As with all trips to the Artic or Antarctic regions they are often subject to change at very short notice.
We left Edmonton on the 23rd August with the smoke from the wildfires in British Colombia still blocking out the sun and made our way to the executive airport for what was originally expected to be our charter flight to Resolute Bay.
Due to the ice that had recently broken off the Greenland ice sheet the ship could not get into Resolute Bay so we had to fly to Pelly Bay another small Inuit community on Simpson Peninsula in the Gulf of Boothia.
As the airport at Pelly Bay is only a small one serving the small community of Inuits, the B737-200 of Canadian North only took us to Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories where the group of circa 100 was split in to two and we boarded 2 ATR72’s for the final leg to Pelly Bay (called “Kugaaruk” in the Inuit language)
Upon arrival in Pelly Bay, we all had to walk 1.5 miles to the harbour to board Zodiacs that took us to the ship. As soon as we stepped off the aircraft at Pelly Bay, the difference in the temperature was evident with a biting wind so the walk was welcome to keep us warm before we had our Artic jackets and trousers which were in our cabins on the ship.
The cabins are nice and comfortable and as we were upgraded to a two room cabin so happy days.
The ship left Pelly Bay whilst we were having our first dinner board and went north in to the Gulf of Boothia.