Saturday 18 April 2015

Last night we were privileged to attend the 'Discovery Feast' at the community centre. This was a gathering sponsored by the Arctic Research Foundation to celebrate the end of a week of ice diving on the Erebus. We'd hoped there might have been some news about an exciting find that we could share, but, we only saw the same film that was streamed live a few days ago showing a kelp-shrouded boat exterior. They are still diving so maybe there'll be some news after they introduce cameras into the inside spaces. One interesting thing we learned was how, instead of the usual chainsaws used for thinner ice, they are using a hot water boiler and steam to cut the two metre thick ice into precision triangles for diving access. They cut the holes, extract the heavy blocks using ice screws and a crane and then erect a tent over top. Next morning, somebody got a big surprise on walking into the tent to see a seal had arrived into a diving hole from somewhere under the ice.

Traditional Dancers
An Elder performing a traditional drum song and dance.

Lighting the Quilliq (traditional stone and seal oil lamp used in igloos for heat, light and cooking)
 We feasted on tasty muskox and Arctic Char, prepared by students in the Camp Cook program at Arctic College and thoroughly enjoyed all the activities, especially meeting people from different walks of life. It was a very mixed group: community elders and families along with members from all branches of the military, in town for the joint task force exercise known as Operation Nunalivut 2015. It's not every day you get to meet a Navy Admiral and a Joint Task Force Commander along with journalists from major magazines and newspapers. Maybe we've been a little too isolated these last few months, but, we found it very exciting and enervating to engage in many lively discussions about the North, its people and its future, the North West Passage and many other Canadian-themed topics. It was a gathering of people from every province and territory and it was interesting to hear experiences and opinions from other parts of the country.

Admiral Newton drum dancing to the amusement of all.

Captivating throat singers.

Two good sports attempting a throat singing duet!

Arctic Games demonstrations
Due to all the visitors, the activity level has ramped up around town. There are many planes and helicopters arriving at odd hours. Dozens of snowmobiles left in a large convoy across the ice from the DEW (distant early warning) station where a large military camp has been set up, heading out for military exercises, each towing a sled with gear.

Along with new faces, there has been a distinct improvement in the weather leading to a renewed sense of optimism. This past week we felt like we were in the coldest place in Canada as we were enviously looking at the temperatures in the rest of the country and desperately trying to remember how spring usually feels: warm sun and breezes, blossoms and scents, rain and green shoots. Although I wouldn't call it 'spring' here now, after all the high temperature today will only be -14C, more like winter in other areas, it's a definite change for the better. We are in for a week of highs in the minus teens and the sun shines brilliantly every day in a cloudless sky (today's sunrise 0449. sunset 2110, there'll be twenty-four hours of daylight in just four weeks). Some brown patches are even starting to appear on the hilltops.

Although life in Cambridge Bay and aboard Tandberg Polar is busy and seems to be ticking along just fine, other than the rotating power blackouts we had earlier in the winter, other communities haven't been so lucky. People put up with a lot of hardship and inconvenience, but, just seem to get on with it. Earlier in the winter, all the sewage trucks broke down in Pond Inlet causing a very unpleasant situation. Rankin Inlet recently had a boil water advisory in place for a few weeks. The power generating station at Pangnirtung burned down on April 3 leaving the entire community without power until April 6 when backup generators could be brought online. To enable a more permanent solution, a Russian Antonov (huge cargo plane) had to be chartered to bring a Sikorsky S-64F Skycrane, a 70 foot long twin engine helicopter, into Iqualit. There the helicopter was assembled to enable flying four replacement generators and a skilled crew into Pangnirtung. The logistics and cost of this operation just boggles the mind, but, is part of the price of keeping a modern-day North populated.



 photo arrow.pngCONTINUE READING

Saturday 4 April 2015

I should have published this post on April 1, April Fool's Day. Spring does not look like this in Cambridge Bay! Instead of publishing more icy blue, white and cold photos, I thought a splash of colour might brighten your day, it did mine.

Wishful thinking!
Temperatures are now averaging in the -20Cs during the day (today, April 4, it's -22C, sunrise 0554, sunset 2012). The weather forecast is teasing us with a forecast of -12C for next Thursday. We'll see. Temperatures in the minus teens have been in the forecast for a couple of weeks now and as we get closer to the day, it keeps getting pushed further out and we've yet to get there. So close and yet so far...

While the wait for warmth continues, we have been busy the last couple of weeks. First, we had our fifteen minutes of fame when we were interviewed on Yellowknife's CBC Radio One program, The TrailBreaker (morning show, their evening show is called Trail's End). We were introduced as "the Tug Sitters". Unlike media interviews in a past life where often your words get twisted and taken out of context to suit a point the interviewer is trying to make, which isn't necessarily yours, this one went well and we were pleased with the result. A portion was also replayed on the evening news. Although it seems rather ordinary to us, people seem interested in our story, so, it was fun to share insights into a different retirement lifestyle in a region that not many people get to visit for any length of time.

We also had a surprise visit from the Norwegians. Two members of the Maud Returns Home team showed up unexpectedly last week and their support has been a great help. First job was to get out the ice auger and drill a large hole in the ice to get cooling water for the backup generator. This then enabled us to shut off and service the deck generator which badly needed it. We had been very afraid to turn it off as we weren't sure it would start again and it didn't! The starter had to be taken out and rebuilt before we could get it going. Another bullet dodged. Next, the main engine was started and ran fine. Other jobs were tended to and various adjustments made. We tried a few things with the pressure water system, but, the conclusion is that it will just have to remain frozen for a few more months. They are now busy doing lots of aerial photography, using a kite, of the Maud and surrounds which will eventually be used in the museum being built for her. They are trying to get 360 degree pictures using twelve cameras mounted in a loop, but, are having difficulty with the camera batteries in the cold, if one shuts down, it ruins the shot.

So, life goes on. G. is very busy with extra hours, on split shifts, at his part-time job. It's only seven weeks now until we fly out for a five week break, then, we'll be back aboard Gjoa to start the next phase of our voyage.

A card received from a friend in Ukraine. Happy Easter!

 photo arrow.pngCONTINUE READING