Beaufort Sea. Crew change at Nome.

Some possible stops on our transit to Nome: Pont Inlet, Tay Bay (Navy Board Inlet), Cape Hatt, Ragged Island, Wollaston Island, Alpha River, Beta River, Dundas Harbour, Arctic bay, Gascoyne Inlet, Beechey Island, Resolute Bay, Port Leopolt, Port Bowen, Fort Ross, Levesque Harbour, Camilla Cove, Pattinson Harbour, Tasmania Islands, Pasley Bay, Taloyoak( Spence Bay), Gjoa Haven, M’Clintock Bay, Jenny Lind Island, Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk (Coppermine), Bernard Harbour, Ulukhaktok (Holman), Fresh Water Creek, Pearce Point Harbour, Summers Harbour, Sachs Harbour (Banks Island), Tuktoyaktuk, Herschel Island, Demarcation Point, Barter Island (Alaska) Point Barrow (Alaska), Point Hope (Alaska) Port Clarence (Alaska), Nome (Alaska)

 Many of these places we will not visit but that al depends on the ice state and the weather. After getting permits for each of these stop overs, we will post more information on the possibilities there. If the ice does not clear, we will have to return to Baffin Bay, cross the Labrador Sea and finish our voyage in Halifax. This adventure is not without risks, but there is a plan for most possibilities. We will publish more information about this during the next weeks. 

Following in the footsteps of many explorers before us, we will dedicate some presentations and preparations to sharing with you all their merits and some of their faults. Be ready to really understand Franklin and appreciate our Orcadian explorer John Rae.

For this Expedition we will have a very different way of finding our voyage crew. Because this voyage is not for the fainthearted, nor for the homesick or even the fickle. This voyage for those who enjoy adventure, want to really explore, not knowing where you will be tomorrow and agreeing that the plan changes every day, maybe by the hour. This is a voyage is for those who want to be part of a team, working together, adding to a team and contributing where you can. The Expedition Team will consist of 12 voyage crew and 4 professional sailors. The Tecla team has been chosen and will consist of Gijs, Jet, Sam and Loes, a team that circumnavigated the world together and know how to trust one another and how to work together. The 12 other Expedition members will be selected after sending in their application, the form can be found through this link. For this expedition we are looking for a team that likes working together to accomplish this amazing goal. People who realize they will set sail for 49 days with a sailing ship and will have to pass through Ice, maybe wait a few days for the ice to clear and then explore further into the North West. We will select our team after talking to all of you and making sure you like us as much as we like you. This expedition will include several excursions on shore. We are still working on the permits for the possible stops, as we close in on winter we will start publishing some of the definite stops.

Expedition Fee is €14.700,-

This fee includes:

• Berth in a 2 person ensuite bedroom – bunkbed
• All meals on board (or lunch packs for day trips on shore)
• Bedding and fresh sheets
• Towels
• Possibility of washing clothes weekly
• Ice pilotage
• Fuel 
• Berthing costs
• Dinghy excursions
• Planned excursions on shore / permits with Inuit settlements
• Guided tours on land
• Permanent professional sailing crew of 4

The coming days and weeks we will publish articles connected to the NWP19. More information on the route, the possible dangers to our expedition and beautiful stories about the explorers who went there before us.

Tecla

De Tecla is een prachtige zeiler met een stevig tuigage. Samen met haar bemanning gaat ze op ontdekking naar zeer afgelegen plekken. De ene iets toegankelijker als de andere. Tecla staat voor avontuur, natuur, verwondering en pracht. Met dit uitzonderlijk schip en haar uitzonderlijke programma ben je goed voor een memorable reis.

Sail Training Program

Aan boord van het tecla werken we met een Sail training program ontwikkeld door de Nederlandse Sail  Training  Association (STAN). Dit sail training program is niet enkel over het leren zeilen maar gebruikt zeilen als een tool voor persoonlijke ontwikkeling. Trainees aan boord worden aangemoedigd uit de comfort zone te stappen om nieuwe dingen te ervaren. Dit geldt voor alle leeftijden! Aan het einde van de reis ,lang of kort, krijgen de trainees een logboek met daarin het afgelopen traject en hoever ze zijn gekomen.  Afhankelijk van de lengte van de trip worden er verschillende vaardigheden ontwikkeld. Deze kunnen van pas komen in een professionele zeilomgeving als ook buiten de maritieme wereld.

Sail training maakt zeilen dat net iets meer dan een actieve vakantie.

Hoe doen we het?

Aan boord de Tecla worden de trainees verdeeld over drie wachten. Elke wacht is verantwoordelijk voor een deel van het dagschema waarin elke deelnemer verschillende verantwoordelijkheden en taken krijgt. Elke wacht heeft een watchleader, vaste crew, die alles in goede banen leidt. Voor ons is het heel belangrijk om samen te werken als ploeg. We hopen onze trainees te laten ervaren hoe het voelt om te wonen op een schip, samen te werken en deel zijn een van winning team.