The Tug Sitters

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!

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-22C Wow!

After a three day, nasty blizzard earlier this week, the weather has finally broken into the -20Cs. Today, March 21, it is -22C and brilliantly sunny (sunrise 0657 sunset 1918). It hasn't been this warm  for what seems like forever. The change has brought about a flurry of activity around town, both good and bad. We enjoyed a long walk out onto the ice to enjoy the sunshine.

"Eagle", the only sailboat in town, abandoned 50+ years ago

the ice road

The ice road is now ready for use and the cat train has been busy picking up the sea cans from the abandoned barge in Hope Bay. The locals are out enjoying the extra mileage they can do on their vehicles, the road is busy. Apparently, some people drive right across the Strait to the mainland. There is nothing but more of the same once they get there, so, not sure of the appeal, but, it's something to do and maybe makes you feel like you're going somewhere?

the "cat train" returning with a load

the ice seems to go down forever, probably almost two metres anyway

We also had a look at "Maud", the little of her that remains above the surface anyway. Hopefully, this will be her last winter under the ice.

"Maud"

"Maud"

"Jensen", the barge that "Maud" will go back to Norway on.

That's the good part of the warmer weather. Unfortunately, there is a bad part as well, it's brought out the thieves. The post office has been closed for a week. Somebody broke in and opened every single parcel on the premises. You can imagine the chaos now trying to figure out who's missing what and what should go where. It seems especially cruel in a community like this where the post office is still a real lifeline. We were expecting two parcels of DVDs, but, have no idea if they're in the mess, or, still on the way. One consolation, the thieves won't be able to watch our DVDs as they're European format. Also, at 4 a.m. during the blizzard, somebody cut a hole in the wall of the Elks' clubhouse to get access to the liquor inside. The door is well-barred, so, they went in through the wall instead. Apparently two people are in custody and the RCMP are looking for more. It was also very shocking to learn that there was a triple murder here a few years ago. It seems unbelievable in a town of only 3,000 people, but, I guess it can happen anywhere.

We've been busy with boat chores as well. The bilge needed pumping aboard Martin Bergmann, the water had seeped in and filled it to the floorboards. Aboard Tandberg Polar we were running low on fuel. We've known for a while that we were going to have to transfer some out of the aft reserve tank into the main tanks, but, had been procrastinating. The fuel pump looked intimidating, we had to run a hose through the boat and the thought of the havoc we could wreak moving thousands of litres of diesel into places where it shouldn't go made us nervous. The blizzard was coming and we knew we had to do it. Once we'd faced up to it, it really went very smoothly, but, took a few hours to move 12,000 litres from one tank to another.

The fuel pump

Systems aboard Tandberg Polar are a little more complex than we're used to on Gjoa!

During the blizzard we had a problem with the boiler. It kept shutting itself off/on in rapid succession. The very strong wind was coming directly over the stern and downdrafting the chimney. The boat was filling with fumes and we had to shut the boiler off in order not to gas ourselves to death. No boiler = no heat, our worst nightmare and we spent a night worrying about how cold it was going to get and how quickly. It actually wasn't too bad as the electric heaters kept the edge off and above freezing. We took the opportunity of changing the fuel nozzle while the burner was off. The wind had shifted slightly to the north by morning and with crossed fingers we restarted the boiler and it worked fine! Another bullet dodged, for now.

Our list to port is continuing to increase...

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March Musings

Norway and Nunavut flags together on Tandberg Polar.

As I write this at noon in Cambridge Bay, March 11, it's -33C with ice crystals. Sunrise: 0741 Sunset: 1839. It's amazing how fast the hours of daylight have increased since the sun reappeared over the horizon on January 11. The sun shines brilliantly almost every day now, but, there's absolutely no heat in it yet. The temperature is stubbornly refusing to move out of the -30Cs, day or night. Looking from the inside out, it's spring, but, the reality outside is still very much winter. The snow is still as dry as dust without a hint of melt in it. We were heartened a few days ago though to discover an unusual harbinger of spring when we heard dripping in the engine room. Most of the interior of Tandberg Polar is uninsulated and a permanent film of ice, maybe 1/2 inch thick, has coated the steel walls throughout the winter. The sun shining on the deck had caused some of the interior ceiling ice to start to melt and there was quite a bit of dripping and even ice pieces dropping off and noisily falling to the bilges. It was a delightful sound.

In a book I'm currently reading the author says that the Inuit only define three seasons based on the conditions of the ice and snow:

"Opingan, spring (June and July), the season when the snow disappears from the ice, and the ice breaks up. 

Avra, summer, the season when there is no ice, August and September. 

Okeo, winter, the remaining eight months."

We are finding these definitions to be an accurate summary and are not expecting any significant change in the temperature for about another month. It will be May/June before we can consider starting preparations aboard Gjoa, July before we can get back into the water and August before we can think about leaving. Now that the winter projects have been mostly completed we are contemplating all the spring preparations that await us, but, find that we must wait out this tiresome weather limbo we're in before we can get started. G is keeping busy going out every day to his various part-time jobs, I am still generally hibernating, but, as usual, am not having any difficulty finding projects to keep myself interested and occupied.

