Constance Difede, crew, from anchored in Ostrov Pilota Makhotkino
After fourteen days the Arctic Ocean has shrunk. It is now the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea. Two down, two to go before the Bering Strait. As we wait for the last vestiges of fast ice to pull away, we marvel at the natural world around our floating oasis. We bear witness to a world few have seen from this slow motion sail around the top of the world. The sea and sky are constantly front and center stage with an illusive wind and ice pas de deux. Every movement has a consequence. We can hope, conjecture, plan, contingency plan, but have no effect. Our presence is of no consequence. We are, at best, voyeurs. Privileged to participate, absorbing a smidgen of our vast planet, 7 knots at a time.