Beyond the North

NORTHWEST PASSAGE

NWP 2026 · Canadian Arctic · s/y Ocean A

Ocean A set out from Szczecin in February 2026 on a two-year polar expedition.

NWP 2026 is one of its main stages.

The entire expedition is scheduled to conclude in autumn 2027, when the yacht returns to its home port in Szczecin.

CANADIAN SECTION OF THE NWP THERE AND BACK IN A SINGLE SEASON

Ocean A sailed west through the Canadian section of the Northwest Passage to Tuktoyaktuk, then turned back and, in the same navigation season, returned east through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago — without wintering between the two passages.

FURY AND HECLA STRAIT FIRST DOCUMENTED POLISH PASSAGE

Among Polish sailing yachts, Ocean A was the first to make a documented west-to-east passage of Fury and Hecla Strait. The crew during this passage consisted of Alicja Latoń and Andrzej Górajek.

ONE MORE RESULT AHEAD OF US

For Ocean A there is still one goal left: completing a full circumnavigation of Baffin Island. We will announce the result only once the track is closed and the historical verification is complete.

Northwest Passage

04.08 – 14.10.2026

“In the Arctic, things are rarely straightforward. You have to assess the conditions and decide whether to keep going, wait, turn back or change course. Each of these decisions involves a different level of risk, and the situation can change within a matter of hours.

From the very beginning, we knew one thing: this passage was possible. The only question was when, and under what conditions.”

Beyond the North · NWP 2026 at a glance

Concept author and lead organiser Andrzej Górajek

Organisational and logistical support NATANGO

Coordination of shore-based support Halina Górajek

Yacht s/y OCEAN A owner

Main route scope

72°46′18.527″ N 075°50′42.930″ W

Tuktoyaktuk

62°02′13.433″ N 064°58′46.289″ W

Captains for each stage Andrzej Górajek / Alicja Latoń westward stage / eastward stage

Our route through the Canadian Arctic

NWP 2026 Expedition: Beyond the North

04 AUG

START OF THE NWP

At 0431 UTC, Ocean A crossed the adopted boundary marking the entrance to the NWP. From this point, we count the course of NWP 2026 — west to Tuktoyaktuk and back east.

07 AUG

BELLOT STRAIT — FIRST PASSAGE

Ocean A entered Bellot Strait at Magpie Rock, initially against the east-going current. On the final stretch, she took advantage of the change in current and exited the strait to the west.

12 AUG

GJOA HAVEN — A KEY POINT ON THE WESTWARD ROUTE

After the belugas of Coningham Bay and a muskox charge in Pasley Bay, Ocean A reached Gjoa Haven, where the crew received an exceptionally warm welcome.

19–22 AUG

CORONATION GULF — RIVER LANDINGS

The most “land-based” stretch of the westward route: Tree River, a grizzly, the Coppermine River and a trek to Bloody Falls — the last longer landings before heading towards the ice.

24–25 AUG

CAPE BATHURST — FIRST OLD ICE

Here, old ice genuinely blocked the way: in the fog, Ocean A worked her way around the ice fields and searched for a coastal corridor leading around Cape Bathurst.

29 AUG

BEAUFORT SEA — FAREWELL TO CAPT. WOJCIECH JACOBSON

On the waters of the Beaufort Sea, which he himself had sailed years earlier, the crew symbolically bid farewell to the expedition’s patron, Wojciech Jacobson.

29 AUG

TUKTOYAKTUK — TURNING POINT OF THE EXPEDITION

Ocean A reached the western objective of the first part of the expedition. Tuktoyaktuk was never meant to be the finish line — after the stop, the yacht was to turn around and head east again in the same season.

12–19 SEP

CAMBRIDGE BAY — RESUMING THE EASTWARD JOURNEY

After a week-long stop Ocean A departed Cambridge Bay eastward with a two-person crew. Alicja Latoń and Andrzej Górajek remained on board, and the onward route now led through conditions shaped by the approaching Arctic autumn.

20-21 SEP

EREBUS BAY — IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION

Ocean A anchored in Erebus Bay on 20 September. The following day, the crew went ashore in the area of archaeological sites associated with the fate of members of the Franklin expedition after they abandoned Erebus and Terror.

23 SEP

BELLOT STRAIT — SECOND PASSAGE

After a demanding night with winds reaching 40–50 knots, Ocean A waited in False Strait for the right current and passed through Bellot Strait again — this time eastward, among scattered pieces of old ice.

25 SEP-
02 OCT

FURY AND HECLA STRAIT — EASTBOUND TRANSIT

On 25 September, Ocean A began her transit of Fury and Hecla Strait and passed through Labrador Narrows in 48 minutes. After a stop near Igloolik, on 2 October she crossed the Arlagnuk Point–Cape Konig line, completing the passage of the strait according to the criterion adopted in the logbook.

