Peter Smith Completes NW Passage in 2020
 |
| Kiwi Roa (Photo from Peter Smith’s website) |
On August 24, it was reported that Peter Smith's yacht Kiwi Roa was spotted entering the Northwest Passage around August 20 without the permission of the Canadian government. His contention was that the NW Passage is international waters and, therefore, not under Canada's jurisdiction. The Canadian government had earlier put vague restrictions on anyone attempting a passage. Though they stipulated that the right of innocent passage remained in effect, they had turned two yachts away after they had been given permission and had sailed long distances to get there.
New Zealander Peter Smith, boatbuilder and inventor of the Rocna anchor, has been sailing around the world on the custom-built 52-foot adventure vessel Kiwi Roa for 26 years. High latitudes have attracted him but the NW Passage has eluded him...until now. He had attempted last year but didn't make it as it was a bad year for ice. It appears that, in the year of the pandemic, Peter has transited the Passage west to east solo and in record time without stopping at any settlement. He cleared Pond Inlet on the 2nd of September, some 37 days after leaving Nome AK. Arctic sea ice was reported to be ‘lighter than usual’ this year.
Kiwi Roa is likely to be the only yacht transiting this year. He's made it into the record books and possibly into trouble if the Canadian government pursues him for breaking their rules. He could be liable for fines of $5000 a day and possible prosecution. He's likely never to be allowed to enter Canada again.
A Canadian naval vessel followed him the entire way ensuring that he did not stop anywhere and make contact with indigenous populations. He kept saying that he was at greater risk from them than they from him as he'd been underway for so long and is 72 years old with a history of lung problems. He said to them, "I am a yacht, not a bloody cruise ship," and was adamant he would not be turned around.
It's an interesting case. On the one hand, he did not observe the COVID-19 rules and could have put people at risk if anything went wrong. On the other hand, Canada has been taking a more stringent and restrictive view of who can and cannot traverse the waters, which by UN convention have been accepted as international, not territorial.
If someone had to push the limit, it might as well have been Peter Smith. He's reportedly now heading for Portugal. I wonder why.
Here are links to some of the articles about his extraordinary passage:
https://greatwhitecon.info/2020/07/the-northwest-passage-in-2020/
https://explorersweb.com/2020/08/28/northwest-passage-sailor-ignores-arctic-covid-restrictions/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/new-zealand-yacht-cambridge-bay-nunavut-1.5698347
https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2020/08/27/dont-mess-with-canada/
Very nice article to get some ideas for my sailing blog
ReplyDelete