You may not know about this, but in the 1930’s and 40’s the Northwest passage above Canada was successfully navigated a number of times by ships.
As Mark Dickerson of the University of Calgary notes, In 1937 E. J. Gall made the transit in a small (60 foot long) wooden ship. You can see photos of it, and read about the voyage here: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:AMjDqqeTd20J:pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic41-2-156.pdf+%22presented+to+e.+j.+gall+by+the+fur+trade+commissioner%22&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgJnDc9nMrHqmlOxXVMOC_Zy0PNRMSTDrnX0RiCjQgERw8SWYjbDv3sM_QbqFnoatzj0uB4mBT51Kr_Tt667F-aw-202EWtiAWnHwiYV7BhfOwCIdQBMJ6DpSGi16I5xkwfRFLX&sig=AHIEtbQO5lydRcIIQONpVO-T7QKKg_lGqQ
That same year, the same vessel met the SS Nascopie of the Hudson Bay Company at the furthest north outpost of Prince Regent Inlet, such was the low extent of ice at the time: http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/transportation/nascopie/ The SS Nascopie even took tourists on board for voyages around the Northwest in the 1930’s!
Again, the University of Calgary records how in 1942, and again in 1944, the [quote] "frail and underpowered little ship" the St Roch, a wooden RCMP ship successfully navigated the passage - in 1944 it made the journey with little trouble in only 86 days! http://www.ucalgary.ca/arcticexpedition/larsenexpeditions
Since then many ships have made the journey.
1969: SS Manhattan collected oil from Prudhoe Bay as part of Northwest passage.
(See: Bern Keating, Tomas Sennett, Through the Northwest Passage for Oil, National Geographic Magazine, Vol 137, no 3, March 1970)
In 1977 Willy de Roos sailed through it in his yacht
(see http://www.amazon.co.uk/North-West-Passage-Willy-Roos/dp/037030263X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272271608&sr=8-3 )
And in 1984 the cruise ship the MS Explorer made the journey as well.
What do you think these successful transits of the Northwest passage tell us about the variability of the Arctic ice before satellite measurements began?
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EDIT @ Antarctic -
As we’ve come to expect, you just will not admit that the facts. The St Roch made the journey in 1944 in just 86 days!
The 1937 journey was made by a tiny wooden ship - of course he took supplies. What the hell do you think he would do?
You just can’t accept the truth, can you?
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Trevor -
It certainly speaks volumes about you, that’s for sure. You made a bald statement that the Northwest passage was now navigable for the first time. I disproved it, politely, and with references.
You then claimed that the ships previously had to be dragged over the ice to make the transit. I showed otherwise.
You made a statement, it was wrong. Get over it. I have quickly and cheerfully admitted to mistakes when someone has been able to point them out to me without cavilling after the fact.
Your very first link is of the standard I’ve come to expect E. J. Gall talks of going with men prepared to ‘winter over’ he also talks of piled up ice, luck and ‘going for it’ and you interpret this as sailing straight through, as has been done recently, by ordinary ships.
Then there’s the St Roch you seem to ignore the first voyage, for obvious reasons it took over a year and they were frozen in over winter, you talk up the 2nd voyage at just 86 days, in an open NWP it would take about 10 days or less.
And best of all the SS Manhattan, you provide no link at all again for pretty obvious reasons because any link would have detail about the SS Manhattan which was refitted as an icebreaker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Manhattan_(1962)
Unfortunately Willy de Roos didn’t think this was an easy trip in his specially strengthened yacht
http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/exploits/clips/13665/
"the cruise ship the MS Explorer made the journey as well."
You mean the IC Class ice strengthened cruise ship built specially for traveling in the Arctic and Antarctic waters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Explorer#cite_note-Aamulehti-11
Lets see if you can actually address the points raised instead of just throwing the usual insults.
beinghere: As you can see from his reply to me, he has little interest in facts and answers valid points by just repeating himself or with hostility.
Straight technical points like what type of ships the SS Manhattan & MS Explorer he ignores.
Meadow : "You just can’t accept the truth, can you?"
If you ever post ’some truth’ I will happily accept it! I’m not so good at accepting B/S and it seems I’m not alone.
Interesting had 2 thumbs up about 5 mins ago just after adding the last paragraph, had another window open looking at another question and suddenly in just a few minutes had 4 thumbs down don’t you think that’s just a little obvious meadow. Especially as after 4 hours no other denier is even willing to buy into this nonsense.
How long before All Black shows I wonder!
All Black(meadow) as it is now becoming pretty clear you are the same person, yes an open NWP would be quicker I thought I made that pretty clear, there was no "wihout meaning to" about it. But as I stated several times and you seem incapable of grasping 86 days is not open it is picking through very slowly to be an open commercial shipping lane you have to be able to sail straight through, and you can twist and squirm all you want, you can’t answer that, as Meadow or as All black, can you !
