One Island, One Blog

On the days when ice allows us to move forward, time travel comes the closest to expressing what we are really feeling. The passages we are traversing have been used by hardy souls for hundreds – maybe thousands -of years. Most of what we see has spent eons under ice. As the ice slowly shifted or

Tuktoyaktuk, August 2025 This is what we’ve been planning for: motoring, waiting, weather, and the occasional “are we there yet?” August has been a full month—plenty of excitement, things to see and waiting for ice, plenty to keep us humble. While our other blogs are full of stories, people, and big

The sailing vessel One Ocean and her crew sit anchored off the Baillie Islands, NWT, watching a stubborn ice plug hold fast between Sachs Harbour, Baillie Island, and Cape Parry. We’ve got eyes on it from every angle: Canadian Ice Charts, daily satellite imagery from Harry Stern — a polar ice

Since returning to One Ocean, one thing has become impossible to ignore. At nearly every stop, we are seeing widespread coastal erosion and visible effects of permafrost melt. These are not subtle changes. They are dramatic shifts in the Arctic landscape, and they are happening fast. What is more

Navigating the Northwest Passage: Science, Stories & Stewardship One Ocean is now deep in the Northwest Passage, traversing Inuit territory in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region—a place where land, ice, and culture are intimately tied. This region of the Arctic is starkly beautiful, shaped by wind

Our plan to stay a few more days at Herschel Island in Pauline Cove changed quickly this morning. The predicted calm weather will end in less than 24 hours, about as much time as it will take One Ocean and crew to sail to Tuktoyaktuk, a very safe and secure port from wind and ice. We weighed anchor

Driving through Nome, Alaska, one of the first things that caught my eye was the vibrant magenta flower lining nearly every road— Fireweed ( Chamaenerion angustifolium). It added bold pops of color to the otherwise rugged terrain. I quickly learned that fireweed isn’t just a pretty face in the

When in Nome we had time to roam… 15 days to be exact. Our last watch before arriving in Nome was one of the most memorable. Mike and I were on watch from 10 to 2, scanning the water carefully for the countless logs that drifted ahead of us. Dodging them required more focus as the wind shifted and

Beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas), often called “sea canaries” for their rich vocalizations, are among the most iconic marine mammals of the Arctic. Intelligent, social, and uniquely adapted to extreme environments, they offer an important lens into the rapidly changing northern ecosystem

July 2025 Reporting live (well, anchored) off Utqiagvik—formerly known as Barrow—where it’s a brisk 15–20 knots of wind and colder than the inside of a refrigerator. The Arctic seawater is also hovering around 38 degrees, and wind chill representing the inside of a freezer. We had a solid run up

We arrived at Elfin Cove at about 8:00 pm on June 15th- approximately 85 miles from Juneau. Elfin Cove is a small, beautiful community, home to just 38 permanent residents- a number that decreases to about a dozen (or less) during the winter months, according to local accounts. A wooden boardwalk

July 24, 2025 Position: Approaching 70°N Latitude, Arctic Ocean The time is 7:15 a.m. We have 10 knots of wind and are sailing at 6 knots—stretching out the quiet for as long as possible as the wind gently fades. The sky has finally opened up. A golden-orange sunrise spills across the horizon