Mountain Top Views

Back porch views are separated from mountaintop views by a vast expanse of worthwhile sacrifice. Samantha and I had just crossed the Gulf of Alaska for the second time in a month when I had that thought. Our sailing logistics company has taken off, and we are quite busy, delivering sailboats between Seattle, Washington and […]

If you don’t want something, you may settle for anything. But anything, could be nothing at all.

I personally hope that you WANT SOMETHING AMAZING out of this life gift you have been given. If you don’t want something, you may settle for anything that lands in your lap. None of us really want “anything”, because anything could end up being nothing at all….. With that in mind, I hope […]

Ice Tactics by Capt. Jesse Osborn published in Ocean Navigator Magazine

I began writing a small series on Arctic Ice Tactics this fall. Ocean Navigator Magazine has published one of the articles in the March 2015 issue.

http://www.oceannavigator.com/March-April-2015/Negotiating-a-brash-ice-barrier/

Ocean Navigator is an all business magazine for serious sailors and we are proud to have contributed to the sailing community through this publication for the second time.

Enjoy!

Capt. Jesse Osborn

SV EMPIRICUS

A Gimbaled Astrocompass Experiment

In the spring of 2014 adapted an aircraft Astrocompass, for use at sea. https://empiricusembarks.com/2014/06/22/if-it-cannot-be-bought-it-must-be-built/ I did this by gutting an old Wood Freeman Autopilot compass, which was gimbal mounted. Then replaced the magnetic compass works, with a standard astrocompass mount. Then Samantha and I packed the works up to the Arctic, where Empiricus lay waiting […]

2 SEASONS IN THE ARCTIC WITH “STORMR” An equipment review, by the crew of Empiricus

“STORMR” Product review from a sailors perspective. By Capt. Jesse Osborn and the crew of SV Empiricus. 2012-2014 In 2012, I was preparing to sail the fabled Northwest Passage. Having the right foul weather gear was going to be important. As I discussed this with a friend, he told me about this new company called […]

Big Bad Bellot Straight Part 2. A successful passage.

On September 1, 2014, just after our 1st attempt at the Northwest Passage’s infamous Bellot Straight, we vowed not to make another, until we had a got, clear ice report. We were prepared and ready to return to Gjoa Haven for the winter, if need be and in the mean time sat drifting in calm […]

The courage is in your moments

Who is it that speaks and is heard for eternity? The humble… The humble live on in our thoughts, our books and our stories, because they have the greatest courage of all. Though it takes great courage to face an enemy, and risk your life for another. It takes even greater courage, to face yourself […]

BIG BAD BELLOT STRAIT. PART 1

Big Bad Bellot. The West entrance to the strait is located at 71 Deg 58 Min North by 95 Deg 11 Min West. Its southern shore marks the northernmost point on the North American continent. This narrow body of water is not well charted and carries a long history of dramatic encounters for ships […]

Northwest Passage 2014 the official complete list of passage makers.

The following is the official list of Northwest Passage transits, by all vessels in recorded history. Empiricus is number 208! Ever! There is also some brief but interesting reading in the introduction. They have Empiricus listed as a “Ketch”, but thats an easy mistake to make. We have requested a correction to “Yawl”, but thats […]

What is the Northwest Passage?

I’ve been blogging about the Northwest Passage for a while now and I just realized that the details of this place have not always been in the forefront of my writing. Encyclopedia Britannica defines the “Northwest Passage” as “Northwest Passage, historical sea passage of the North American continent, representing centuries of effort to find a […]

EMPIRICUS EMBARKS

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