The Northwest Passage

TRAVERSING THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

The sea route to the Orient for which so many died;

An opportunity to transit the Northwest Passage is nothing to be sneezed at, but to do it both ways is something special indeed. This was duly undertaken by the RRS Ernest Shackleton this last month. The ship had been hired to escort the Crystal Serenity cruise liner, as icebreaker back up and support vessel, on her transit from West to East. 

The Shackleton sailed from Denmark in late July headed for St Johns, Newfoundland. The transit across was largely uneventful and mercifully calm. We arrived initially at Bay Bulls. a small inlet with a jetty for loading. However, it became clear that the whole set-up there was not conducive to the work we needed doing and we duly made our around to St Johns. We spent two days there mobbing up and loading with 15 Zodiacs, a larger passenger pontoon boat and loads of kayaks. We were introduced to a few of the Arctic Kingdom adventure group who were to provide support, guides and drivers for the toys duly loaded. We had two marine biologists and a hydrographical surveyor join the ship, the former to trawl for plankton samples and the latter to survey sections of the Bellot Strait. Intriguing stuff!

Endless tales of times present and long gone
While in St Johns we were able to have a brief look around. It is a small town with lots to offer and a very lively nightlife, something never frowned upon by sailors. Some of us were lucky enough to make our way to The Crow’s Nest Officers club. This famous venue has its roots in the North Atlantic convoys of the Second World War.  It is well decorated with memorabilia of the period. The barkeep, Joy, is instrumental in keeping the memories alive and regaled us with endless tales of times present and long gone. Arthur, a very fit looking 90-something regular, ex Lancaster pilot WW2, still comes in everyday for his pint and has a wicked sparkle in his eye. 

The Crow’s Nest has a working periscope form a captured German U-Boat that protrudes through the roof of the building. You can see the Marconi tower overlooking the entrance to the harbour, where the first trans-Atlantic radio signals were exchanged way back when. It was a pilgrimage of sorts for a Radio Officer, schooled in Morse code and thermionic valve technology.

With loading all completed we headed out in good weather northwards towards Baffin Island and up the Davis Strait.

St Johns - Newfoundland - Canada

The Crows Nest - St Johns

A millennium of glacial activity, guns and polar bears
Greenland loomed large on the charts to the west as we made our way to the northern tip of Baffin Island and a stop at Pond Inlet. This is an extremely remote Inuit community. The site itself is not too inspiring - signs of a millennium of glacial activity having smoothed everything that is not the hardest rock. Across the bay, Bylot Island beckoned with snow and ice tipped peaks and glaciers sweeping down to the sea. We learned that the island is a highly restricted natural reserve – no access for us.

At Pond Inlet we picked up some more Arctic Kingdom people, local Inuit’s all skilled with boats and guns. Whenever we went ashore from now we were to be accompanied by well-armed guides. This does give one pause to wonder what is out there! This precaution was mainly for polar bear encounters; our guides were also equipped with loud fire work type deterrents.

We slipped away the next day headed through a narrow strait and out into open sea before heading south towards Bellot Strait, a very narrow navigable channel between two land masses. We stopped outside the channel for the evening and a few of us were lucky enough to go ashore and walk around. There we saw remains of the Hudson Bay Company buildings. It was good to get ashore and get a feel for the place, men with shotguns standing by.

It was at this stage that Captain Will Whatley produced a CD on the bridge of Stan Rogers singing the Northwest Passage.   Played loudly on the bridge each morning, not that we needed one, this was to become a daily reminder of where we were, a soul stirring song indeed.  (listen to it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVY8LoM47xI )  

“Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage..."

The next day we went through the Straits and with no ice about it made it an easy transit. Our Canadian ice- pilot, Pierre, letting us know that we had passed the northernmost point of Continental North America.

