Thursday 26 February 2015


I guess if you're reading this you will have noticed that our blog has had a major makeover. Hope you like it!

P.S. All the pre-Gjoa posts (prior to 2013) have now been populated as well, so, you may be interested in reading through some of those...
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Friday 20 February 2015

As mentioned in a previous post, UpHere magazine has a feature article on Cambridge Bay in this month's issue. They have now posted it, complete with Tandberg Polar photo, at:

http://uphere.ca/post/111491594253/a-town-on-the-move

Not much else new to report. G has found a couple of part-time jobs to help pass the time and assist with the food costs. If you want to work, there's no shortage of employment opportunities here.

It looks like the weather will break out of the -30s in the next few days with highs in the -20s. This will feel positively balmy and we're looking forward to the mild spell. The days are getting longer and brighter and the weather remains settled and calm. We don't expect to see temperatures in the minus teen's until April though.

'Warmer' weather on the way might mean we can remove the balaclavas!
Work has started on an ice road out to Hope Bay, about 160 kms distant. This is so a 'Cat Train' (rail cars on skis pulled by a Caterpillar bulldozer with rubber tracks) can be used to pick up the goods that are still on the barge that failed to make it into Cambridge Bay before freezeup last fall. Apparently, there is an open water lead in the way which means an ice bridge will have to be built, an interesting engineering challenge. It will be a couple of weeks yet before the road will be ready. Current ice thickness at the dock in Cambridge Bay is 1.7 metres. Bulldozers and trucks head out on the ice daily. We always know when they're heading out as their passage reverberates through the ice and into TP.

Fuel cars on skis

The train staging area is just behind us
The generator is still ticking away on TP and our fingers are crossed that it continues to do so. The ice around the boat has been very active the last few days and we find ourselves leaning more to port than ever before. Living life on a permanent slant is interesting!
TP's stern

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Tuesday 10 February 2015

There's a nice feature on Cambridge Bay, including a large photo of Tandberg Polar, in the current issue of Up Here magazine. Unfortunately, the Cambridge Bay article is not online, but you may be interested in some of their other Northern-themed articles at:

http://uphere.ca

Also, Denise LeBleu, the Cambridge Bay photographer I mentioned in a previous post has a nice new set of Cambridge Bay photos on her blog, including photos of Gjoa, Tandberg Polar and the Martin Bergmann.

I have reproduced her photos of Gjoa and the Bergmann here...

Gjoa and Wave


The Martin Bergmann

To see her other wonderful photos have a look at the February 4 post on:

http://lebleupack.blogspot.ca

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Tuesday 3 February 2015

A new month and a new milestone in our winter sojourn aboard Tandberg Polar. Hard to believe, but, we're now already half-way through our eight month October-May stay. Although we won't be able to leave Cambridge Bay by water until probably the first week of August, due to ice conditions, we will move back aboard Gjoa in June to prepare for departure. So, four months down and only four months to go!

Life aboard has settled into a steady routine and we hope it continues to remain drama-free. The deck generator,
Our trusty Inmesol generator
which provides all our heat and electricity, is still chugging away. We've tried to keep it happy with regular oil and filter changes. However, we're getting reluctant now to turn it off in case it doesn't start again. Just today, we lost cooling water capability (ice has become too thick) which means we can no longer run the two backup generators, or, the main engine. So, we are relying solely on the air-cooled deck generator, not a good position to be in, but, there's no alternative with the resources we have at hand. The generator is a Spanish-made Inmesol and was brand-new when TP left Norway. Unfortunately, it broke loose from the deck on the rough North Atlantic crossing and went for a ride back and forth across the deck a few times, sustaining considerable damage. It's a wonder it's even working at all let alone running 24/7 in severe temperatures. If it makes it through the winter we should send Inmesol some photos along with profuse thanks for making such a hardy piece of equipment.

Temperatures have been averaging around -35C with a few dips due to wind chill. Last night's wind chill was -56C accompanied by an extreme cold warning. This evening's wind chill will be -52C. The weather, though cold, is now very stable with little change in temperature and no heavy snowfalls to speak of. We've mainly been hibernating inside, with only short trips to the shops, as it is too cold to go for a lengthy walk of any kind. The sun is now much higher in the sky and brilliant against usually blue skies. Today's sunrise: 09:24, sunset 15:04.

The longer we live here, the more we realize just how isolated it truly is. Basic services, taken for granted in more urban climes, just don't exist here. There is a really good, modern health centre staffed with nurses who fly in from the south on a rotating basis. There is also a pharmacy and small laboratory. Surgery, complicated tests, or, treatments are done in Yellowknife. However, there is no hairdresser, no dentist, no optometrist, no veterinarian. It's almost mandatory to fly out once a year just to get your personal maintenance looked after. We are both decidedly shaggy now. Attempted self-haircuts with the kitchen scissors just don't cut it (pun intended). As teetotalers, the lack of a bar and sale of liquor doesn't affect us, but, could be an issue for some. There is a private bar, for Elks' members only, at their clubhouse every Friday night. Other than that, you'd have to freight in your own alcohol supply for personal consumption only. A fast-food addiction can be fed at a tiny KFC/PizzaHut outlet (we haven't tried it), when they have supplies and there is a restaurant at the hotel. We have eaten there once.

Air freight is remarkably efficient and we've taken the opportunity to order a lot of replacement boat items, such as filters, new mooring lines/snubbers etc. as well as get our charts and pilot books etc. in order for the upcoming season. We were pleased that the manufacturer of our brand-new Spade anchor agreed to replace the shank that bent during the gale in Dundas Harbour, under warranty, for the cost of shipping. The only drawback is that the shipping, just for the shank, is $400 from France.

We plan to fly out ourselves for a few weeks in June and will be able to bring back other necessary items and also a load of provisions from Yellowknife. It takes a while to live in a place until you figure out the most efficient way to get things done. Airfare was no exception. We've written previously about the high cost of air travel in the Arctic. A return flight, Cambridge Bay to Toronto was going to be $3,200 each. We couldn't justify that and were resigned to staying put until we had a look at Aeroplan. Don't know how this works, but, return reward flights can be taken from Nunavut to Ontario, or, Quebec for only 25,000 miles. So, we transferred in 40,000 miles from our Starwood rewards plan. For a 20,000 mile withdrawal from Starwood, they transferred 25,000 to Aeroplan. We booked the flights fast before the rules changed. Now, that's a result and a trip to look forward to!





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