14 PAŹ

END OF THE NWP

On 14 October 2026 at 22:30:27 UTC, Ocean A crossed the adopted NWP 07 finish line, completing the return passage of the Canadian section of the NWP.

Expedition details and statistics

DATE 04.08 – 14.10.2026 westward stage · stop in Tuktoyaktuk · eastward stage

DISTANCE 4408,1 NM 2058,6 + 2349,5 NM

DURATION 71 days 25 days + port stay + 41 days

STOPS AND LANDINGS

25 anchorages 3 ports

19 landings 70 NM by dinghy
115 km on foot
2 landings on old-ice floes

Yacht s/y Ocean A owner: SKŻ Szczecin

ICE 7–8/10 maximum pack-ice concentration

FARTHEST WEST 133°08′01.5″ W Tuktoyaktuk area

ROUTE

Baffin Bay → Beaufort Sea → Davis Strait

Lancaster Sound → Bellot Strait → Rae Strait → Coronation Gulf → Amundsen Gulf → Tuktoyaktuk Tuktoyaktuk → Franklin Strait → Bellot Strait → Fury and Hecla Strait → Foxe Basin → Hudson Strait

Morze Baffina ↓ Morze Beauforta ↓ Cieśnina Davisa

Etap na zachód Cieśnina Lancastera · Cieśnina Bellota · Rae Strait · Zatoka Koronacyjna · Zatoka Amundsena · Tuktoyaktuk

Etap na wschód Tuktoyaktuk · Cieśnina Franklina · Cieśnina Bellota · Fury and Hecla Strait · Basen Foxe'a · Cieśnina Hudsona

Baffin Bay ↓ Beaufort Sea ↓ Davis Strait

Westbound stage Lancaster Sound · Bellot Strait · Rae Strait · Coronation Gulf · Amundsen Gulf · Tuktoyaktuk

Eastbound stage Tuktoyaktuk · Franklin Strait · Bellot Strait · Fury and Hecla Strait · Foxe Basin · Hudson Strait

NWP 2026: Beyond the North

About our expedition through the Canadian Arctic

About the Northwest Passage

On the map, the Northwest Passage (NWP) looks like a defined route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In reality, it is a system of waterways between the islands. Ice conditions are constantly changing — ice fields move under the influence of wind and currents, opening some passages and closing others.

The Arctic does not care about either the map or our plans. That is why the Northwest Passage is not a route that can simply be plotted once. Conditions must be constantly monitored and analysed, and the right way found as they change.

Westward route

On 29 July 2026, Ocean A left Upernavik. Andrzej Górajek was the captain for this stage. The route led across Baffin Bay, through Lancaster Sound and Bellot Strait, then past Gjoa Haven and Cambridge Bay towards the Beaufort Sea. Each successive leg meant watching the ice, analysing forecasts and currents, and choosing the route ahead. Ocean A used data from Canadian services, information from other vessels and her own observations. Conditions were changing constantly, so the option chosen in advance did not always remain the best solution the following day. At the end of August, the yacht reached Tuktoyaktuk. This was not, however, the end of the expedition. From the outset, this was where the westward stage was meant to end and the second part of the plan begin — the return through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the same season.

Eastward route

On 3 September 2026, Ocean A left Tuktoyaktuk and began the return east. Alicja Latoń was the captain for this stage. The return did not mean simply retracing the earlier route — ice and weather conditions were already different, and the route ahead had to be reassessed on each successive leg.

On 20 September 2026, Ocean A anchored in Erebus Bay off King William Island, and the following day the crew went ashore in the area of sites associated with the fate of members of the Franklin expedition after they abandoned Erebus and Terror. On 23 September 2026, the yacht passed through Bellot Strait for the second time during the expedition, this time from west to east.

The route then continued southeast through Fury and Hecla Strait. Ocean A entered the strait on 25 September 2026, and according to the criterion adopted in the logbook, the full passage was completed on 2 October 2026 at 03:15 UTC, after crossing the Arlagnuk Point–Cape Konig line. On 7 October 2026, the yacht anchored in Kimmirut. The planned stop was extended due to weather conditions along the route ahead. The crew waited for a stable weather window that would allow them to safely begin the several-day passage towards Greenland. On 13 October 2026, Ocean A left Kimmirut and began the next leg of the voyage.

On 14 October 2026 at 22:30:27 UTC, Ocean A crossed the adopted NWP 07 finish line at position 62°02′13.433″ N, 064°58′46.289″ W, completing the return passage of the Canadian section of the NWP.

The onward voyage of Ocean A towards Greenland and the planned wintering remains the next phase of the season.

