The Arctic 2018

EPILOGUE We got home on August 14th.  On August 24th we saw the news that the Akademic Ioffe had gone aground on the Gulf of Boothia.     The Ioffe had just completed the next cruise after ours with the passengers we saw arriving in Pond Inlet.  Their cruise is shown as the black lines on the map. Now a major problem had been created for them as they were supposed to start and finish in Resolute Bay.  This new map shows that part of the map yo u have seen before.  This cruise suffered many diversions and the ice that had stopped us from getting into Resolute Bay was still there and the Ioffe had to change course at the end of this cruise to reach Kugaaruk with an airport where we had stopped en route to Yellowknife, a long way from Resolute Bay.  The passengers were taken off the ship and new charter planes were arranged to get them to Edmonton.  New passengers then boarded the ship. On their first morning at sea after leaving Kugaa...

DAY 12: GOING HOME To view a larger image left click on the image once.  To return to the Blog use the back Button or click once off the image   At the morning briefing it wasn't all good news!  The first plane out of Edmonton had developed a mechanical problem and it hadn't left on time.  We stayed on the ship with even the real prospect of another night aboard!  We had to wait it out before we eventually got the news that it was on the air, but this was putting our schedule back.  We were now due to leave Pond Inlet at about 7.00 p.m. which meant a late arrival in Edmonton if everything worked out.  We were now due to land in Edmonton at around 1.30 a.m.   A large glacier opposite Pond Inlet Back in Pond Inlet A tanker and Coast Guard ship Amundsen, which has a later significance We made our landing with time to fill so we all looked around the town again. Meeting up with a local We also visit...

DAY 11: REAL PROBLEMS ARE DEVELOPING To view a larger image left click on the image once.  To return to the Blog use the back Button or click once off the image     We departed Maxwell Bay and when we woke up the next morning something wasn't quite right.  To get to Resolute Bay our course should have been to the West as the map shows.  However, we were going East!  At the morning briefing we were told that, whereas the ship could probably get to Resolute Bay where the trip was to end and we were to fly to Edmonton, the zodiacs wouldn't have been able to reach the shore because of pack ice.  So during the evening it was decided to turn back and travel back to Pond Inlet.  This meant that the flight from Edmonton to Resolute Bay had to be changed and in its place planes had to be chartered at short notice from Edmonton to Yellowknife and then three planes chartered from Yellowknife to Pond Inlet, two for passengers and one for our baggag...

DAY 10: CHANGE OF PLANS - MAXWELL BAY To view a larger image left click on the image once.  To return to the Blog use the back Button or click once off the image      At the morning briefing we were made aware of looming problems with the ice.  The two ports of call scheduled on King Leopold Island and Beechey Island were not going to happen and little did we realise at the time that there were more difficult problems ahead.  Beechey Island is the site of four graves of members of the stricken Erebus ship.  However we continued towards Resolute Bay to make a landing at Maxwell Bay, not on the map but close by Radstock Bay. At the entrance to Maxwell Bay Wonderful reflections in the dead calm water Just one bird Something interesting ahead? Yes, indeed Our landing site Problems here - that tiny white dot is a polar bear and two cubs! Safety was always a priority and the team leader explained th...

DAY 9: DUNDAS HARBOUR AND CROKER BAY ON DEVON ISLAND To view a larger image left click on the image once.  To return to the Blog use the back Button or click once off the image      We were now back on schedule and after cruising through the night arrived at Dundas Harbour.  Great excitement as a group of walruses were spotted on a rock close by where we were to land.  As usual we loaded into the zodiacs for the ride ashore. O ff go the kayakers Walruses on the rocks The party divided into three groups - the chargers, who wanted a fast pace and were prepared to climb, the medium walkers and the meanderers.  The latter group stayed close to the landing spot and then were taken by zodiac around the island to the other side to where the ship had moved. The medium group found plenty of old bones. The hill that the chargers climbed Over the other side there was an old RCMP post.  It l ooked out to sea, as if set d...