Magic once again!

69’36.5N 136’53.8W course 062′ speed 5,7kn


There we were, arriving just after dinner, trying to get permission to land on Herschel Island (which is not an official port of entry) and waiting next to the VHF for answers. We were still stuck in a thick blanket of fog that only lifted occasionally, showing us the houses on the shore. And all of a sudden, just as the fog had lifted somewhat, we saw a white shape move through the water! BELUGA I shouted! Downstairs, everybody was enjoying an arrival drink and having a nice chat, so they did not really hear me.. Tim popped up his head, asking if I said anything.. So I said, YES BELUGA!! He ran downstairs to notify everybody and put on his slippers! At first I was afraid that they would be gone by the time everybody was there.. but luckily for us, they stayed to circle the ship a few times, showing off their young, showing them how to dive deep and far and then pop up again on the other side of the bay. For about 30 minutes it was completely silent on deck, just aaahhww and “oh, over there”. Then they made their last turn and headed out. What magic!

Sadly Herschel Island is not a port of entry, and so they had to decline our request, so no shore leave. But a quiet day on board, as we waited out the head winds (North East 15-20 knots). Most of the expedition crew used this time to catch up on some sleep, read a book, have a sit outside and just relax in these nice quiet surroundings. It was a fairly warm day, and around 18:00 everybody was outside on deck, having a drink and a snack.

This morning we left anchor, heading out under sail, passing the National Geographic ship and set out into the bay. We sailed for a few hours, which was nice, but the wind was a little too light to keep the sails full when the North East swell came in. So we were under engine again. We tacked trying our luck on the other tack, which was nice, we sailed for a few more hours, but headed North West and tacked again, only to track back on our course line.. and so we are under engine again. We are heading for Tuktoyaktuk, customs has cleared us in already, but here we can clear in immigration as well, and then the “Canadian cruising” can start.

Ice charts look very good, this next part of the voyage we should be clear from the ice until we reach the Queen Maud region. The ice in this region is on the move and decreasing, clearing Rae strait already. In the North there is still a lot of ice, lets see what the coming weeks will bring!

All well on board, Jet

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