 Pond Inlet - Baffin Island

First signs of ice

Perfect Dawn

A trip ashore at the entrance to Bellot Strait. Remains of Hudson Bay Company trading post

Fire power

Dave the Purser looking for Galley spares

Russian Cruise ship

Brynn's Video

CAMBRIDGE BAY

Once through the Strait we headed south towards Cambridge Bay, another Inuit community. On the way we encountered our first ice of the trip and were lucky enough to see a Polar Bear or two, something special if not seen before.  At Cambridge Bay we picked up the rest of the Arctic Kingdom personnel, plus the two helicopters and flight crew.  We were intrigued to see the remains of the Maud, a ship that Roald Amundsen used to traverse the North-East Passage from the top of Norway towards Russia. This journey took several years before the vessel popped into the Berring Sea. She sunk in Cambridge Bay in the 30s. Very apparent is the tub-like shape of the hull ensuring that if pressurised by ice, she would be lifted on top of it rather than being crushed. The Maud was raised on 2016 and is due to be towed back to Norway to be displayed as a museum piece. There is however, some conflict of interest with locals of Cambridge Bay as they would like to keep vessel there. 

The Maud

Shack Crew

Polar Number Plate

Inuit Tapestery

 

All manner of transport

Shotgun practice

ULUKHACTOC

Once loaded up we departed and headed for Ulukhaktok, another small Inuit community on the western side of the Northwest Passage. Here were to wait for the arrival of the Crystal Serenity.  Uluk’s are traditional Inuit knives designed largely for scraping furs. We were entertained by the locals practicing their traditional dances. Lots of loud drumming and rhythmic shouting accompanied the colourful display of traditional garb. They were to repeat this performance for the passengers of the cruise ship when she arrived. 

It’s a husky – not a pack of wolves!
The following day was used to practice all the routines that would be undertaken by the Arctic Kingdom people. Mostly to do with procedures with the helicopters and how to handle and brief the passengers, who would all have to board our vessel prior to flying. The drills were done several times with people playing various roles and few of us getting helicopter rides out of the exercise. There were no complaints.  A few ship’s personnel went ashore and walked about a bit, in the rugged terrain. Mistaking a single tethered Husky in the distance for a pack of wolves brought howls of laughter from the experienced guides. 

The Crystal Serenity’s arrival day duly dawned and as the cruise ship approached all the boats and helicopters were launched and attempted a formation approach which was made difficult by the seas picking up. However, it worked out well enough in the end. The passengers all lining the sides of the ship to greet their escort.  That night was spent at Uluk and the next day we commenced our role as provider of sea-craft and aircraft to ferry the passengers around.

There was a huge buzz on the bridge with radios crackling constantly as we tried to maintain some control of who was where and when. We got better at it as the trip progressed. That evening we bade farewell to Ulukhaktok and headed off, now in an easterly direction back towards Cambridge Bay. No ice was expected or encountered on this transit.  We made our way into the Bay with the cruise ship having to wait outside due to her draft. Many, many more boat trips and helicopter rides later, we were once again off in an easterly direction. 

  

A test ride in the Narwhal

Helo's arrive

 

Ulukhaktok Youth Centre

StoryTeller

Stoy interpretation through Dance and musice

MEETING THE CRYSTAL SERENITY

We had been monitoring the ice situation ahead of us via satellite imagery and our ice navigation had been installed specifically for this trip. Persistent northerly winds had compacted the ice we had transited so easily on the way through and concerns were mounting about the possibility of getting back through it, or not. Because of the uncertainty, an additional Canadian coast ice-breaker the “Des Grosielliers” was called upon to meet us prior to heading through.  We met up with her as we were entering the ice and picked up another smaller passenger ship, the Bremmen, and proceeded en-convoy. 

Collective ice-smashing 

 It was quite a sight - four vessels in close proximity picking their way through the ice. At a few thicker patches of ice, we were called upon to make several transits to break it up for the other vessels. The cruise liner had a grandstand view of this and the passengers were most impressed by our collective ice-smashing abilities. More Polar Bear sightings were pretty much the cherry on top.  We finally cleared the ice as we approached Bellot and waited till morning before heading off.  The Canadian breaker first escorted a freighter from the other side and then we went through, the Bremmen losing patience and pushing to the front of the queue. The day was spent with lots of flying and some boat work. 

