10-8-2024, Baffin Bay
Its grey in the bay… We have plotted on into the north for over 24 hours. Giving the ice and some wind a wide berth. But this morning we have started our crossing on a westerly course. There is nothing left of the east pack or the west pack. Bodies of ice that used to exist in the whaling days blocking the entrance to Lancaster Sound. We have been following the west Greenland current witch sets north and takes al the ice bergs with it. It is a body of relative warm water and keeps this coast clear of ice most of the year if not all. We soon will be losing it, amd instead follow the Canadian current. A cold bodie of water sending al the ice down and later becomming the better known Labrador current. From this position we have gained enough north to comfortably take the NW winds on our starboard quarter and make for Pond Inlet.
All is well
Gijs
12-8-2024
Mittimatalik, or Pond Inlet
John Ross arrived in ‘The place where Mitima is buried’ in 1818 in the whaler Isabella. and named the anchorage after the famous astronomer John Pond. To day Pond Inlet is known as the pearl of the north surrounded by mountains and glaciers. The area is full of wild live like the Caribou, narwhal, belugas and polar bears. The Sirmilik national park is just across the water on Bylot Island. Wilderness! And that is what we are here for. We crossed Baffin bay even when the compass was trying to get us to go the other way. The last bit we could do under sail and so arrived in great fashion! On our 2019 North West Passage we also cleared customs and immigration in Pond. Our first Canadian stop. A little harbor now graces the town site. It shelters the little boats from the passing ice. Currents can run up to 2 knots and ice is furtualy always here. The berth on the new jetty was taken so we dropped anchor. The landscape is al glacial, also under water. This makes for a shore that runs of quickly. The anchor nearly on the beach with 15 meters under the keel. It is wat it is! Wilderness. This afternoon we are of further north. Winds are expected to be strong or gale force from the west by tommorow afternoon. I dont mind using the engine but it has to count. Its a shame just to blow al that diesel through the exhaust and not get any where…
Happy to be back in Canada!
All is well
