Northwest Passage – Day 9 on the ship – Low Point & Adams Island

Our next high point was a Zodiac ride to Low Point, on Baffin Island, a little further north than Pond Inlet our destination yesterday. To ease congestion on the various land and sea trips we had been divided into four groups to leave the vessel, which were all named after ships. 

Our group was the MS Fram, a ship launched in 1892 and used in Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, one familiar name being Roald Amundsen. Other groups were the Gjoa (1872), the first vessel to pass through the Northwest Passage taking three years to complete; the St Roch (1928), a Royal Canadian Mounted Police schooner, the first ship to fully circumnavigate North America and the second to successfully pass through the Northwest Passage; and Maud, named after Queen Maud of Norway launched in 1916 and built for Roald Amundsen’s second exploration of the Arctic.

On this occasion, however, to cater for passengers’ stamina, aching muscles or preferences, we were divided into the ‘chargers’, those delighting in running up the peaks; the ‘medium fasts’, the not so energetic, but liking a fast walk; the ‘medium slows’ (just my cup of tea, although no tea provided on this occasion); and the ‘contemplatives’, a polite term for the plodders.

Being in the ‘medium slows’ I did at least get the chance to take some photos of what I was trying not to step on – the plants and attractive-looking rocks and stones. But we were also looking at history.

Our other historian and Polar expert was Scottish-born Laurie Dexter who served for 13 years as an Anglican Minister in the Diocese of the Arctic, the most northerly parish in the world. During this time he learned to speak fluently the Inuit language (Inuktitut) – a most complex of languages. He has since travelled the Polar regions hundreds of times and taken part in extreme sports.

Our two hour hike, which was a little rocky under foot, but a gentler climb compared with our previous exhausting experiences, enabled us to appreciate just what we were walking around. Laurie pointed out that the rings of rocks around us did not arrive naturally, but were the bases of cool places (literally) for storing the meat hunted by the Dorset or Thule people.

As he took us higher up the landscape we staggered over loose and shifting rocks to view inside mounds of stones, pyramidal in shape, about four feet high with an open top. These were fox traps, or rock cairns, in which pieces of meat would be placed as bait. When the fox came sniffing it would enter the cairn at the top opening, get its prey, but would not be able to get out again. Ingenious, but not for the squeamish.

There were several more rock outlines nearer to the shore indicating that these could have been houses or other buildings. 

As if this wasn’t enough excitement, in the afternoon we went looking for icebergs passing the tiny Adam’s Island, off Baffin and Bylot Islands. On the map above, this is located by a tiny dot in the channel to the left of Cape Hay, near point 10.

Adam’s Island lies in the Lancaster Sound where Franklin’s ships would have passed on their way through the Northwest Passage. The island is uninhabited, but small rock cairns on the top of the rocks showed that human life had clambered onto it. From this point we sailed around some beautiful and huge icebergs.

When we returned to the ship we had the greatest sighting of Orcas (Killer Whales) which swam alongside us for at least an hour and comprised an estimated 40-50 Orcas. 

But our day was not to end there. We had asked if we could meet with the Captain during our voyage. Due to Covid, passengers were not allowed on the Bridge so we were unable to visit him in situ. The Expedition Team did not disappoint, however. The Captain came to see us. 

Ah, of course this was my opportunity to ask… is it a ship or a boat? “IT’S A SHIP!”, he bellowed as he pointed to the four gold stripes on the epaulettes of each shoulder, indicating he is of the highest rank of a cruise ship. “A ship can carry a boat, but a boat cannot carry a ship!”, he added. 

Well I had heard that before and I had done my research which didn’t really give me the definitive answer. I was expecting something in more detail than the boat-on-ship description, hence my questioning. Now I know that our world-circumnavigating sailing friends Nicole and Jeremy (who also read these words and I am sure will be sailing at this point) would be able to enlighten me, but in stepped our Aussie friend Eric (who we first met in Vietnam many years ago) who sent me a WhatsApp mid-sailing to put me out of my misery. So I share his words of clarification:

Eric advised: “Ships are big. Boats are little. In the old days, any vessel over three masts was a ship. A boat becomes a ship after it exceeds 197 feet in length.

“With me so far? Then I shall add some more…

“A ship has a commander [or in our case a captain] and crew. But beware. Explanation from an old pusser [naval slang for purser] will leave you bewildered. To explain, they call a submarine a boat, although it has a commander and crew and is flat bottomed. Then there is a landing ‘ship’ with a flat bottom.

“Get my drift? Good. Then I will give another example. President Kennedy’s WW2 craft, the PT109, was a boat. That had a commander and crew and a pointed hull. 

“So I hope that has made it clear, and you are not still at sea – pardon the pun… well, hmmm, I hope you are still at sea!”

Thanks Eric, that has cleared it up nicely!

If truth be known I was actually seeking a photo opportunity with the Captain and Ted in his new Franklin outfit his mummy had made him specially for the trip. I am pleased to say the Captain did not disappoint.

Copyright: Words and photos 2022 Sue Barnard