As promised, I’ve a few new announcements regarding the future of The Northwest Passage film and Hole In The Wall Productions in general.  While some of these announcements are still in their infancy and I’m guarding them with cautious optimism, there’s one very exciting development I’m anxious to share with you now.

The wonderful success of this summer’s expedition to and through The Northwest Passage aboard my boat Bagan, a Nordhavn 57, showed me many marvelous things, not the least of which being… I need a bigger boat.  Bagan was wonderful but trying to edit the footage aboard was problematic. My ultimate dream has always been to have an expedition trawler large enough I could have a dedicated edit suite aboard.  Basically, my dream would be to have  Hole In The Wall Production be a floating production facility.

While recently at Pacific Asian Enterprises (Nordhavn headquarters) in Dana Point, CA, I met with Dan Streech and Larry Gieselman to try and figure out a way this could best be accomplished; a larger research ship.  It was then that Dan and Larry rolled out some drawings of Jeff Leishman’s latest design, the stunning Nordhavn 63.  Not one to mince words; the design was perfect.  What truly sealed the deal in my mind was that forward of  the engine room Jeff had designed in a “utility room” which would be a perfect edit facility for me.  Dan, Larry and I spent the better part of a day massaging layouts (and numbers) to try and assure the complete feasibility of this project.  By mid-day on the second day we came to an agreement, I listed (bitter/sweet) Bagan with Nordhavn’s brokerage and, taking a very deep breath, am moving ahead with the Nordhavn 63 project.  I have said it repeatedly in these blogs and will state again; there simply is no better boat or company in existence for providing Hole In The Wall Productions and myself a working platform and home.  As you know,  this summer we put Bagan to the most extreme of tests and she didn’t miss a beat nor suffer a ding. Chasing after the extreme maritime documentaries that I do, doing so on a larger Nordhavn is one of the easiest and sanest choices I could make.  To be moving into a larger “research” ship is, as I said, a dream come true, to be in partnership with Nordhavn on this project is the proverbial icing on the cake.

As I intimated in the first paragraph, there’re a few more very exciting announcements coming but want to make sure all the proverbial “t”’s are crossed and “i”s dotted before I post them!

Posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Filed under: Bagan, Life After the Northwest Passage by Sprague
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It’s been a little over a month since we landed in Seattle and while things have slowed down for us considerably, we’re not without some great news.  First, the crew:

Dominique is aboard Bagan, running the program from Seattle.  Bagan came through our five month trek basically without a scratch.  The few small repairs and upkeep that she’s in need of are being overseen by Dom and I rest easy knowing that all 57 tons of her are in excellent hands.

Chauncey has gone back to Denver and is studying for the entrance exams for  his Master’s Degree in Business.  We chat often and we both agree that being back in the “real” world has been an “odd” adjustment.

Sefton is also back in Denver and will be picking up where he left off at The University of Colorado, Denver. He’s planning on moving into a business major but will be “minoring” in music.

As you may remember, Greg has been back here in RI for quite a while now catching up where he left off with his business Aquidneck Mooring Company.

I’m back here in Newport, trying to catch up and stay one step ahead.  When you leave on a trip of this extent, no matter how well you think you have all the bases covered there are always a few small items which, in your prolonged absence, grow rapidly into large, snarling, growling issues.  I think I can speak for all of us when I say when we find that we’re having one of “those” days we can manage a smile and think “At least I’m not stuck in the ice in The Passage!”.

And “Bagan”, that wonderfully amazing vessel who so bravely got us to and through The Northwest Passage (Georgs Kolesnikovs writes in Circumnavigator Magazine http://www.trawlersandtrawlering.com/ that she is the first production powerboat to do the trip) has been invited to strut her stuff and be on display in the Seattle Boat Show late January.  If you’re in the neighborhood here’s more info about the show: http://www.seattleboatshow.com

As promised in the last blog, there is good news all around us and the project.  I can offer one small tidbit without divulging too much; with some luck and a bit of hard work, you may soon be able to watch our experience of this past summer on something other than your computer screen.  I’ll stop with that as I’ve said too much!

