Setting Sail /June 3, 2018 by Caroline Van Hemert

Launching soon! In summer of 2018 Caroline, Pat, and their two young children will be heading north from Washington to Alaska in a 32’ sailboat. Stay tuned for updates!

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Last day of the Northwest Passage, 2025. Five thousand nautical miles later, our salty crew is home safe & sound. So thankful for the people, places, and critters we met along the way.

I can’t wait to get back on the water but touching la

Here’s a glimpse of the Bering Sea on a calm day. For many residents in Western Alaska this view turned into utter devastation when the remnants of Typhoon Halong hit remote coastal communities.

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I’m thrilled to have been awarded the Banff Mountain Article Award for “The fleet-winged ghosts of Greenland,” published in @hakaimag and @biographic_magazine. And solidly humbled by the jury’s comments (see below).

“Re

Thanks, Kachemak Bay, for the warm welcome!

For all the ugliness in the world right now, feeling especially grateful for the sweet moments, unexpected generosities, and wild critters of home.

That one amazing day when the sun was shining, the blueberries were ripe, and the sea was flat! Castle Cape, AK Peninsula.

Safe harbor never looked so good! Happily tied up at Seldovia, Alaska with a warm welcome from an old friend and an urchin-chomping sea otter.

Brief glimpse of how nice it could be in the Gulf of Alaska and then…we’re in it!

Today we practiced the”art” of sailing: “Traveling slowly in the wrong direction, often at great discomfort/expense/fill in the blank…” (plus add copious amounts of rain).

After 40 hard miles of sailing only to make 5