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QGiven so many expeditions who have gone through the passage, and failed, how risky has this journey been?

A When we sailed through this channel, we didn’t know whether we could make it to the other side before the ice closed in. That could potentially mean spending the winter stuck in the ice. We never quite knew what was going to happen.

QHow do you avoid getting stuck?

A Ice Services Canada has been helping us out. They just wrote us an email saying, ‘We’ll continue to provide you with ice information because you are in one of the most dangerous places on Earth.’ When we navigated through this channel, we were in three to four metre waves, [and] you would see the ice bulging out of the waves. We were going through small channels, a few miles wide. Then you’ll hit another dead end and try to find another path through the ice. You’re always just living on a prayer that you’ll find a way. But we were very fortunate the ice conditions were a lot more open.

QHow do you three fit on such a small boat?

A The front third of the boat is filled with Arctic equipment, the last third of the boat is filled with sailing equipment. Then the middle third is our kitchen, toilet and sleeping quarters. Our living space is probably the same size as an average person’s bathroom at home. There is always one guy out on watch, another guy down below, communicating with our ice advisors [and] the coast guard, and then you have a third guy who’s sleeping. We do a rotation every three hours. Unless we arrive in a port, we see very little of each other. And it keeps us sane that way.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

National Post