VERIFICATION

Sources, precedents and limits of certainty

We verify the course of the expedition and its place in history separately. Ocean A’s route is documented by the positional track, the ship’s log, reports and correspondence with Canadian authorities, as well as photographic documentation. Historical sources, on the other hand, are used to answer a different question: whether an earlier comparable voyage is known and documented.

01 · Canadian section of the NWP

Tuktoyaktuk and return east in a single season

Status · completed

Ocean A passed west through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to Tuktoyaktuk, turned back and returned east in the same navigation season — without wintering between the two passages.

We do not describe this result as two full transits of the Northwest Passage. In R.K. Headland’s classification, a full NWP transit means a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, including passage through Bering Strait.

In the available data independently reviewed by R.K. Headland and MCTS Iqaluit / Canadian Coast Guard, no voyage comparable to the route planned by Ocean A was found. Both sources noted, however, that the absence of such a case in the available records is not proof that it never took place.

02 · Fury and Hecla Strait

First documented Polish passage

Status · completed

Among Polish sailing yachts, Ocean A was the first to make a documented west-to-east passage of Fury and Hecla Strait. The crew during this passage consisted of Alicja Latoń and Andrzej Górajek.

Fury and Hecla Strait is part of Route 7 in the Northwest Passage classification. R.K. Headland describes this variant as difficult because of the heavy ice usually found west of the strait and the currents in Bellot Strait.

“Experience has shown that ice conditions make any passage by way of Fury and Hecla Strait […] too difficult to be seriously considered.” Canadian Sailing Directions · ARC 400

The official sailing directions also describe the possibility of pack ice and pressure ridges of heavy floes, and indicate that favourable conditions for ordinary vessels may occur, but cannot be relied upon.

03 · Baffin Island

Full circumnavigation of Baffin Island

Status · verification in progress

Ocean A is in the process of completing a full circumnavigation of Baffin Island. Until the track is closed, we are not announcing this result as completed.

It is already known that Baffin Island has been circumnavigated by ships before. Therefore, the subject of our research is not “the first circumnavigation of the island in history”, but a much narrower category: a complete, closed circumnavigation of Baffin Island by a small sailing yacht within a single navigation season.

In the sources reviewed so far, no earlier case has been found that meets all of these criteria simultaneously. However, the absence of such a case in the research is not yet proof that none existed.

Verification principle

The absence of an earlier case in the sources we have checked is not proof that no such case existed. We therefore separate the fact that the route was completed from the assessment of historical precedence and use only such terms as are supported by the current state of the sources.

Ocean A sailing between sea-ice floes in the Canadian Arctic.

Northern Lights over Ocean A during the expedition through the Canadian Arctic.

Not everything happens on board

The expedition begins long before setting sail

From the conception of the expedition to setting sail, there is an enormous amount of work to be done: the vessel has to be prepared technically, equipment, supplies and procedures put in place, and possible courses of action anticipated. Analytical work on the seasonal window for NWP 2026 began in 2024. Stowarzyszenie Kształcenia Żeglarskiego SKŻ in Szczecin is the owner of Ocean A. Natango was responsible for the organisation and logistics of the expedition: supplies, medicines, contacts and training. Shore-based support remained ready, if necessary, to drop everything and act on behalf of the yacht.

From the perspective of the crew and shore support

The people who created this expedition

Concept author and lead organiser of the expedition Andrzej Górajek

After years of sailing around Greenland and Svalbard, I wanted to take it one step further. To plan the expedition so that we could reach Tuktoyaktuk, turn back and, still within the same season, return east through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

— Andrzej Górajek

Andrzej Górajek Captain of the westward stage Leading the westward stage · yacht preparation and technical readiness

An expedition is a bit like a good soup. The right yacht alone is not enough. You need experience, an understanding of your own capabilities and weaknesses, a properly defined goal, and a level of risk whose consequences you are prepared to accept. And in the end, a little luck still helps.

— Andrzej Górajek

Alicja Latoń Captain of the eastward stage Command of Ocean A and captain’s decisions during the return journey

Following in someone else’s footsteps is safer, but it does not have the same appeal as finding your own way. The satisfaction is greater when, right up to the very end, you do not know whether what you are planning can actually be done.

— Alicja Latoń

Halina Górajek Shore support Coordination of Natango’s shore-based support

Throughout the expedition, the rhythm of each day is dictated by the yacht. You have to know how to do your job and accept remaining in the background.

