Arcadia the 36 metre explorer yacht designed by Tony Castro and built by Royal Huisman has completed the east-west transit of the Northwest Passage
In doing so she became the 159th vessel to do so in the 108 years since records began.
Yet Arcadia is not steel-hulled ice breaker but is instead a superyacht constructed in aluminium, with some components fabricated in carbon composite.
Her epic 24 day voyage began with a departure from Christianshab, Greenland in early September for a crossing of the Baffin Sea to Pond Inlet
Three days later she began her transit on the 5th of September. Under the command of Captain James Pizzaruso, she carried the yacht’s owner and guests who reported that they had a stunning passage that included numerous polar bear sightings, fine and challenging weather and some exhilarating shore-side hiking.
Arcadia’s voyage covered a total of 3,278 nautical miles, of which 1,587 were completed between Ilulissat and Cambridge Bay, and a further 1,691 between Cambridge Bay and Nome, Alaska.
The route from Pond Inlet took in:
- Bylot Island
- Devon Island
- Prince Leopold Island
- Fort Ross on Somerset Island
- Bellot Strait
- Jenny Lind Island
- Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island
From there she sailed on to Nome Island via Banks Island, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea.