northwest passage September 4 - 23, 2015 GREENLAND ARCTIC OCEAN Qaanaaq Kullorsuaq Upernavik Uummannaq EQIP SERMIA GLACIER BEECHEY Ilulissat ISLAND DEVON ISLAND BAFFIN BAY Sisimiut SOMERSET ISLAND Fury Beach BAFFIN Kangerlussuaq ISLAND BELLOT STRAIT Fort Cape Felix Ross Kugluktuk KING WILLIAM ISLAND QUEEN MAUDE GULF BATHURST JENNY LIND INLET ISLAND CANADA Saturday, September 5, 2015 Edmonton, Canada / Kugluktuk, Nunavut / Embark Sea Adventurer Full of excited chatter, we boarded our charter flight this morning as we left Edmonton for Kugluktuk. A brief refueling stop en route at Yellowknife gave us a nice view of Great Slave Lake and the last obvious trees we would see for the rest of the trip. Soon we landed on the small airstrip amidst the low tundra landscapes of Kugluktuk and set off along the dusty roads to the community hall, where we were treated to refreshments and a display of local dances and songs. Next door was the impressive new Ulu Centre, shaped like one of the traditional Inuit knives, which contained wonderful exhibits of local life and culture. Awaiting us out in the bay was the Sea Adventurer, and a short Zodiac ride took us to our home for the next few weeks. Our Northwest Passage adventure was underway! Sunday, September 6 Bathurst Inlet A beautiful sunrise lit up the south coast of Victoria Island as we sailed east through Coronation Gulf. After breakfast, our Expedition Leader, Mike Messick, introduced the members of our expedition team before an entertaining but essential briefing on polar bear safety from naturalist, Conrad Field. Later, maritime historian, Jim Delgado, presented the Quest for the Northwest Passage and the tragic tale of Sir John Franklin, whose name is forever associated with the exploration of the Canadian Arctic. In the afternoon, the Sea Adventurer anchored off the west end of Kent Peninsula at the mouth of Bathurst Inlet and a long Zodiac ride in took us to a rocky beach landing at Cape Flinders, the western extremity of the peninsula. We divided into several groups to search the landscape for interesting birds, plants, and rocks. Monday, September 7 Queen Queen Maud Gulf As we sailed into Queen Maud Gulf on a windier morning than yesterday, we gathered in the lounge to hear ornithologist, Jim Wilson, give the first of his presentations on Birds of the Northwest Passage, describing some of the birds we may see and their remarkable migrations. By now we had reached the shelter of a bay on the southeast side of Jenny Lind Island. We went on deck for a view of this low-lying island, which was the site of one of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) stations set up by the US and Canada in the 1950s. Returning to the lounge, geologist Tom Sharpe described the Geology of Arctic Canada, from the ancient rocks of the Canadian Shield to the landforms of the permafrost today. After lunch, we boarded our Zodiacs for a landing on Jenny Lind Island where some of us hiked up to the site of the now-removed DEW station. Others searched for birds, plants, and rocks, or wandered along the shoreline. Tuesday, September 8 Cape Felix, King William Island Our plans for landing this morning at Cape Felix on the northern tip of King William Island, were quickly changed when our first polar bear was spotted on the shoreline by eagle-eyed Jim Wilson! We boarded Zodiacs and braved the choppy seas for a closer view. As we approached, the bear entered the water and swam parallel to the shore before returning to land and shaking himself off, giving us wonderful views of this magnificent creature. We watched him trot up to the top of the beach ridge and stroll along its crest to the point, before returning to the ship. As we sailed from Cape Felix, we pondered the fate of Franklin’s expedition since it was in these waters, almost 169 years ago, that his ships, HMS Erebus and Terror, were beset by ice on September 12, 1846. Not far from here, to the east at Cape Adelaide on the Boothia Peninsula, was the location of the North Magnetic Pole when it was attained by the Ross expedition on June 1, 1831. After lunch, Conrad spoke to us about Whales of the Arctic, while Hector Williams told us about the long history and activities of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The day was brought to a wonderful conclusion with a sighting of several pods of narwhal near Dixon Island, off the southeast coast of Prince of Wales Island. Wednesday, September 9 Bellot Strait / Fort Ross A chilly pre-breakfast Zodiac tour in search of polar bears took us into Coningham Bay on Prince of Wales Island. Scattered beluga bones along the shoreline suggested a plentiful food supply for any bears in the vicinity, and we were fortunate to see