9:41
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| The agenda for the day on the ship's CCTV |
I just heard them drop the anchor. We are closer to the bow than to the stern and after a while you get to know some of the routine ship sounds. I was wondering this morning what will happen to this ship next season since neither of the companies who routinely charter her will be doing so. Will she get a refit and be chartered by different companies of will she be scrapped? Whichever she has had a good run as a ferry and then as an expedition ship. She’s been comfortable enough for us. There are a couple of minor irritations this year. There is a chemical smell in my bathroom and there seems to be a colony of small flies living there so, even though I’m far away from the box elder bugs and the Manitoba maple, I’m still hunting insects each day. I haven’t bothered to report it to housekeeping. Maybe I will and maybe I’ll just continue the hunt. Each day I seem to be stalking fewer of the creatures.
Today just as I was getting ready to go to breakfast, there was an announcement that narwhals had been spotted so, of course, most people ran up to the bow on the top deck to try to get photos. I didn’t feel like rushing to get my outdoor gear on in 5 seconds only to get another ‘find the animal’ photo so I stayed put.
Richard had gone for breakfast before me and he said he saw the narwhals from the window in the restaurant. As we finished he said, “I think they’re still there.” We went closer to the window and saw a couple of dark shapes in the water moving toward the starboard side of the boat. We moved to one of the side windows and, sure enough, there were the narwhals. I’d be lying if I said I got a really good look at them but I could see that they were certainly large and it’s the closest I’ve ever been to one.
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| Narwhals! Photo by Michael Winsor |
I don’t suppose it’s possible with narwhals but with most creatures, I’ve decided if your goal is to see them in the wild then go on a cruise. If your goal is to see them up close than choose a wildlife park. The guys from National Geographic spend days waiting for wildlife, following wildlife, and hoping for the right conditions. On a trip like this we might be lucky and get close enough to capture something resembling an animal if we have a long enough lens. I’ll get the shots if I can and if I can’t I’ll enjoy the privilege of sharing space for a brief moment with these northern animals.
Our landing today is in Willis Bay, a location Adventure Canada hasn’t been to before. The mouth of the Bay is about 600 meters wide and it was interesting to watch as the captain, slowly and carefully, slid the ship through the narrow opening. The winds are calm which helped. We are scheduled to start disembarking on the zodiacs in about 20 minutes so I’ll leave this here. Today is the day we go through Bellot Strait and from there on I will have travelled in the waters even if I haven’t been as far north as we are planning to go. Keep crossing your fingers for a landing on Beechey Island. So far we have been incredibly lucky with the wind and the waves. Here’s hoping it continues so we can visit both Beechey and Grise Fjord.
12:12
We’ve just returned from our zodiac cruise. They decided not to land because there was a polar bear sighting and also there is fresh snow. White snow, white polar bear, and a bunch of smurfs? Not so much. I like the zodiac cruises in some ways and not in others. It’s nice not to have to worry about a backpack and we can see animals from a different perspective than on the ship. We saw eider ducks, some sort of gulls, and a polar bear. I was sitting on the wrong side of the zodiac but Richard who was in the bow was kneeling down so I asked him to take a photo. I had taken one but it wasn’t in focus. He got a really good one and I’ll be transferring it from the camera to my iPad when the camera finishes charging. [I can't find that photo.]
I’m not so fond of zodiac cruises because if you want to take a photo you are always dodging heads. Sometimes I just incorporate the people and other times I try to get an angle or use a zoom so that I can avoid them. Some of the shots I may have to crop but that’s not the best when you’re dealing with a camera that has a small sensor. Oh well, you make a compromise with the equipment you take and then you make the best of it.
I confirmed today that I can get all my insulation clothing under my jacket. I had a long sleeved merino t-shirt, a merino turtleneck, my down pullover jacket, and my favourite Iceland sweater under my wind jacket. On the bottom I had my fleece pants, my regular nylon pants, and my wind pants. I wore two pair of socks in my hiking boots. I don’t have room for thick socks in them and I think they give me better weather protection than the rubber boots with thick socks would have done. The only body part that got cold was my hands because they were in and out of my gloves so I could take pictures. I’m not sure a lighter pair of gloves would have been any better. With the really thick ones I could stuff my hands into the wrist part and get my fingers sort of warm.
Almost time for lunch and I think I’ll get a. cup of tea.
21:24
Not much to add now. We did get through Bellot Strait - twice! I’m not exactly sure how it all worked or what was going on but on the way through the first time we dropped off some of the expedition crew in two zodiacs and we continued on through the strait. Then we turned around and went back to pick them up. I think they were scouting for new landing possibilities..jpg)
We had afternoon tea on the back deck today and had a toast as we passed Zenith Point.
It is the most northerly point in North America. It is 64km farther north than Point Barrow in Alaska which is the most northerly point in the US. Of course all the Canadians on board liked that. We toasted Bellot for whom the strait is named.
He was a sailor on an expedition and his captain told him and a few other sailors to take a message to another ship that was over wintering in the ice. Bellot and company pitched their tent one night on an ice pan and when Bellot got up in the morning in the dark to pee he took two steps away from the tent and landed in the water. That was the end of him. When the others got back from their errand, they told the commander and he decided to call the strait where Bellot drowned after him. It’s just a bit weird to me to be toasting a guy who died because he had to pee. Oh well.
I was out on the deck for the first transit of the strait. The weather was so weird. When I went outside it was a bit cloudy and there was a little snow coming down. As we moved into the strait, the cloud cleared up and the snow stopped. Then there was some time when there was no wind at all and I got a picture of the Adventure Canada flag lying motionless against the flag pole. Then the wind began picking up and the sea, which had been glass smooth, developed some waves.
