Ragged Island Milne Inlet
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72.30n 80.00w Air Temp 4c Sea Temp 4c Yesterday was very wet and dreary ..The guests went ashore in Pond for a walk around town and a visit to the Community center where there was a short lecture from an Inuit Parks Canada Ranger on this region. While this was going on the crew re-provisioned the boat from the local COOP. With guests back and the boat fully loaded we headed out for a short trip in clearing weather to Milne Inlet. As it was late in the day we decided to anchor at Ragged Island by the entrance. It was a beautiful evening until the fog rolled in at 0200. Plan to hike today over a ridge to see Narwhales and then move down the inlet this afternoon. That is a ship behind us. an Ice Breaking bulk carrier that takes Iron ore from here straight to Germany from the Mary River Mine
Rosehearty’s hot tub now serves as our vegetable locker.
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There is no shortage of free ice to be had. We are entertained by icing our evening cocktails with clear/hard ice that may be 10,000 years old; when thus immersed it audibly pops and fizzes as it releases ancient compressed gases.
Kangia Glacier outflow meets the sea as icebergs
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It’s very difficult for mere mortals to estimate the scale/size of icebergs but Capt. Patrick Toomey, our esteemed Ice Master, opines that a couple of these would handily exceed a million tons. He also reminds us that the rule of thumb is one seventh of the ice is visible, with the far greater balance underwater.
Face of Eqip Serma
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The vertical face of the glacier is 200 meters…..think of it as two American football fields end-to-end
Pond Inlet
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73n 078w Air temp 4c Sea Temp 6c Rain We arrived in Pond on the 1st August at 10.00. We anchored right off the beach in as close as we could as the Bergs whip by in the deep water at 2 knots. But they are too deep to get in to us and ground to seaward of us. We have had a few little ones pass us about 50m off. Gets your attention. Our trip over was very easy. Guests attended lectures on the Arctic and caught up on work. The winds were light from the North and then the South. The sun did not even get close to the horizon.. We had Fog most of the way but for the last evening. We have now re cleared back into Canada and expect to pick up our provisions for the next 10 days today.
Chopper to Eqip Serma Glacier
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Having been by small boat the day before, we revisited the glacier by Helicopter.
Humpback at the Mouth of Kangia Glacier
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These bergs were about 15 minutes by Zodiac from our Ilulissat anchorage. This was taken at 11:30 PM, here in the land of the midnight sun.
Kangia Glacier UNESCO World Heritage Site
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We paid several visits to Kangia, the glacier that produced the massive icebergs not far from our anchorage. The sound of the bergs grinding into each other in the tide is unforgettable….ice talking.
Fwd: Kangia Glacier
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We’ve been anchored off the harbor in the upper left hand corner of this map of glacial retreat. Look at the dates…and understand how fast this and other glaciers are now melting back.
