As "Nanook" began, Northwind, Whitewood, and Atule proceeded north in mid-July, followed shortly thereafter by Norton Sound and Beltrami. Finally, after being held at Boston to load delayed supplies for the Weather Bureau, Alcona, the last ship of the "Nanook" force to get underway, sailed at 13:10 on 18 July for Greenland. Task Force 68 was now at sea; and, as Capt. Cruzen later reported, ". . . an unusual force it was, too: one seaplane tender, one icebreaker, one submarine, one net tender converted into an icebreaker, and two cargo vessels." Eight days later, as Alcona was steaming across Baffin Bay, she received orders to proceed to Thule, unescorted. Favorable ice conditions and good visibility made the passage possible and enabled Alcona to anchor in North Star Bay, off Thule, at 19:28 on 27 July.