several, albeit some distance from the shore. Returning to the warmth of the ship and a welcome hot breakfast, Carmen Field gave her presentation on the much overlooked but vital base of the food chain, The Plankton of the Arctic. Soon, we entered the narrow and dramatic channel of Bellot Strait, which separates the most northerly point on the North American mainland from Somerset Island to the north. The ancient gneiss rocks exposed on either side of this dramatic channel provided a background to views of several polar bears, snow geese, and distant views of muskoxen. After an enjoyable (indoor) barbecue lunch, we landed at the old Hudson’s Bay Company trading post of Fort Ross which was occupied for 11 years beginning in 1937. Thursday, September 10 Somerset & Baffin Islands This morning, Jim Delgado led us to Fury Beach on the east coast of Somerset Island. Here, on a wide pebbly raised beach backed by limestone cliffs, the HMS Fury was stranded, unloaded, and abandoned in the summer of 1825 during William Edward Parry’s third voyage in search of the Northwest Passage. Some nine years later, in 1834, John Ross made use of this cache of provisions and spent the winter in a shelter they named Somerset House. Barrel staves and iron hoops, tin cans with lead-soldered lids, and other debris, including Fury’s anchor chain, lay scattered along the beach, a tangible and powerful link with these pioneers of the Northwest Passage. Back on board, Rick Price discussed the seals, bears, and other large animals of the Arctic Ocean. After lunch, we sailed across Prince Regent Inlet into a sheltered bay on the Brodeur Peninsula in northwest Baffin Island. Here we made a landing in the spectacularly bleak and barren stony landscape on the fifth largest island in the world. Friday, September 11 Beechey & Devon Islands Arctic weather greeted our arrival at Beechey Island this morning. Squally snow showers blew across the raised beach, featureless but for the graves of the first members of the Franklin expedition to perish. We hiked along the shore to the ruins of Northumberland House, a shore depot built by WJS Pullen of Sir Edward Belcher’s 1852-54 expedition in search of Franklin. In the afternoon, we entered Radstock Bay on the south coast of Devon Island and landed by the isolated limestone mountain of Caswell Tower. As we came ashore, we all had great sightings of a pure white Arctic hare sitting motionless amongst the boulders at the foot of the mountain. Amidst spectacular scenery on this, the largest uninhabited island in the world, our historians showed us the well-preserved stone and whalebone houses of the Thule people who occupied the area over a thousand years ago. Saturday & Sunday, September 12 & 13 At Sea As we sailed around the south and east coasts of Devon Island, we had great views of spectacular mountain and glacier scenery as well as icebergs in Lancaster Sound. Jim Wilson continued his description of the Birds of the Northwest Passage, and Hector gave us the History of the Mounties of the North—but his talk was interrupted by the announcement of the approach of a polar bear on an ice floe! We all rushed for cameras and jackets and took up position on the decks where we were treated to superb views as the ice floe and its occupant slowly drifted past. This afternoon we enjoyed a showing of Bay of Giants, a TV program on the bowhead whales of Baffin Island, filmed by our very own marine biologist, Rick. Later, Jim Delgado told us the story of Amundsen’s polar ship, Maud, recently recovered and now en route to Norway. Meanwhile, we arrived at the edge of the sea ice and began making our way between it and the coast of Devon Island. It was soon clear, however, that if we continued towards our scheduled stop at Grise Fjord on Ellesmere Island, we would run the risk of the ice drifting south and trapping us in Jones Sound. So, we turned around and followed the ice edge out into Baffin Bay. After dinner, Peter Alareak, our Inuit guide, donned his parka and gave a marvelous demonstration of traditional Inuit drumming. The next day, as we continued our journey around the ice towards Greenland, Jim Wilson gave a wonderful talk on bird migration and how it is studied. Later, Tom spoke on the rocks of Greenland and the icebergs spawned by the Greenland Icesheet. In a fascinating presentation this afternoon, Jim Delgado discussed his visit to the wreck of the Titanic and the work he and his colleagues have been doing to map the ship as she lies on the seafloor. Monday, September 14 Qaanaaq, Greenland After two days at sea, we had an opportunity to stretch our legs as we made a welcome landing this morning on Herbert Island in Murchison Fjord in northwest Greenland.