As of April 26th, the ice has cleared further north, and now none is to be foud below 45 North. The shortest route from Plymouth to Newport is called a Great Circle route, curved when looked at on a Mercatore chart but in reality the shortest one. This route still crosses the limit of all known ice however the Rhumb line, which is a straight line on a chart but is in fact a little longer, is now clear of the ice. Thanks Uwe for the chart overlay.
Most GPS, like Garmins, give you the Rhumb line bearing to a waypoint and typically only more advanced plotters or navigation software like Maxsea or Expedition draw routes over a Great Circle line. So, right now, you could plug Newport into your GPS, follow the line and clear the ice. Sounds simple right?
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