Ryan April 7 dispatch:nApril 7 and oh what a day it was... We have been cruising pretty good as of late despite the slow surface conditions. Today we figured would be much the same and it was for the first half.

The conditions were overcast and cold, but some decent visibility so we found a few big flat(ish) pans of ice and made good progress. But around mid day, right around the time we blew up at each other over a detail then squarely apologized, the ice changed dramatically and we found ourselves playing "polar connect the dots" which is not as fun as it may sound. It is basically trying to piece together small open patches in the general direction you are trying to go, all while avoiding the inevitable ice ridges all around you. We did some tough work and ended up taking our sleds up, over, around, and at one point I could swear under, ridges up to 20 feet high of giant blue ice cubes.

We only managed 4.18 nautical miles today but I can say we fought hard for every bit of it. Better luck tomorrow I am sure...

Distance traveled: 4.18 nm

Image: Ryan letting his sled go for a ride.