Also, today I received an email from Peter Janssen at MotorBoating Magazine  (Peter and MotorBoating published four articles which I wrote during the trip.  If you haven’t had a chance to read them try to hunt them down as they contain some amazing pictures which I don’t think we have on this site):

From Peter:

“Hi Sprague,

Just FYI, I entered your story Mission Accomplished in the Boating Writers International awards competition… Keep your fingers crossed. They announce the winners at the Miami show in February…

Best,
Peter”

More later!!
ST

Posted on Friday, December 11th, 2009
Filed under: Arctic Climate, Bagan, Life After the Northwest Passage by Sprague
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We saw Russia and the U.S. at the same time and came within 900 miles of the North Pole. We visited Greenland and Alaska in the same summer & on the same boat. We saw the water temp go from 70 degrees to 30.5 We dodged icebergs in two major oceans.  We went as far north as 75N, traveled 1/3^rd of the way around the world and cruised 8,500 nautical miles through eight different time zones. Bagan sailed three oceans in one summer, traveled further west than Hawaii and last but not least, transited from the east coast to the west cost via The Northwest Passage.

In all of this we also witnessed and enjoyed one of the more amazing creations this world has to offer; The Wagner family’s world famous “Dump Cake”, an amazing concoction of almost all things sweet and edible and guaranteed to provide you with an extra pound or two!  One crew member who I’m glad I didn’t have to tell you about (but am very happy to do so now) is Dr. Phil Wagner, the expedition’s resident doctor.  I met Phil this past winter when I was battling the Little Toe From Hell.  During one of my doctor appointments with Phil we got to talking about the trip to The Passage and by the end of that day I was emailing him asking him if he’d consider being our doctor on call. He very graciously accepted the invitation, spent many, many hours assembling our ship’s medical kit and gave Dominique a very detailed, one day course on just about any emergency which could pop up.  It was a always comfort  knowing that Phil was literally a phone call away, a call that I’m very happy to say we never had to make.  Thank you Phil and family!!

I also want to take a quick moment to thank all of you who posted comments and kept cheering us on.  Even for those of you who didn’t post, knowing that you were out there with us in your thoughts, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You were every bit as responsible in helping make this trip the wonderful success that is was.

For the detractors and naysayers about out trip, all I can say is I’m sorry you felt this way. I think had you taken the time to personally reach out and communicate with me rather than simply post discouraging comments and negative words on other chat sites, it would have done wonders for all of us.  Please know that as each of the wonderfully supportive emails we received inspired us on, hearing about those who challenged my decisions to do this trip, without actually having the honesty and courage to get in touch with me, was very detrimental to the effort.  I simply can not fathom why a person would post and say derogatory things without making the effort to get in touch with me personally. There is and always will be anonymous safety behind a computer screen.

In the end, I simply could not be more proud (prouder?) of my crew, Chauncey, Dominique, Sefton and Greg.  They performed above and beyond my wildest expectations.  I truly love these people. They are modern day heroes and I will forever regard them as such.  The fact that Chaunce and Dom are my stepchildren and Sefton my son is simply icing on the cake! They fulfilled the dream. As for Bagan, we put her through her paces and she brought us home without a scratch.

I would not have done this trip on any other boat or with any other crew!

“This isn’t the end, nor is it the beginning of the end.
In fact, it’s simply the end of the beginning.”

Posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009
Filed under: Arctic Climate, Bagan, Findings from the Field, Leaving the Northwest Passage by Sprague
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Today, at 5:30 PST, we tied up to the docks at Elliot bay Marina, shut down the engine on Bagan, and officially finished what we started out June 16^th from Newport, RI to do. We traveled to, transited through and came back from The Northwest Passage.  Thank you ALL for being such wonderfully supportive blog readers.  To know that you were out there cheering us on means more than words can say.  Bed beckons, but much more later!

- Sprague, Chauncey, Dominique and Sefton

Posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009
Filed under: Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage by Sprague
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As planned we all took our respective breaks, heading off to various parts of the country. This afternoon, with renewed energy, we gather back aboard Bagan to start the final 650 mile push to Seattle tomorrow morning.  During my break I tried to take in all that we had done and experienced in the past 4 ½ months and found that I could only come to terms with small parts of the trip, the larger events are going to take more time to distill into comprehendible memories.  I can tell you this though; it didn’t take me long to truly feel and understand that with Chauncey, Dominique and Sefton, I was blessed with the finest shipmates one could hope for.  To know that as a family we took on and met all the challenges that we did is the stuff books are written about.

More from down the road…

Posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009
Filed under: Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage by Sprague
2 Comments »

Meyers Chuck, AK

Meyers Chuck, AK

Arrived today in Ketchikan, AK. This is where Bagan will rest for a few weeks while we all go and try to regain some energy and sanity. It’s been a long, amazing haul and the end, Seattle, is almost in sight as from here we have about 650 more miles to go. I mentioned in a previous blog, it’s our goal to reach Elliot Bay Marina in Seattle November 6th. Again, if you’re in the neighborhood…

Last night we stayed at Meyers Chuck about 32 miles north of here (see the two pics posted). I was here in 1994 and yesterday, when I rounded the bend and headed into its inner harbor, I was very happy to see that in all this time, it has changed little. Meyers Chuck is a small community which sits tucked away off the main “thoroughfare” and consists of a summer population of around 80, which dwindles down to about 10 in the winter. Its cove is small, quite, beautiful and rimmed by small cottages which made me feel as though I was back in Maine. Very tempting to add Bagan to its lost of winter inhabitants.

