The St Roch was a hardy vessel that was not an ice breaker that made it through the Northwest passage (in I think 1943), though it was not a sail boat.

The http://gayandright.blogspot.com/2007/10/why-arctic-sea-ice-is-low.html link has the following quote: "The winds causing this trend in ice reduction were set up by an unusual pattern of atmospheric pressure that began at the beginning of this century," Nghiem said.

Data does not get old unless it is proven incorrect.