The sea ice has affected our travel plans greatly. The plan for today was to sweep into Cumberland Sound and the community of Pangnirtung. But the dense ice has forced us to move a bit east past Frobisher Bay and try to find a thin passage between the ice into Pang. With luck, that will be tomorrow.
In the meantime, our education continues into what’s being called Polar Fundamentals. Already we’ve learned about oceanography, Arctic birds and this morning we learned about Arctic plants with Dr. Julian Starr of the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. These sessions give everyone an overview of what to expect as we make landing in some of the remote locations and communities.
My seasickness has diminished for the most part. I still feel the occasional twinge, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. I’m not sure if that’s a result of the calmer seas, or if my body is getting acclimated to the yaw and pitch of the ship. Either way, I’m grateful.
Today was also the first day of our Pod teams. These are groups of 7 or 8 students with 2 or 3 staff with the intention of creating more intimate group discussion, activities and interaction. I’ve got a great group of 7 students including Tara, Laurissa, Bryan, Eden, Bilaal, Collin and Chelsea. Already we’ve chosen our name – the Arctic Amuqaqs (Wolves). I anticipate lots of fun with this group.
Although this was an unanticipated day at sea, it was not without its wonders. We saw our first iceberg close up today, and for the very first time since arriving, we saw the Sun. It caused a lot of excitement, bringing almost everyone out on deck for some midday warmth. And even though a fog rolled in during the afternoon, it managed to clear in time to give us a beautiful sunset, a gorgeous orange moon and even Jupiter. Got a chance to do some astronomy.
As mentioned, the plan for tomorrow is to slip into Cumberland Sound. With a bit of a luck, we’ll check out Kekerten Island, an historic whaling station, before our much-anticipated visit to Pangnirtung. But after that, the news seems disappointing. The ice is so thick along the eastern Baffin coast that it is unlikely we will make it farther north to Clyde River and Isabella Bay. As unfortunate as that seems, I’m reminded of a quote by Henry Miller: “One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.” I wonder how I will look at our next destination, wherever that should be…
Follow the Manitoba Museum's own Mike Jensen as he participates in the 2016 Students On Ice Arctic Expedition. This is Mike's 8th summer as an Polar Educator with SOI. This year's itinerary takes them from the north coast of Quebec, up the east coast of Baffin Island, and across to the west coast of Greenland.
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