Cruise

Sail the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada

by Annie Bird

It is 6am, and my fellow expeditioners and I are being gently woken by our expedition leader John Blyth – “Good morning, good morning, good morning” – he trills in a sing song voice. Normally, this pre-dawn cheer is something I would not abide, but today I jump eagerly out of bed because today, we visit Beechey Island. As I peer out the ship’s portholes I smile, it’s sunny and clear, a rarity at this location the expedition team tells me. Although I’m pleased, I’m not surprised. We’ve been lucky with weather so far on this expedition – probably because my fellow passengers and I have refrained from whistling on the ship (more on that later).

Beechey Island, one of the key historic sites in understanding the history and folly of the notorious Franklin Expedition, normally falls into the category of “inaccessible” as the site lies high in the Canadian Arctic, in what is today called Nunavut. But I have the privilege of visiting this site, and many others in the Arctic, as a passenger on Adventure Canada’s Into the Northwest Passage – a 17-day journey that explores the high Arctic travelling from Greenland to Nunavut in the footsteps of early European explorers and Inuit who have lived on this bountiful land since time immemorial.

After an early, hearty breakfast in the dining room we disembark for Beechey Island to explore Beechey Island National Historic Site of Canada. The site includes what remains of the over-wintering site of Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated Northwest Passage Expedition used from 1845-46 before the expedition party became stranded in sea ice off the coast of Qikiqtaq (King William Island) the next year. After this unlucky turn of events, all of Franklin’s men perished, and the series of events remains shrouded in mystery to this day. The site itself has become synonymous with early European exploration of the Arctic and the search for the Northwest Passage, many other expedition parties used the site for overwintering in their quest to find the passage and map the Eastern Arctic. Today, we visit and learn about the graves of four who perished at Beechey Island and the remains of Northumberland House – the wreck of a small store house erected by a search party and stocked with provisions for the lost Franklin crew in case they returned to the Beechey Island site after being lost for over 7 years. Some guests even take up the challenge of hiking from the landing site to one of Franklin’s message cairns on the other side of the peninsula, led by a watchful bear guard, of course. The wind whips my hair as I return by Zodiac to the ship, a curious seal bobbing in the water as we pass. The highly anticipated day did not disappoint.

Although Beechey Island stands out as a special day of our expedition, others also come clearly to mind when I recall the epic, 17-day journey from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, to Kugluktuk, Nunavut. As I reflect, I realize most of them were incredibly unexpected being plan “B” options offered by the dogged expedition team in response to fog, or rain, or bears. Expedition travel, and travel to the North in general, necessitates flexibility. I think particularly of a cloudy day in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut where we sit quietly for hours to watch Beluga play in the shallows of a bay and curiously examine bear tracks (big and small), in the sand along the shore. One of our Inuit Cultural Educators, Wayne Broomfield, estimates there could have been over 1000 whales, resting, playing, feeding, and rubbing (did you know that Beluga whales molt?!) in the protected bay. This beautiful moment was possible thanks to the creativity of our expedition leaders and a sleepy polar bear that foiled our plans to land at a different site.

In addition to near daily landings that offered opportunities to hike at different levels of ability (leisurely, medium, hard), search for wildlife, take photographs, explore cultural and significant archaeological sites from European and Inuit presence in the Eastern Arctic, we enjoyed fantastic on-board programming to keep us entertained and engaged throughout our travels. Adventure Canada complements each itinerary with a hand selected expedition team – experts in their fields who are there to enhance each journey through their presence, knowledge, and craft – and this, in my opinion is where Adventure Canada really shines. To name but a few, we had the privilege of travelling with Dr. Marc St Onge, a passionate and prolific professor and Geologist and fellow of the Geological Association of Canada, Aleqa Hammond, an Inuit cultural educator and former Prime Minister of Greenland, and Steve Burrows, a birder-murder mystery writer and enthusiastic ornithologist. Onboard programs included such cheeky topics as “Ways to Die at Sea and What to do About It” with Steph Robertson where we learned that whistling while at sea will bring bad weather and certain death, as will clinking glasses in cheers. We also greatly enjoyed interactive sessions like trying our hand at Inuit games with Inuit cultural educator Peter Porter and taking part in water colour classes with one of many of the artists onboard. Of course, more standard lecture-style presentations were available and engaging, ranging from the experiences of Modern-Day Inuit Youth in Greenland with Johannes Ostermann, an Inuit cultural educator and Greenland youth himself, and tales of her incredible expedition travels as an archaeologist with Aka Simonsen.

Our floating home for the 17-day expedition was Adventure Canada’s Ocean Endeavour, a no frills but comfortable vessel that more than met our needs with a library, sauna, lounges, and dining room. The food was fantastic, with chef Javier serving up an imaginative and comforting menu with buffet options for breakfast and lunch and served 5 course meal for supper. We were particularly impressed with the options for those with special dietary needs.

AdventureCanada.com