— Halina Górajek

Onboard Reports

Logbook entries and recollections

Preparations and the journey to the starting point

The plan had already been developed in 2024. To complete the Canadian section of the NWP in both directions within a single season, we had to find a sufficiently long window — entering early enough despite the old ice and returning before the onset of new freeze-up.

full account in preparation

Westward stage: where there is no room for error

From Lancaster Sound to Tuktoyaktuk: Inuit communities, muskoxen and grizzly bears, long landings, the first old ice and a storm. The westward route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Bellot Strait, Gjoa Haven, Coronation Gulf and Amundsen Gulf — with the route chosen according to ice, weather and currents all the way to Tuktoyaktuk.

full account in preparation

Eastward stage: along routes that do not exist

We were heading back east, racing against winter: shorter and shorter days, changing ice and less and less time. Ahead lay a second passage through Bellot Strait, Fury and Hecla Strait, and the route towards Hudson Strait.

full account in preparation

NWP 2026 — the expedition captured in music

Tracks inspired by stories from the journey of Ocean A. The events of NWP 2026 also found their musical form. An album was created, inspired by specific places, people and events from the expedition.

Ktoś czuwa, ktoś śpi

0:00 / 0:00

Concept and lyrics: Piotr Górajek · part of the project “NWP 2026 — the expedition captured in music”

NWP 2026 album — publication in preparation

A Szczecin trace

in our Northwest Passage

Szczecin is not just a geographical point on the map. It is part of the history of the yacht and the people behind it. Ocean A was born in Szczecin — built at the Gryfia shipyard in Szczecin, with Szczecin as her home port. The Szczecin-based Stowarzyszenie Kształcenia Żeglarskiego SKŻ is the yacht’s owner, while Szczecin-based Natango provides the organisational and logistical support for the expedition.

The year 2026 marks the centenary of Ludomir Mączka’s birth. Wojciech Jacobson, patron of the NWP 2026 expedition, is also part of the history of Szczecin polar sailing. Both took part in the first Polish passage of the Northwest Passage aboard Vagabond’eux in 1985–1988. We dedicate NWP 2026 to both Captains.

Some dates are no coincidence

1926

Ludomir Mączka

birth of a sailor who today is a symbol of a life devoted to following one’s own dreams

100 years → 2026

1984–1988

Vagabond’eux

first Polish NWP expedition

40 years → 2026

2026

OUR EXPEDITION

Honorary patron of the expedition — Wojciech Jacobson

Wojciech Jacobson, the patron of the NWP 2026 expedition, was one of the Polish sailors associated with the history of the Northwest Passage.

Wojciech Jacobson died as Ocean A was approaching the western end of the first stage. On 29 August 2026, while en route to Tuktoyaktuk, the crew symbolically bid him farewell on the waters of the Beaufort Sea, which he himself had sailed years earlier.

A musical remembrance of that farewell

0:00 / 0:00

↓

Concept and lyrics: Piotr Górajek · part of the project “NWP 2026 — the expedition captured in music”

Acknowledgements

NWP 2026 is complete. Safely. Those who sailed will take the memories with them, while the hardships will fade with time. Those who remained ashore can finally breathe a sigh of relief and rest. We thank everyone who helped prepare this expedition, supported it along the way, provided assistance when it was needed, and simply cheered us on wholeheartedly. It is time for new dreams, and we hope you will be with us again.

For the Media

Press materials for the NWP 2026 expedition

Materials to download

PDF

Press kit

A four-page summary of the most important information about the NWP 2026 expedition.

PL Download

PNG · HD

Route map

Map of the two passages of the Canadian section of the Northwest Passage completed by Ocean A in the 2026 season.

PL Download

PDF · ZIP

Photos and audio

Press photos and a list of materials, captions, authors and terms of use.

PDF · Open ZIP · Download

Media contact

NATANGO · kontakt@natango.pl

Andrzej Górajek · +48 601 347 019 | Halina Górajek · +48 601 081 016

Sources

Source File 01 · Canadian section of the NWP · Source File 02 · Fury and Hecla Strait · Source File 03 · Baffin Island

Last updated: 16 października 2026 22:08 UTC · Page version: 1.21

NORTHWEST PASSAGE

Northwest Passage

Our route through the Canadian Arctic

Expedition details and statistics

NWP 2026: Beyond the North

About the Northwest Passage

Westward route

Eastward route

VERIFICATION

Tuktoyaktuk and return east in a single season

First documented Polish passage

Full circumnavigation of Baffin Island

Tuktoyaktuk and return east in a single season

First documented Polish passage

Full circumnavigation of Baffin Island

Not everything happens on board

From the perspective of the crew and shore support

Onboard Reports

Preparations and the journey to the starting point

Westward stage: where there is no room for error

Eastward stage: along routes that do not exist

NWP 2026 — the expedition captured in music

A Szczecin trace

Some dates are no coincidence

Honorary patron of the expedition — Wojciech Jacobson

Acknowledgements

For the Media

Cenimy prywatność użytkowników