We have made our way into Peel Sound. The first bit was as clear as Lancaster Sound, with the weather pretty much the same as we experienced there. Some sunshine, some showers and with ice comes fog. The ice was open enough to keep making our way through with 6 knots, so we covered a fair bit of ground. We decided to make for an anchorage and see some of Somerset Island as we knew there still to be too much ice in Franklin. Making our way for a bay called Four Rivers, the bet for catching the first fish of this week was on again as well. But first, a shore exploration party!
The scenery was amazing. Rock formations with some growth on it, lighter and darker green, were a welcome change to the sand and dry landscape we had seen on Beechey Island. There was some drizzle as we arrived which formed over the hills in fog patches, that gave the place an especially mystic look. We anchored in uncharted waters at 18 meters depth on the south shore, away from any ice, as this seemed to be flowing North steadily. The exploring party went ashore, but just as they came back from their walk, spotting tracks of musk oxen, many hares and some big polar bear foot marks, the ice seemed to have changed its mind and was flowing into our anchorage at a rapid speed. All aboard, anchor up and out we went.
Now we are slowly making our way through some big pack of sea ice. The flow North has become thicker, making it harder to manoeuvre. We are trying to spot the way through by going up high into the mast, but for now the ice seems to be all around. We had all expected it to start at some point, so for now we are just biting our way through, poles at the ready to poke away bigger ice!
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