7th Aug
Back to Qikiqtarjuag
The church and some of the houses
A local fishing boat in the harbour
Seal skins being stretched and tanned
The local school
Fantastic foundations to the electric poles
A sledge ready for refurbishment
RCMP pickup
Mobile home Inuit style
8th Aug
Early start to Okoa Fjord. Some splendid icebergs on the way............sea ice...
Arrive in the fjord and are met by a local fishing boat with a family in it.
They are very family orientated and do tend to do lots of things together, as a family unit. Louis in the hotel was telling us how they adopt each others children, it's not like in the West, if a family member has a baby and does'nt want to or can't really look after it at that point in time, another family member will adopt it.
However, they will be expected to have a child back from the adoptee at some time in the future. So, basically the entire settlement is one extended family. The adopted child knows all about it, who his / her parents are.............it's all cool. Obviuosly a historical thing to maintain the group numbers, in a harsh environment. Now they have the fastest growing birth rate / capita in Canada. All interesting stuff.
We get within 1.5 miles of the glacier snout and the weather worsens , so we decide to anchor just off an alluvial fan of largish boulders with a stream running down. The rain increases overnight, at 01:00 on the 9thAug, i heard the anchor chain pull..............then a while later lots of rushing water alongside the boat.........at first (second time , i thought a boat was going past) i thought we had pulled the anchor and were by the stream.............i got back in bed...............more rushing water......now Steve and i are both up..................it's water bubbling up from below........... the boulders below are moving with the force of the water. There is also a large section of ice above us on the mountainside.........if that avalances.................we're in big trouble. We are also concerned the anchor might be fouled by a boulder and decide to move sharpish !!!
so, of to Nedlukseak Island for some shelter, we have no wind at present but the "gribs" show possibly 15 knot winds this afternoon.
All fine when we get ther and anchor up..........then DOH the windlass goes again. We set the anchor and strip the windlass. This time we araldite the darn thing in.
So, now for some R&R, we get the dingy out and decide a run to shore will be good. Ding gets his quadcopter ready andTel his rifle. Off we go, Steve goes for a sleep. We land fine, tie the dingy to a boulder and look for a flatish spot for Ding to try the quadcopter.
Tel lets fly with the rifle.................GAWD.............what a bang..........shot an iceberg to bits !!!!!! ha ha ha
I took a few photos of the boat from the shore, when i suddenly realised the wind was picking up............streuth the boats pulling her anchor !!!!......................Steve was soon up on deck.......literally within minutes the sea had picked up and we had a devil of a job launching the dingy......the waves were rolling in. I decided nothing for it i'll have to wade out to my groin to get us off. With Ding & Tel in the dingy, both hanging on for dear life to their treasured possessions........the quadcopter and the rifle...........in fact the water was quite warm, i was surprised, lovely for a swim !!!!
We got back on board with a struggle, started the anchor windlass & we're off....................next stop Tanner Bay.........for the night. On the way past Kekertaluk Island, we saw our 2nd Polar bear, a far better shot this time as he was in the rocks on the headland
Wind had been reasonably strong most of the afternoon, still blowing 20 / 25 knots when we anchored in Tanner bay.
We awoke at 03:00 to howling winds, we had to move fast.............anchor up and away.
As we motored out the wind veered and came more on our nose , AGAIN.
3/10 sea ice ahead...................we decide to pull into the upper anchorage in Cape Hooper (a cracking spot with old buldings left over from the early warning station that is still here, but abandoned and ring Fred on the satphone for updated ice info. The Canadian government have erected an emergency hut for anyone caught out up her. Probably originally for the staff at the station, it has been left for the Inuit hunters in winter. It has cctv and an alarm that rings, when someone enters, no doubt somewhere in a non-descript government office to set the wheels in motion for a rescue !!!!!!
We all had a kip for a few hours. The news back from Fred, don't go west / inshore, stay out and go around the pack ice and head North for Clyde River.........and , by the way a gale warning has been posted for 35 to 45 knot winds in our area, luckily further North .................joy !!!!
Fred informs us to head east and sail around the sea ice, it 's still choked near the islands in Home Bay. 11:00 off we go..................well, that was a faily short trip !!!. By 15:30 we were back in the same anchorage, Cape Hooper.
The ice was, to say the least choked up, we took 4 hours to do a few miles, wandering up and down the ribbon lines of sea ice trying to find a way through...................smashing our way through at times......literally. We eventually admitted defeat and tunrned back. We will try again tomorrow if the ice charts from Fred are more favourable.
Early start to Okoa Fjord. Some splendid icebergs on the way............sea ice...
