Ken Williams

Game company CEO (Sierra On-Line, now Cygnus), Ship Captain (MV North Star), and best selling author. Exploring the world with my wife Roberta and our doggies.

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@ExoWulfAU Thank you!

[Ken Williams @caboken]

This is just a quick update on our Northwest Passage trip.

Roberta and I are currently at our home near Seattle, but we'll be flying back to the boat a week from today.

A few boats are hoping to transit the Northwest Passage from west to east this year. So far we've seen four sailboats and no other powerboats. There may be others, but I I think we would have seen them by now.

The short version is that the passage is currently blocked. We need some ice to melt—or move—before we can continue.

Actually, it's a bit more complicated than that. The Northwest Passage is the narrow gap between the northern coasts of Alaska and Canada and the polar ice cap. During the summer, enough ice usually melts to create a navigable corridor between the land and the permanent pack ice.

The problem is that the ice is constantly changing. Large pieces break off, new ice occasionally forms, and winds and currents push the floating ice around. A route that is open today can become blocked tomorrow, and a route that looks blocked on the morning ice chart may open later that same day. The official ice reports are excellent, but by the time they're published, the wind may already have changed the conditions.

Of the five boats I know about (including ours), two are waiting in Nome, two have positioned themselves closer to the ice, and one bold sailboat has already started the journey. The boats are staying in touch, and that sailboat is heading toward the current blockage, hoping the ice will move or melt enough by the time they arrive to let them through.

No one has ever accused me of being bold.

There's an old saying: "There are old sailors and bold sailors, but no old, bold sailors." I think there's a lot of truth to that. Roberta and I have traveled all over the world by boat, and when people ask us about exciting stories of surviving terrible storms, we really don't have many. That's by design. We plan our routes and timing with one goal in mind: boring passages. So far, that approach has worked, and we'd like to keep it that way.

So here's our plan...

Roberta and I will be back aboard North Star on August 13. If conditions look favorable, we'll head to the entrance to the passage and continue monitoring the ice reports while staying in close contact with the other boats. If the route opens, we'll go immediately.

If it's still blocked by September 1, we'll have a difficult decision to make.

Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT what it thought our chances were of making it safely through the Northwest Passage this season. After thinking for a while—and offering plenty of caveats—it finally answered, "75%."

I wouldn't trust any computer (or AI) completely, but that number feels about right to me. The odds seem to be in our favor. We have a good boat, an experienced crew, and now all we need is a little cooperation from Mother Nature.

That's it for now...

—Ken Williams (with Roberta Williams and our two pups - Pixie and Keeley)
MV North Star

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@ISDIVFX Thank you!

[Ken Williams @caboken]

Behind the scenes, I am not the adventurous member of our family. All credit (or un-credit) for our crazy trips belongs to Roberta. I constantly "joke" with her that her adventures will get us killed someday. I'm 99% certain we are doing this trip the safest way possible, and I'm 100% certain that if I don't think we can safely get through the passage I will cancel the trip at the last minute.

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@redketchup69 Did you really ask them? Interesting! - Ken W

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@shooterjennings Thank you! (I'll happily take all the credit I can get, but it's Marcus who put it together and deserves all the credit). I look forward to getting a copy myself.

[Ken Williams @caboken]

A friend of mine (Marcus) thought there ought to be a boxed version of Roberta's and my most recent game. I argued against it mostly because Roberta and I are busy people and I didn't want to hassle with physical goods.

Well...

Marcus decided that it would be a sin not to have a proper boxed version and made one, going WAY over the top, as Marcus is prone to doing.

Check it out! I was blown away. The video is worth watching. Great job Marcus!
https://t.co/uiN1HZDMQD

To order the boxed version you go to:
https://t.co/qQ61kxl82r

[Ken Williams @caboken]

I agree! I did want to do a boxed edition, but as a small developer it just isn't practical. Back in the Sierra days I had 1,000 employees, but now it is just Roberta, our son DJ and myself. Assembling and shipping product, and dealing with customer support, is not something I'm willing to take on. I said to Marcus the other day that he should expect to lose his butt on this project, but he wanted to do it and felt it was the right thing to do. He'll lose money and I'm not getting involved other than that Roberta and I signed a bunch of stuff for him (and, I'm plugging it). But ... all that said. It is cool and I want copies personally!

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@AlexFinn Images of people enjoying the beaches of Brazil

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@ShaunTonstad Greetings Shaun - and thank you! I hope your project is going well.

[Ken Williams @caboken]

I just released a new video blog entry on youtube. It's the first 2,000 miles of our 8,500 mile journey through the Northwest Passage. Roberta and I have been on the boat for almost a month and have had some wild times! I hope you will check it out.

https://t.co/pTxhJwQxq2

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@YoungantheRetro Thank you. I like it, but I'm prejudiced .. and, hopefully there's no previous knowledge required (or, at least I tried to design it that way).

[Ken Williams @caboken]

I've been working on a marine radar simulator for Windows and Mac. It's to the point that I need beta testers. It's not a game, it's a serious educational tool for boaters. That said, it's a lot more fun, and a much better experience, than book learning.

I need both Mac and Windows beta testers, and testers who are complete rookies to using radar and also testers who are professional yacht crew.

If you would consider being a beta tester, click this link:

https://t.co/GoojGf91on

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@YoungantheRetro I haven't posted it on instagram - please feel free to share the link anywhere. I'm not sure if a lot of people will want to be beta testers, or none... I've done a lot of marketing of games, but this is far afield from anything I've done before.

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@theneutralbay Thank you!

[Ken Williams @caboken]

Roberta's and my Northwest Passage journey is now underway.

Since records began, only 465 distinct maritime transits of the Northwest Passage have been successfully completed by various vessels.

We will travel from the Puget Sound through the Inside Passage, brave the Bering Sea, and spend plenty of time in the Arctic Ocean as we cross all of North America. Roughly 8,300 nautical miles in total.

Wish us fair winds and following seas, and toss a coin to Poseidon!

Follow our journey on Instagram at:

https://t.co/MvHycza7aa

Or on youtube, at:

https://t.co/xU4Ko1vjG8

And subscribe to the newsletter at:

https://t.co/j9Yw3wFTJj

Or .. here on X!

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@MuskieMcKay I'll wave as I go by!

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@silvenshadow Thank you! - Ken W

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@invyc Thank you! - Ken W

[Ken Williams @caboken]

@PawelHomenko Thanks. It’s a fun project

[Ken Williams @caboken]

Roberta and I have been working for over a year to get our boat ready for going through the northwest passage. I just posted a video on youtube that explains what we're doing.

If you stay to the end, there is a sneak preview of a new software project I'm working on...

https://t.co/0fvst7n0xe