Nord Hus expedition update: from the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River

Lonnie Dupre and Pascale Marceau have spent nearly seven weeks traveling the Great Lakes on a sail boat named Nord Hus. The pair are on a voyage that began on Lake Superior and is headed for the arctic.

WTIP caught up with Dupre and Marceau on May 26, while they took a rest day outside of Montreal. The expedition has reached the St. Lawrence River.

Nord Hus left the Bay of Grand Marais on April 10. Dupre and Marceau have been accompanied by a rotating crew over the past month and a half. They explained that some of those crew members were aboard for a single stint, while others have returned to the boat during subsequent crew rotations.

The pair told WTIP about the shifts they have seen on the voyage, so far. When they began the trip on the Great Lakes, it was before the busy part of the sailing season, and Marceau said it felt remote. She said the sailing has become much more urban, with busier docks and bigger shoreline cities. The expedition has made it though the locks on the St. Lawrence River, and Marceau said this next leg of the journey will include navigating ocean tides.

For both Dupre and Marceau, a long sailing expedition is a new experience. Both have done arctic expeditions in the past, but Dupre said this voyage has marked a shift. He said, “The change is, for me, going from land and ice-based expeditions to ocean. I guess it’s something that always intrigued me.”

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Marceau and Dupre. Audio of that conversation is below.

Kirsten Wisniewski May 28, 2025