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U.S. Coast Guard
Doc. Vessel 535405 |
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Illustration from the original manual |
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Our sailboat Sea Scout is small, old, and not specifically
designed for a voyage to the Arctic. This page is intended to
convince prospective crew members that she is nevertheless the
right choice. I also want to invite suggestions about outfitting
her for the trip.
Sea Scout is an Arpège, designed and built by
Michel Dufour in France in 1968. The Arpege was a popular and
successful offshore racer in the half ton class, especially in
the English Channel. The original owners of our boat were four
students from West Berlin who dropped out of school, sailed across
the Atlantic ocean and cruised the Caribbean until they ran out
of money. They flew home after selling the boat, which was eventually
bought by Harold Russell from Gwynn Island, Virginia. Harold
owned her for almost twenty years, sailed to Bermuda and The
Bahamas, and reluctantly sold her to us when he turned seventy-three.
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Sea Scout's hull is made of solid fiberglass, which
is very strong, but not quite as strong as steel. Willy de Roos
sailed the Northwest passage in the 1970's and Alvah Simon reached
the northern tip of Baffin Island twenty years later. They both
had steel boats. They were, however, prepared to be caught in
the ice and to spend the winter in the Arctic. Our cruise will
be more like those of the old wooden whaling ships. We don't
want to break through the ice, but avoid it and return to Newfoundland
in September.
I believe that by the standards of both the Offshore Racing
Council and the Cruising Club of America, Sea Scout's
design is completely seaworthy. She has sailed many thousands
of miles offshore. We made countless mistakes on our cruises
to The Bahamas and to Maine, but never doubted the boat. The
boat looks sleek, but is positively conservative by modern standards.
She is fairly heavy, the sail plan is moderate, the rudder protected
by a full skeg. The rig is very strong and old-fashioned, with
double back stays and uppers that come out to the rail.
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Dufour Arpège |
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1968 publicity photo |
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| Sea Scout on the |
| Potomac River |
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An old boat has to be updated frequently. Harold Russell
put in a new diesel engine, and we replaced all the standing
rigging last year. Much work still needs to be done before we
can sail North, but we have a good basis. This, I believe, is
what makes the expedition possible at all. Maybe the perfect
cruising sailboat exists, somewhere. To find it, buy it , and
equip it, however, would require a lot of money, which I don't
have, and a lot of time. It would postpone the adventure indefinitely.
Now, with the boat that we have, we can actually go.
Sea Scout's specifications:
- Length 30'
- Draft 4'6"
- Displacement 8,000 lbs.
- Sail area 527 sq. ft.
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