THE BARMAN AND THE PROFESSOR

The daily visit to the chart room

We were close to 75 degrees north of latitude in a place where  the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans converge.  

Anchoring off Dundas Harbour, we continued to marvel at the sea ice, each piece uniquely shaped, many resembling intricately carved art forms. 

The experiment gets underway

On board Vavilov, Professor Christine from the University of Waterloo was about to initiate an experiment that would measure sea temperature, salt density and depth.  

and recorded for posterity

She was surprised at the interest expressed in the experiment that will form the basis of a graduate program for a group of university students next year.  Ably assisted by Dane, our Aussie bar manager, all apparently went according to plan with the necessary data collected and recorded.

The RCMP detachment flanks the shoreline

Venturing ashore we pondered on this remote place with its ancient archaeological sites of Inuit homes and burial grounds and the fact that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had decided to establish an outpost here in the 1920s in order to assert sovereignty.  U.S. whalers and others were stretching their reach into this resource rich region. 

The constables were left with building supplies to establish their outpost and sled dogs to undertake their patrols.  Supply ships were haphazard in their arrival and often could not get through the sea ice.

It must have been a lonely, harsh existence and a poignant sight now with dilapidated buildings and remnants of daily life scattered about.  It has been determined that the outpost should be left untouched and left to return to nature.  The front door to the detachment lies on the ground and the wind whistles through the broken window frames.  Through one of the windows a snapshot of the ever present sea ice was visible.  A pretty picture framed by history.  Pretty on this sunny day but not hard to imagine the isolation that view must have embodied in the depths of winter.

On the hillside the grave markers of two fallen officers lean lopsidedly, beaten by the wind over the years.  A white picket fence encloses the graves.  The grave of a young Inuit girl lies outside the fence.  It was a touching sight and felt segregated somehow but may have had more to do with Inuit burial traditions.

The final resting place of these poor souls has the most amazing view. Today the seascape was spectacular, the sea ice creeping along the shoreline and positively sparkling in the sunlight.

Akademik Sergey Vavilov

After a glorious day hiking and exploring we made our way back to Vavilov on the zodiacs.  

The wind had whipped up the waves and it was a bit of a splashy ride.What would we do without ziplock bags for the electronics.