As I mentioned, I was here aboard my first Nordhavn, “Gryphon”, in 1994. I sheepishly say this because I still can’t quite believe it, but arriving in Meyer’s Chuck yesterday marked a complete circumnavigation of North America for me. 12 years ago I bought “Gryphon” in Dana Point, CA. The following year I brought her up here to Alaska, going no further north than Tracy Arm, and stopping in Meyers Chuck. Two winters ago, via The Canal, I brought “Bagan” from Dana Point, CA, back east to RI. As you know, we spent this past summer crossing over the top of N. American to where we are now, Ketchikan. Certainly no big deal by Joshua Slocum standards, but something I’m pretty happy about nonetheless.

Hope to see you at Elliot Bay Marina!

Posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009
Filed under: Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage by admin
6 Comments »

In order to catch favorable currents we left Sitka pre-dawn this morning and had a nice calm day of powering to where we sit now, a stunning anchorage called Takatz Bay, tucked way back on the east side of Baranof Island.  Our two days in Sitka were exactly what we needed in that we took care of some very over-due maintenance on the engine and hydraulics as well as had a chance to explore the area and/or rest.  Sitka is a beautiful town rich in Russian/American history.  It seems that no matter where you are you get a magnificent view of the snow capped mountains which stand sentinel over this almost New England-like setting. Yet  Sitka’s history reaches far back to a time when New England was a fledgling. To quote one of the many books we found about Sitka, “When Chicago was merely a fort town in the middle of the prairies and San Francisco a small mission, Sitka was hailed as “The Paris of the West.”  Sitka has lost none of her charm and elegance and was a true respite for all of us.

File this under: “You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me!”; Just after we got through receiving our berth assignment from Sitka’s harbor master we were hailed on the VHF by the motor vessel ”Geraldine” and switched to another freq to talk.  Seems Geraldine’s owners, Walt and Kip Jones, have been following Bagan’s progress up to and through The Passage via this blog and they too were currently in Sitka where they keep their boat.  Walt and Kip had a bit more than a vested interest in our Passage transit as they did the very same trip last year in their 46-foot Jarvis Newman designed Maine lobster boat, “Geraldine”.  Their’s was an amazing voyage in that they, unlike Bagan, had very little trouble with the ice but, unlike Bagan again, got hammered in The Bering Sea. Yesterday Walt and Kip came aboard and we compared “notes from the edge”.  It was wonderfully cathartic to not only meet these two but to talk with people who’d “been there”.  Many times in this blog I struggled to find the appropriate words to describe what we were seeing and feeling in The Northwest Passage, and admittedly came up far short far too often.  It was very validating when Kip and Walt said even though it’s been a year since they did their transit, they too just can’t adequately express the power and imagery they also found up there. If you’d like to learn more about their transit, pick up August’s Soundings Magazine and read “Lobster Yacht Adventure”, a wonderfully written article about two very cool people.

And on yet another note… As any faithful reader may have noticed (both of you) these blogs postings have slowed down a bit.  We’re still underway, making tracks towards our hoped for arrival in Seattle on or around November 5^th (if you’re in the neighborhood…) but the level (and this is a good thing) of adventure has dropped a bit.  We’re now in “cruise mode” and as such are trying to stay about as far away from adventure and potential danger as possible.  Therefore, less to fill you in on.  I can tell you this though; in about three more days we’ll be in Ketchikan where we’re all going to step away from Bagan for a few days, go our separate ways (this too is a good thing, we’re all still family/friends), get some energy back and then start the final leg down to Seattle.  With Greg’s departure in Sitka, Bagan’s crew is now just my step-son Chauncey, step-daughter Dominique, son Sefton and me. Life… How wonderful and very richly fitting that Bagan’s final leg will have aboard four family members who, in the past 15 years, haven’t had the chance to all be  together for more than five days, let alone five months.

Posted on Sunday, October 4th, 2009
Filed under: Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage, Traveling the Northwest Passage by Sprague
5 Comments »

We’re sitting nicely to our anchor in Garden Cove on Hinchinbrook Island surround by mountains deep in pines with small pockets of snow.  After spending a few months above the Artic Circle, trees are one thing I’ll never take for granted again.  It’s from this anchorage that we’ll start our next “outside” leg to Sitka.  A nice weather window is opening and we hope to head south around four o’clock this afternoon.