Arrive in the fjord and are met by a local fishing boat with a family in it.
They are very family orientated and do tend to do lots of things together, as a family unit. Louis in the hotel was telling us how they adopt each others children, it's not like in the West, if a family member has a baby and does'nt want to or can't really look after it at that point in time, another family member will adopt it.
However, they will be expected to have a child back from the adoptee at some time in the future. So, basically the entire settlement is one extended family. The adopted child knows all about it, who his / her parents are.............it's all cool. Obviuosly a historical thing to maintain the group numbers, in a harsh environment. Now they have the fastest growing birth rate / capita in Canada. All interesting stuff.
We get within 1.5 miles of the glacier snout and the weather worsens , so we decide to anchor just off an alluvial fan of largish boulders with a stream running down. The rain increases overnight, at 01:00 on the 9thAug, i heard the anchor chain pull..............then a while later lots of rushing water alongside the boat.........at first (second time , i thought a boat was going past) i thought we had pulled the anchor and were by the stream.............i got back in bed...............more rushing water......now Steve and i are both up..................it's water bubbling up from below........... the boulders below are moving with the force of the water. There is also a large section of ice above us on the mountainside.........if that avalances.................we're in big trouble. We are also concerned the anchor might be fouled by a boulder and decide to move sharpish !!!
so, of to Nedlukseak Island for some shelter, we have no wind at present but the "gribs" show possibly 15 knot winds this afternoon.
All fine when we get ther and anchor up..........then DOH the windlass goes again. We set the anchor and strip the windlass. This time we araldite the darn thing in.
So, now for some R&R, we get the dingy out and decide a run to shore will be good. Ding gets his quadcopter ready andTel his rifle. Off we go, Steve goes for a sleep. We land fine, tie the dingy to a boulder and look for a flatish spot for Ding to try the quadcopter.
Tel lets fly with the rifle.................GAWD.............what a bang..........shot an iceberg to bits !!!!!! ha ha ha
I took a few photos of the boat from the shore, when i suddenly realised the wind was picking up............streuth the boats pulling her anchor !!!!......................Steve was soon up on deck.......literally within minutes the sea had picked up and we had a devil of a job launching the dingy......the waves were rolling in. I decided nothing for it i'll have to wade out to my groin to get us off. With Ding & Tel in the dingy, both hanging on for dear life to their treasured possessions........the quadcopter and the rifle...........in fact the water was quite warm, i was surprised, lovely for a swim !!!!
We got back on board with a struggle, started the anchor windlass & we're off....................next stop Tanner Bay.........for the night. On the way past Kekertaluk Island, we saw our 2nd Polar bear, a far better shot this time as he was in the rocks on the headland
Wind had been reasonably strong most of the afternoon, still blowing 20 / 25 knots when we anchored in Tanner bay.
We awoke at 03:00 to howling winds, we had to move fast.............anchor up and away.
As we motored out the wind veered and came more on our nose , AGAIN.
3/10 sea ice ahead...................we decide to pull into the upper anchorage in Cape Hooper (a cracking spot with old buldings left over from the early warning station that is still here, but abandoned and ring Fred on the satphone for updated ice info. The Canadian government have erected an emergency hut for anyone caught out up her. Probably originally for the staff at the station, it has been left for the Inuit hunters in winter. It has cctv and an alarm that rings, when someone enters, no doubt somewhere in a non-descript government office to set the wheels in motion for a rescue !!!!!!
We all had a kip for a few hours. The news back from Fred, don't go west / inshore, stay out and go around the pack ice and head North for Clyde River.........and , by the way a gale warning has been posted for 35 to 45 knot winds in our area, luckily further North .................joy !!!!
Fred informs us to head east and sail around the sea ice, it 's still choked near the islands in Home Bay. 11:00 off we go..................well, that was a faily short trip !!!. By 15:30 we were back in the same anchorage, Cape Hooper.
The ice was, to say the least choked up, we took 4 hours to do a few miles, wandering up and down the ribbon lines of sea ice trying to find a way through...................smashing our way through at times......literally. We eventually admitted defeat and tunrned back. We will try again tomorrow if the ice charts from Fred are more favourable.
Dings quadcopter............ initial flight.....just before it crashed
Whoops Scotties !!!
Entrance to the Okoa Fjord
Amazing intrusion on this island
Ice ramps on the side of the fjord
Steve looking for an anchorage
Arty Farty shot
More arty farty shots of the shore
SHARK !!!!!!!!!!
Eidelweiss ????
Polar bear on the rocks
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