To date there have been only nine successful passages by superyachts, and five of these were made on yachts designed by Vripack. In fact, Vripack designed the first superyacht to ever make the crossing. Turmoil pulled it off in 2001, becoming the 87th vessel to successfully navigate the legendary Passage since records began.
Several failed attempts followed, until Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, finally conquered it in 1905. It had taken Amundsen and his crew all of two years, including two harsh winters in a harbour at King William Island. He discovered a series of deep channels through Canada’s Arctic Archipelago, starting north of Baffin Island and continuing all the way to the Beaufort Sea, just above Alaska, a route that extended about 900 miles from east to west. The Northwest Passage was the only alternative to the long journey around Cape Horn for passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Most ships enter the Passage from the Pacific, were the polar ice cap presses down on Alaska’s shallow north coast for much of the year, funnelling masses of ice into the Bering Strait, the narrow sea passage between Alaska and Siberia. Following one of the seven routes to the Atlantic exit takes sailors on a hazardous journey that involves the careful negotiation of tens of thousands of giant icebergs between Greenland and Baffin Island, some rising 300 feet or more above sea level, all on their slow, southward drift.
This inhospitable and undisturbed part of the world is home to an astonishing array of wildlife, which, other than scientific grounds, is the prime argument for attempting the journey. One becomes so captivated by the sight of sharp-clawed, creamy-white polar bears, languidly moving whale pods and large herds of walruses, and so regular are the sightings, that you almost forget the chunks of ice drifting within striking distance of the yacht.
Given that the Passage is usually frozen solid and impassable for much of the year, the Captains and crew that have managed to traverse it successfully are among a highly select group of yachting professionals, and have, as a result, earned the respect of their peers, not to mention a fair bit of fame. So rare are these crossings, and so changeable the conditions, that the knowledge required for successful passage isn’t widely available, even in this era of the internet. Consequently, Vripack maintains a detailed record of their vast experience in designing yachts capable of meeting this challenge.
‘I could quite happily do the Northwest Passage over and over again.’
ANIL THADANI, OWNER OF LATITUDE
‘When you step into the tender, assume you’ll be spending the night, and equip yourself accordingly.’
PHIL WALSH, CAPTAIN OF TURMOIL
TO DATE THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY NINE SUCCESSFUL PASSAGES BY SUPERYACHT, AND FIVE OF THESE WERE MADE ON YACHTS DESIGNED BY VRIPACK
| YEAR | Nº | YACHT | ROUTE |
| 2001 | 87 | TURMOIL | WEST |
| 2010 | 141 | DIONE SKY | WEST |
| 2012 | 169 | BEOTHUK | WEST |
| 2014 | 216 | LATITUDE | WEST |
| 2015 | 226 | LATITUDE | EAST |
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