The captain opened the bow to us which was really cool.
I went down and got some interesting shots. I didn’t have my gloves with me because they are lovely and warm but they are also lovely and thick and I can’t manipulate a camera or a phone with them on. I put my hands in my pockets periodically to try to warm them up but they got pretty cold after an hour and a half. It felt really good to put my hands in warm water for a minute or two when I got back to the cabin.
We had supper and after supper Ethan was in the lounge playing some of his own songs. I didn’t stay until the end. I needed to finish up here and we have to move our clocks ahead an hour tomorrow. We are actually going into a time zone two hours ahead but they’ve decided to give us a break and only do it one hour at a time. So, I’m off to reset my phone and try to reset my Fitbit.
Tomorrow we are heading for Aston Bay (Kangiqturuluk) I don’t know anything about the place but there will be a briefing in the morning. The first talk of the day will be on Arctic whales, porpoises, and dolphins. That’s it for now.
Our landing today is in Willis Bay, a location Adventure Canada hasn’t been to before. The mouth of the Bay is about 600 meters wide and it was interesting to watch as the captain, slowly and carefully, slid the ship through the narrow opening. The winds are calm which helped. We are scheduled to start disembarking on the zodiacs in about 20 minutes so I’ll leave this here. Today is the day we go through Bellot Strait and from there on I will have travelled in the waters even if I haven’t been as far north as we are planning to go. Keep crossing your fingers for a landing on Beechey Island. So far we have been incredibly lucky with the wind and the waves. Here’s hoping it continues so we can visit both Beechey and Grise Fjord.
12:12
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| Zodiac cruising |
We’ve just returned from our zodiac cruise. They decided not to land because there was a polar bear sighting and also there is fresh snow. White snow, white polar bear, and a bunch of smurfs? Not so much. I like the zodiac cruises in some ways and not in others. It’s nice not to have to worry about a backpack and we can see animals from a different perspective than on the ship. We saw eider ducks, some sort of gulls, and a polar bear. I was sitting on the wrong side of the zodiac but Richard who was in the bow was kneeling down so I asked him to take a photo. I had taken one but it wasn’t in focus. He got a really good one and I’ll be transferring it from the camera to my iPad when the camera finishes charging. [I can't find that photo.]
I’m not so fond of zodiac cruises because if you want to take a photo you are always dodging heads. Sometimes I just incorporate the people and other times I try to get an angle or use a zoom so that I can avoid them. Some of the shots I may have to crop but that’s not the best when you’re dealing with a camera that has a small sensor. Oh well, you make a compromise with the equipment you take and then you make the best of it.
I confirmed today that I can get all my insulation clothing under my jacket. I had a long sleeved merino t-shirt, a merino turtleneck, my down pullover jacket, and my favourite Iceland sweater under my wind jacket. On the bottom I had my fleece pants, my regular nylon pants, and my wind pants. I wore two pair of socks in my hiking boots. I don’t have room for thick socks in them and I think they give me better weather protection than the rubber boots with thick socks would have done. The only body part that got cold was my hands because they were in and out of my gloves so I could take pictures. I’m not sure a lighter pair of gloves would have been any better. With the really thick ones I could stuff my hands into the wrist part and get my fingers sort of warm.
Almost time for lunch and I think I’ll get a. cup of tea.
21:24
Not much to add now. We did get through Bellot Strait - twice! I’m not exactly sure how it all worked or what was going on but on the way through the first time we dropped off some of the expedition crew in two zodiacs and we continued on through the strait. Then we turned around and went back to pick them up. I think they were scouting for new landing possibilities.
.jpg)
We had afternoon tea on the back deck today and had a toast as we passed Zenith Point.
 |
| Another version of tea on the deck |
It is the most northerly point in North America. It is 64km farther north than Point Barrow in Alaska which is the most northerly point in the US. Of course all the Canadians on board liked that. We toasted Bellot for whom the strait is named.
 |
| Toasting Bellot |
He was a sailor on an expedition and his captain told him and a few other sailors to take a message to another ship that was over wintering in the ice. Bellot and company pitched their tent one night on an ice pan and when Bellot got up in the morning in the dark to pee he took two steps away from the tent and landed in the water. That was the end of him. When the others got back from their errand, they told the commander and he decided to call the strait where Bellot drowned after him. It’s just a bit weird to me to be toasting a guy who died because he had to pee. Oh well.
I was out on the deck for the first transit of the strait. The weather was so weird. When I went outside it was a bit cloudy and there was a little snow coming down. As we moved into the strait, the cloud cleared up and the snow stopped. Then there was some time when there was no wind at all and I got a picture of the Adventure Canada flag lying motionless against the flag pole. Then the wind began picking up and the sea, which had been glass smooth, developed some waves.
The captain opened the bow to us which was really cool.
 |
| Standing on the bow looking toward the stern |
I went down and got some interesting shots. I didn’t have my gloves with me because they are lovely and warm but they are also lovely and thick and I can’t manipulate a camera or a phone with them on. I put my hands in my pockets periodically to try to warm them up but they got pretty cold after an hour and a half. It felt really good to put my hands in warm water for a minute or two when I got back to the cabin.
We had supper and after supper Ethan was in the lounge playing some of his own songs. I didn’t stay until the end. I needed to finish up here and we have to move our clocks ahead an hour tomorrow. We are actually going into a time zone two hours ahead but they’ve decided to give us a break and only do it one hour at a time. So, I’m off to reset my phone and try to reset my Fitbit.
Tomorrow we are heading for Aston Bay (Kangiqturuluk) I don’t know anything about the place but there will be a briefing in the morning. The first talk of the day will be on Arctic whales, porpoises, and dolphins. That’s it for now.
 |
| Map with our progress |
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