Docked just off the shoreline near the Yacht Club, a steel-hulled sailboat named Nord Hus—“North House”—is making final preparations for a journey north. Aboard is seasoned Arctic explorer Lonnie Dupre, whose life has spanned from a Minnesota farm to the far reaches of the globe, and who is now preparing for one of his most ambitious expeditions yet.
“We’re currently docked here in Marquette, and we’re enjoying our time in town,” he says. “We’re just waiting for the ice to free up in Whitefish Bay and down by the locks in Sault Ste. Marie before we can begin our journey.”
That journey—a six-month expedition by sailboat to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and western Greenland—continues a lifelong relationship with the far north, one that began on a small cash crop farm in central Minnesota.
“I grew up raising vegetables and sweet corn, selling them from the back of a pickup truck. Summers were hot and full of hard work, so I looked forward to winters. I learned to love them—snowshoeing, skating, exploring outside,” he explains. “Eventually I realized that Minnesota wasn’t the farthest north you could go.”
His passion for the polar regions led him to learn about Inuit communities and the early polar explorers—names like Nansen, Peary, and Amundsen. In his mid-twenties, he began exploring the Arctic himself, embarking on expeditions by dog team across the Northwest Passage, venturing to the North Pole, and even circumnavigating Greenland.
Exploration seems to run in his blood. A descendant of famed French explorer Jacques Cartier, he acknowledges a personal drive that feels both natural and deeply rooted.
“I think there’s some DNA there,” he says. “Even as a young boy, I wanted to see as much of the planet as I could. And I’ve always been drawn to the cold places.”
When not on the ice or at sea, he’s at home in Grand Marais, Minnesota—canoeing the Boundary Waters, skiing local trails, or teaching and building log cabins. “I always need to have my hands near wood somehow,” he says with a chuckle. “In the warmer months, I focus on cabin building and planning what the next Arctic trip will be.”
The Nord Hus—a 36-foot insulated steel sailboat—was refitted over the last three years to meet the harsh demands of high-latitude sailing. Built from a Brent Swain “origami” design, the boat is designed for strength and simplicity, with thermal-pane windows, multiple heat sources, and reinforced structure.
“It’s roomy, it’s warm, and it’s tough—perfect for the Arctic,” he says. “We’ve got the gear we need, and we’re not in a rush. The trip will unfold one day at a time.”
During the voyage, the team will document marine and bird life, collect environmental DNA samples for Adventure Scientists, and study historical Inuit encampments and relics of past Arctic explorers. But beyond research and navigation, the journey is about presence.
“You can’t look too far ahead,” he says. “The boat is our home. We’re not waiting to get somewhere—we’re already there.”
Listen to Kurt Hauswirth's conversation with Lonnie Dupre:
He also hopes to inspire others to seek their own adventures, no matter the scale.
“You’re never going to be 100% ready, and the timing’s never perfect,” he says. “You just have to put a date on the calendar and go. The real growth comes when you step outside your comfort zone.”
And for this explorer, who has spent decades in some of the most fragile and awe-inspiring parts of the planet, that growth comes with a call to protect the world he has come to know so intimately.
“The Earth gives and gives—but we give very little back,” he says. “If we want to protect this place for future generations, we have to start by knowing it, by being in it. That’s how love—and responsibility—begins.”
Find out more at https://www.lonniedupre.com/