This leg is the start of a new chapter on this trip, a chapter that truly defines the expression “Bitter/Sweet”.  If all goes well (he said nervously looking over his shoulder) Sitka marks the start of the Inside Passage for Bagan and crew, a route that takes us straight down to Seattle via Sitka and Ketchikan.  For those who haven’t had the great fortune to do this Passage suffice it to say it has to be some of the more spectacular cruising grounds to be found anywhere; it’s protected from the weather and teeming with wildlife.  That’s the “sweet” part.  The “bitter” part is that it’s at Sitka that we have to say good-bye to one of the best shipmates I’ve ever had the joy of traveling with, Greg DeAscentis.  Greg came aboard in Sisimiut, Greenland with not a lot of blue water experience under his belt.  Although he has thousands of hours on the water via his own boats as he runs his mooring business, Aquidneck Mooring Company year round out of Middletown, RI, he hasn’t had a chance to make any long passages across open water.  I have to admit that once we left Greenland, for the first few days Greg’s eyes were larger than normal, but very quickly he picked up and settled into the watch schedule and never missed a beat.

Some of Greg’s passions are diving and wildlife photography, interests which blended very well on a trip such as this. Greg served as the official photographer, documenting our travels and simply put, his work has been stellar.  Regretfully we weren’t able to dive as much as originally hoped for but suffice it to say that 99% of the amazing pics you see on the blogs are Greg’s.  It was Greg who voiced our official arrival into The Northwest Passage when, after seemingly hours behind the binoculars, he shouted “Polar bear… ON shore!!”.

Recently Greg has found himself a home down in the engine room and has spent many hours bringing that area up to snuff.  Over the past four months we’ve asked a lot of our main engine, generator, watermaker etc., and in the past few weeks Greg has not only performed routine maintenance on them, he’s cleaned, organized and corralled a few persistent problems down there.

Greg has always arrived early on watch, stayed late and has never missed an opportunity to volunteer for a job, regardless how nasty it may be (he’ll fill you in on that.) But most importantly, he’s been great company, willing to learn and has always found a way to laugh.  In a few days he’ll fly back home from Sitka and will truly be missed.  I also have to say that the whole crew owes Greg’s wife Laura and HUGE “Thank You” for making it possible for Greg to join us for all these months, it truly wouldn’t have been half as successful or fun without him.

Posted on Sunday, September 27th, 2009
Filed under: Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage, The Arctic by Sprague
4 Comments »

Dan Veerhusen Sand Point

Shady Lady

On September 18^th we pulled into Humboldt Harbor on Popof Island, feeling every bit the stranger in a strange land.  This small, tucked in harbor was all but filled with fishing vessels of every length and description going.  Docking Bagan among them was a bit intimidating as we were just about the smallest boat in the fleet and perhaps the only pleasure boat.  In short order we were off of Bagan and exploring the town, Sand Point, a small, self-contained, fishing village which is seemingly dedicated to one thing and one thing only; fish.  Every home exhibits gear in some form or another and the fish processing plant is a study in streamlined production.  Having just turned the cornet from the Bering Sea we were all delighted to be back ashore again and actually making use of our legs.  Yet it was with even greater delight that we met Dan Veerhusen.  Dan is the owner/captain of a couple of fishing boats, the “Shady Lady” being the one he and his wife live on.  Dan greeted us like long lost friends and in short order was filling us with local knowledge to help us out on our next leg.  Dan is one of those people who you immediately take a liking to as he’s a straightforward and very generous individual who, when he says he’s glad to meet you, means it… he wouldn’t say it if he didn’t.  Soon Dan was aboard Bagan poring over our charts showing us places to hide from weather as well as cautioning us about capes to avoid and cuts to utilize.  He quickly became so involved with our trip that as we dropped the lines the next morning at 6:00 a.m., there was Dan to see us off. Truly one of the great individuals we have had the opportunity to meet on this trip.

That day found us heading northeast up Shelikof Straight, a wide, open body of water that separates Kodiak Island from the Alaskan Peninsula.  When the ebb or flood tide are at their peak the currents can run up to 4kts through the straight and twice that day we had to endure 25-35kts winds against a counter current.  Nasty, nasty conditions.  (Half way up we were called by a fishing boat on the VHF.  The captain of the boat explained the he was a friend of Dan’s and Dan had asked him to keep an eye on us… very comforting to say the least!). That night we beat the sun and dropped the hook in Dakavak Bay surrounded by large, jagged mountains, some snow capped.  But it was the next morning that we took Dan’s advice and motored into Geographic Harbor for the day.  It was magnificent; deep pockets of water, grizzly bears ashore, otters, snow capped mountains in every direction an very protected.  Regretfully we could only stay for the day as we had to take advantage of a weather window and get to where we are now, Home Cove on Nuka Island, another one of Dan’s great suggestions.

