Something Worth Doing: The Sub-Artic Voyage of Aqua-Star

In May 1985 Aqua Star, a custom-built steel cutter, set out from Toronto for Churchill, Manitoba, on the west shore of Hudson Bay. No sailing vessel had ventured beyond Hudson Strait since the 19th century; it was a sparsely inhabited area of harsh terrain with ice-and fog-bound coasts. On board were the owner-skipper Leslie Sike and wife Carolann, both in their 40s; also Gay Currie, a young woman with sailing experience, and David Farr, a photographer. Chopra, who covered the voyage for Canadian Yachting and had access to the personal journals and ship's log, here re-creates the adventure in a gripping narrative of derring-do and of discord. Nearing Hudson Strait the sailors encountered ice; in the Bay they ran into heavy weather and fog. Arguments and ill-feeling continued unabated. That September, after 108 days and 3600 miles, Aqua Star reached Churchill. And all agreed, as will readers, that the voyage was something worth doing. Photos. (Nov.)