OTTAWA - A CAPITAL WAY TO START THE JOURNEY

Marine Archaeologist's wetsuit

In all our wildest dreams we never thought we would have the chance to sail the North West Passage through the Canadian Arctic.

Several years ago, and by complete chance, we attended a presentation at our local civic centre given by a marine archaeologist for Parks Canada who happened to be visiting relatives in Qualicum Beach.  Encouraged to share his experiences in the recent discovery of HMS Erebus, one of Sir John Franklin’s expedition ships, Ryan Harris apparently felt no one would be that interested.  He was mistaken.  It seemed like half the town turned out for the event.

HMS Erebus's Bell

We had read much about the search for a northern route to Asia and the trials of the many explorers who had set out in search of a North West Passage, including the attempts to discover what had happened to Franklin's Expedition which had set out from England in 1845.  HMS Erebus was finally discovered in 2014 and HMS Terror located in 2016, however all the circumstances around the disappearance of vessels and crew remains a bit of a mystery.

We were fascinated and found an expedition voyage that traced part of the route of the Franklin ships.  Starting in Greenland at Kangerlussuaq our journey would begin down one of the world’s longest fiords, Sondre Stromfjord, entering the Davis Strait and calling in at two other Greenland communities, Sisimiut and Illulissat, before crossing Baffin Bay to Pond Inlet on Baffin Island in the Canadian Territory of Nunavut.  From Pond Inlet the voyage continued through Lancaster Sound, North West Passage territory, and on to Beechey Island, the site where Franklin and his men spent their first winter in the ice before disappearing. 

We simply had to go!

In preparation for what would be an epic journey we began our trip in Ottawa, taking the opportunity to visit a special Franklin exhibit at the Museum of History.  The exhibit was well done with some artifacts retrieved from HMS Erebus on display, including the ship’s bell and part of the wheel.  A marine archaeologist’s wet suit was also on display, its weight surprising.  Ryan Harris and his colleagues must be made of stern stuff.  

Welcome to Greenland - nothing to declare!

Our flight to Kangerlussuaq involved a refuelling stop in Kangipsujuaq in Northern Quebec.  A bumpy ride down, the pilot banked the 737 steeply in order to land the aircraft on the short runway.  The second leg of the flight took us through bright skies and fluffy clouds.  We flew over Sondre Stromfjord into Kangerlussuaq Airport, turquoise water below us eye catching against the snow crested mountain tops.

MV Akademik Sergey Vavilov - adventures ahoy

Greenland immigration formalities were somewhat folksy.  As we stepped out of the aircraft onto the tarmac an official stamped passports with flourish on his thigh.  Then it was on to a dusty bus for the short ride along a gravel road to the port.  The facility essentially a couple of weathered wood frame buildings and a hodge podge of well-used fishing boats.

Zodiacs arrive on shore

Anchored in the bay we caught our first sighting of MV Akademik Sergey Vavilov, crewed by Russian nationals and an international One Ocean expedition team.  A flotilla of zodiacs made their way to shore and after donning the essential personal flotation device we departed in groups of ten to the gangway.

The mud room

Heavy weather clothing and boots for all

We can’t say enough about the professionalism and knowledge of the expedition team and their attention to our safety.  We knew from the outset we were going to be in very good hands for this groundbreaking adventure.

We settled into our comfortable cabin, conveniently located "beyond the mudroom, but before the gift shop" along with two other cabins.  Our neighbours, hailing from Sydney and San Francisco proved to be great companions in our self titled “Tri-Nations Enclave”.

Let the adventure begin!