In the afternoon we parted company and headed for Beachy Island, the site of some of the Graves from the Franklin expedition. A bleak place if ever there was one. These lonely headstones on a featureless snow-covered slope are all that remains of a tragic attempt to do what we had just done in air-conditioned bliss. How lucky we are!  The day was spent running people ashore, but no flights were undertaken as the conditions were very poor and it was unsafe to do so.

 

 Bellot Strait Beckons

Beachy

Graves of some of Franklin's party

Brynn Devine - Plankton Hunter supreme

Exlporer - Nat Geo Vessel

We departed that night for Croker Bay which promised an encounter with the face of a glacier. We arrived the next morning in glorious weather and positioned our vessel a few hundred metres off the glacier. The cruise ship came up behind us a little later. This was to be a busy day for us as the weather was particularly good and the boats and helicopter continued in seemingly never-ending rotation. The passengers from the ship were treated to mini-tours around our vessel when there were delays. They seemed to quite enjoy seeing how a working vessel is run. 

At one point some people were posted on top of the cliff overlooking the glacier and passengers were flown to and fro and being fed champagne when they got there. As this hectic programme came to an end, a rather large piece of the glacier calved off in front of us, producing quite a large wave as it collapsed into the water. Luckily there were no boats in the area at the time.

That evening heaeded off for a short transit to Pond Inlet where we would be bidding farewell to a number of the Inuit guides who had accompanied us. It had been very interesting speaking with them about their lives in these remote parts. Not easy by any means. 

Pond Inlet

The day at Pond Inlet was spent ferrying people ashore and many, many flights again. The weather held and was mostly good, so the cruise ship passengers were making the most of it. As the day drew to a close the helicopter teams started packing up as they were leaving us too and once all were ready, they departed, doing a fly past of the Serenity to bid farewell. And just like that they were gone... 

Bylot Island

Pond Inlet - Farewell  to our Iniut Guides and the Helicopeter Crew

Pioneer Private motor yacht - Pond inlet

Most of the Shack Team - Photo: Stephane Caron

Greenland

We parted company once again that evening as the cruise ship was doing some fjord exploration on Baffin Island and we were headed across the Davis Strait to Greenland to rendezvous later at Ilulisat, Disko Bay. We are much slower and needed the time to get there. This bay is famous for its huge calving glacier that sends ice-bergs into the Davis Strait. This is allegedly the source of the iceberg that sunk the Titanic.

While we were there some of the crew were afforded the opportunity to go kayaking close to the grounded icebergs. Most of us jumped at the opportunity and were well rewarded with a spectacular day out. Seeing the bergs so close up was indeed a privilege. We beached nearby and were able to walk to a point where we could overlook the glacier. It was quite something to see and just marvel at the serene yet hidden power of it all. Quite a few people went ashore for dinner that night in this Danish land.   

The next morning the cruise ship arrived again and normal service was resumed. Lots of boat work and people being taken and escorted on kayaking trips. During the day the cruise ship hosted some of the Shackleton’s officers and crew. We were given a thorough tour of the vessel which was very interesting and outside most of our experience. We were then treated to lunch on board in one of the many restaurants. At the same time, some of the cruise ship personnel were similarly entertained on our vessel.  

Iceberg Kayaking - It's how we roll

Photo: Tim Mac.

The day finally came to an end and we headed off in the evening for Sissimiut, another small fishing port further south. We arrived in the early morning and were greeted by a delightful looking village perched on rocky outcrops surrounded by mountains.  Some lucky folk were afforded the opportunity to go ashore and look around the town. It is an interesting place indeed, with a rather large yacht anchorage, which was surprisingly full. 

Sad Day - Farewell to the last of our Arctic Kingdom Guides.

This was our last day accompanying the Serenity and the remaining Arctic Kingdom personnel were transferred over to her by days end.  It had been an intense two weeks and there were some fond farewells bid - a sure sign of shared experience.

We followed the cruise ship out of the bay and with a final salute from our remaining small boats, bade her farewell with a few loud soundings of the ships horn.

We were headed for St Johns again to offload the remaining boats and equipment, bid farewell to those who remained, before re-crossing the North Atlantic on our way to Denmark.

Ps: Not all the Photographs were taken by myself. I have credited people where I can.

Enjoy!