The quote above is from Roald Amundsen's: "The North-West Passage" Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship Gjøa 1903-1907. For all the references to Amundsen that I've made, I realized that I had never actually read anything written by the man himself. What a delight then to find that there is a Kindle edition, in two volumes, of his 1908 book describing the first transit of the NWP. Although I haven't finished it yet, it has been an eye-opener. Unlike many of the expedition journals written by his contemporaries, his prose is neither dry, stilted, or, pompous. His personality jumps off the page, he has a keen, intelligent eye, the descriptions are colourful and in places, he is even very humorous. Apart from a bit of misogyny and patronizing remarks about the Inuit (common for the time) it has been a very enjoyable, fast read and provided more insight into the Passage and its peoples.

This coming August, our Gjoa will be following the same route from here as the original Gjøa, so, it was interesting to note the descriptions of the various places that we will also be passing by and read about the weather and ice descriptions of 110 years ago. After the two winters spent in Gjoa Haven doing scientific work, the ice only allowed Gjøa to leave and head west on August 13, 1905. By August 30, they were in the area of Cape Bathurst and had some difficulty getting through (this area could also be a 'sticking-point' for us as the ice tends to get packed in there). Shortly thereafter, about September 3rd they found they could get no further than King Point (near Herschel Island) and were stuck there for the next ten months through another winter. It was a very short sailing season in 1905 Hopefully 2015 won't be a repeat!

There's been quite a bit of activity around town recently. We attended the Elk's "Land and Sea Kitchen Party" $75 a plate fundraiser and had a lovely, retro, dinner of what used to be called Surf & Turf (prime rib and lobster). It was all the more memorable because it was the first "restaurant" meal we've had since our $28 hamburger and fries at the hotel to celebrate our arrival last September (we're not counting our only other dinner out, the Christmas feast eaten on the floor of the community centre).

A few days ago a large military plane flew in and there were many military types around town for a few days. This was a staging delivery for the annual Arctic military exercises. This year is a little different because Parks Canada has teamed up with the Navy to do some exploratory ice diving on Franklin's Erebus. The ice makes a good, stable platform which will help with equipment setup etc. It's very exciting to think about what they could possibly find. From all accounts, the preservation of the ship is remarkable. Also interesting to note that Amundsen mentions in his book that he spoke with the Inuit about the Franklin expedition. He was told that they only saw one ship and it definitely sank just off Cape Crozier (the southwestern point of King William Island). This must have been Terror as Erebus was found quite a bit further to the southeast near O'Reilly Island. Look for news about any discoveries sometime in the next month.

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Blog Makeover

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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Update - Cambridge Bay

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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In the News

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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Surviving - Cambridge Bay

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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Boat Neighbours

Tandberg Polar - noon, January 17

 Although Tandberg Polar is the only boat with people living aboard, we do have other boat neighbours.

Martin Bergmann

This is the Martin Bergmann owned by the Canadian Arctic Research Foundation. She played a key role in finding HMS Erebus this past summer. She is a wooden ship overlaid with fibreglass Heat is on for the winter. Glad we're not leaning as far to port as she is!

Philos

This is Philos, owned by Ocean Expeditions, steel-hulled and schooner rigged she is available for international charter.

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It's back!

After a long wait, the sun has returned

Today, January 17, it is -38C with ice crystals in the air. We welcomed the sun back above the horizon on January 11. Sunrise today is 10:58, sunset 13:23. The daylight hours are rapidly increasing every day. By May 19 there will be twenty-four hour sunlight.

A traditional Inuit sled

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Blizzard Watch

Cambridge Bay, noon, January 7, 2015

Friday, January 9, 2015
Happy New Year! We've been hunkered down in a total whiteout for almost a week now. We thought this was a normal January blizzard, but, apparently they don't usually last this long and it's been quite a while since there's been one this severe. Constant winds to 80 km/h, wind chills well into the -40C's, this is what we thought an Arctic winter would be like! There is new snow falling in addition to that already on the ground. It's so dry and fine and is driven with such force, it plasters everything with a stucco-like coating. There's nothing to stop the wind, not a tree for probably a thousand miles in any direction, it just howls across the tundra and down the barren streets whipping the snow into huge clouds.

With zero visibility, the airport has been closed since Monday, schools and offices since Tuesday. Employees trying to get to the 24/7 DEW (distant early warning) line station and weather forecasters trying to reach the airport monitoring station, just 1-1/2 miles out of town, are escorted with front end loaders and the normal five minute drive is taking almost an hour. The airport is the only way in/out of here, so, that means no mail and no food deliveries are coming in. If there is a medical emergency requiring evacuation, you're just out of luck and will have to wait.

Thankfully the generator is still running on Tandberg Polar and the town's power has stayed on as well. As we're not starting the main engine on TP right now, we decided to bag up the large, open exhaust cowl as we were worried about too much snow getting packed down the pipe ultimately getting into the engine. We are also a bit worried about Gjoa, but, will be unable to go out to the tank farm and check on her until visibility returns. Winds are mostly from the NW, so, won't be hitting her beam-on at least.

Winds and snow are supposed to ease off today. Clearing the snow will be a job as the drifts are as hard as cement. The sun is returning above the horizon on Sunday. Hopefully it will be a clear day, so we can see it. Since the solstice, we are already noticing an extra twenty minutes or so of daylight on each end, it's now light between about 0940 and 1420 each day. It can only get better now!

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