So, here we sit, waiting out a gale and will try to head off at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.  We’ve only a few more open-water passages to make and trust me when we say that all fingers and toes are triple crossed that the weather holds.  This time of year the gales come through here fast and furious and can pin you down for weeks at a time.

On a very proud, fatherly note; I have to say that Sefton has become wonderfully adapt at studying the weather charts and finding us great windows in which to travel.  With the added value of Dominique poring over the Coast Pilot and charts, we have been seeing some amazing scenery and having a wonderful, if not a tad bumpy, final third to this trip.

By the way, we’re aiming for Seattle perhaps sometime between November 5^th and 10^th yet even though it’s too early to call it, let me formally invite any and all who might want to see five very happy individuals take to the land!!

Posted on Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Filed under: Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage by Sprague
5 Comments »

Before we left Newport last June someone asked me if the thought of trying to transit the Northwest Passage worried me.  My answer received no hesitation when I responded, “Yup, but not as much as the Bering Sea.” Throughout maritime history the Bering has more times than not played a role bordering on villainous and unforgiving. Nowadays such television shows as “The Deadliest Catch” show us graphically all too well why it’s earned the reputation that it has; it’s a very shallow sea which receives a strong current from the south and more times than not, stronger weather systems from the north.  All factors make for an unpredictable, play-for-keeps sort of scenario.

After downloading and studying weather charts for a few days we decided the time was “now” and on Sunday the 13^th we started our leg south down through the Bering.  We had three days to get to the Aleutians before some weather systems closed in from the top. As I type these words, I’m very happy to be anchored in Cold Bay, a protected anchorage in Alaska’s North Pacific Ocean… Pacific Ocean.  The weather charts proved 100% reliable, as they usually do, and the 650 mile trip south was, while I won’t say easy, manageable.  We had nothing over 20 kts from the NW and the seas never reached over four feet.  Bagan made great time and daily, at one point or another, one of us would say how wonderful it’s going to be to get the Bering behind us and back into Bagan’s home waters, the Pacific.  Oh Mother Nature… Always with the sense of humor.  At 8:30 last night we transited Unimak Pass in the Aleutians, crossing from the benign Bering to the awaiting Pacific.

Trying to take shelter from a growing northerly we motored along Unimak Island’s south shore towards a pre-planned anchorage, only to get battered in the dark by an onslaught of williwaws rolling down the island’s slope.  A strong westerly current also ran along the shore which immediately made for huge winds and higher waves.  We were blown out of our intended anchorage. We struck a course for off-shore to try and escape the grip of the current/wind combination and while we did manage to lose some of the waves, the winds generated stronger and steeper seas of their own.  Bagan slammed along in sustained 40kt winds for about half an hour before we all decided that the ride we had back on shore was, albeit no better, a bit more manageable, which by the time we got back there, it wasn’t.  So, once again, after 30 minutes of trying to find an angle she would be happy with, we again struck off for the off-shore route, edging our way NE towards Seward.  To give you an example of what the winds were like, I came on watch at 2:00 a.m. Within 15 minutes I’d seen every strength of breeze up to 48kts coming from every point on the compass.  Sefton summed it up best when he matter-of-factly said, “This is insane.”

At 3 in the morning, Dominique was poring over the Coast Pilot finding us a suitable anchorage within a 50 mile radius.  What she found for us couldn’t have been better as where we sit now is the perfect respite for all of us, including Bagan who once again performed above and beyond her duties. 

We’re keeping all eyes on some other systems and, for now, the plan is to leave at first light and head to Humboldt Harbor on Popof Island.  From what we can see there’s a good marina there which would be a prefect place to wait out the next few blows.

_____________

On a more personal note: It’s with great regret that we all had to say good-bye to Clinton Bolton before we left Nome.  Clinton indicated he had pressing issues back east which needed attending to. Simply put, Clinton was the person who got us to and through The Northwest Passage. His wit, wisdom and company will sorely be missed.  Life is anything but predictable and as Clinton always said, even while trapped in the ice, “It is what it is.”  All of us aboard wish Clinton only the very best.

Posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009
Filed under: Arctic Climate, Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage by Sprague
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