Borders skipper and crew survive after being shipwrecked on infamous Northwest Passage expedition
This expedition was led by multiple world ocean rowing record holder Leven Brown, 51, who was born in Galashiels and now stays near Lillisleaf.
However, the expedition hit the rocks in a sudden and unforecast storm on the point of Cape Hope in the Northwest passage. Sustained winds of 35 knots and gusts up to nearly 60 knots broke the 44ft rowing boat ‘Hermione’s’ 3 anchor system.
The gust and waves that hit the boat were so strong that they broke the flukes off the first anchor leading to the other two failing and leaving the vessel heading uncontrolled toward the rocky shore.
The team rowed through the white water and rocks and deployed an emergency anchor close to the shore to attempt to control their impact on the rocks. They initially succeeded but the wind was so strong that once the boat was beached it jack-knifed over more rocks on the shore sustaining a three and a half foot gaping hole through the bottom of the boat smashing two critical bulkheads.
They improvised a repair made out of dry bags, rubber tape, screws and rope after digging a trench under the boat to get to the huge gaping hole.
They moved rocks and dug out sand for three days, then using driftwood levers, rope work pulleys, ratchet straps and the emergency anchor they slowly moved the 44ft, 3 tonne boat back to the sea where they managed to re-float it whilst carefully protecting the repair.
For such eventualities the team carried an emergency electric engine, which they started to use to clear the Cape and embarked on their way to the closest village Paulatuk, in the Northwest Territory of Canada.
Not long into the 300 mile journey to safety, the engine failed leaving the team stranded in the faltering boat, needing to be constantly bailed out to row the rest of the way.
Over the next ten days the team rowed 250 miles, coast hopping from any bit of shelter they could find to the next, sometimes struggling to bail fast enough to keep the boat from flooding on one of the most exposed coastlines on the planet.
On Friday, September 13, they rounded the treacherous Cape Lyon, in the dark with rising winds when a failing helm put them off course to the East where they nearly collided with the cliffs on Halcro Point.
Exhausted, they hauled the boat around the cliffs missing by two boat lengths then turning the boat quickly to shelter from the rising storm on the other sides of the cliffs. They waited another two days before rowing down to Brock Lagoon where a local boat assisted them for the last few miles.
The team found old human remains near the coast of the shipwreck and reported this to the relevant authorities with co-ordinates of the discovery.
After a gruelling expedition, they arrived in Paulatuk safely last Sunday evening.
Skipper, Leven, apologised to the local officials on their arrival for he and the crew ‘being a little smelly’ as Shackleton did after his historic voyage to safety in 1916.
In an update on his Facebook page, Leven wrote: “Wow, well that was epic. We have had a couple of days to decompress after rowing what was essentially a sinking boat for 10 days. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this small team of four who took on the last half of the infamous Northwest Passage.
“When we put a 3 1/2 foot hole in the bottom of our boat most folks would have automatically called emergency services and helicoptered out with a good story to tell about the wreck. But not these guys, they consolidated, dug, moved rocks and we worked as a team to patch up as best we could our boat and re-float her.
“Did we row the Northwest Passage - no, not quite. Can we live with that – well under the circumstances, yes.”
Leven is without a doubt the godfather of the ocean, and numerous people who have set out on expeditions with him testify to that.
As one rower put it, he is “the best at what he does.”
Through sheer grit and determination, the team rowed 2000 miles and clocked up 6500 miles in total from Eyemouth to deliver the rowing boat to the start line at Pond Inlet, Canada with a small electric engine.
For Leven and his team it was a feat of survival, and they can now proudly say they are the world's first in rowing the Northwest Passage, and the furthest a rowing boat has ever made it through the passage from East to West.
To follow Leven’s adventures on Facebook, visit: https://www.facebook.com/NWPexpedition