For Sun City resident Art “Karts” Huseonica, the Northwest Passage lived up to its reputation of being a treacherous body of water.

Despite this, Huseonica, 73, became the oldest person to row on the Northwest Passage. He joined three other rowers this summer, including Leven Sinclair Brown, one of the most respected rowers and skippers in ocean rowing.

Other team members included Mike Harding of England, a descendant of Sir John Franklin, a British Royal Navy officer who is best known for leading a tragic 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Also on the team was international blogger Stefan Hacker of Germany.

“I was truly humbled to have been picked to join the expedition,” said Huseonica. “My Yukon River expeditions coincided with Brown’s attempts to row the passage, so when I completed by Yukon River paddle this summer, Leven invited me to join him in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada to finish the row he’d started in 2023.”

For six weeks the team battled challenging wind conditions that frequently prevented forward movement of their 44’/13.5m boat, Hermione. They sought safe anchorages during extreme conditions. However, a storm at Cape Hope tore apart their three-anchor system and tossed the three-ton boat onto the rocks. This resulted in a three-foot/one meter hole in the bottom of the boat, flooding one compartment.

The team, technically shipwrecked, working over several days under Brown’s guidance, were able to access the hole and make temporary repairs with materials on hand. Efforts were made to try and dry out water-soaked gear and clothing, but the climatic conditions were not favorable.

Throughout the expedition, Huseonica said that he was never warm, even while rowing for hours on end. He explained that the wind chill from the constant high winds created a wind chill, frequently below freezing.

Worse yet for him was the sleep deprivation. Because there were only four rowers on a boat designed for six to eight rowers, everyone had to work harder. This meant either rowing or steering for 34 to 56-hours without a break. At anchor, sleep was still illusive because Huseonica and Brown had to share one small sleeping area in the stern cabin. To get any rest they hot-racked the space, taking turns sleeping for three hours or less.

With Hermione crippled, they then focused on getting to the nearest village, Paulatuk, 300 miles/480km away, bailing every few minutes. However, it would not be that easy. When they rounded Cape Lyon in the dark, with ever-increasing winds, they nearly collided with the Halcro Point cliffs. Exhausted, the team fought sustained winds of 35 knots/40mph and gusts above 55 knots/63mph to row Hermione to shelter further south along the cliffs to a safe anchorage where they waited for two days before continuing into Paulatuk.

The Canadian Coast Guard contacted the team three times to see if they wanted rescue, but at no time were there any life-threatening situations to warrant a rescue.

“We were confident in our abilities to handle challenging situations and were in constant communication with various governmental groups and our families,” said Huseonica. “We had several communication systems on board, including Starlink which enable us to keep everyone updated, including our families.”

He explained that his experience on various expeditions has honed his risk management skills to know when it not safe to continue.

The biggest reassuring factor for Huseonica on their planned 900-mile/1,500km expedition was that he was with one of the world’s most respected and recognized ocean rowing skippers, Leven Brown. He said that he trusted Brown’s leadership, navigation, and technical skills to the fullest; even with his life.

It is unlikely the team with attempt to repair Hermione and continue rowing the remaining few miles of the Northwest Passage due to the huge expense. Huseonica is going back to work to help pay off his huge expedition expenses.

For more information about the expedition and to see their GPS track, visit nwpexpedition.com.