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Davis Strait

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    • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin
      Day 18

      Davis Strait: Kangerlussuaq Bound

      August 15, 2022 ⋅ 🌧 43 °F

      “We’re homeward bound I hear them say …” ~~ From Goodbye Fare Thee Well Sea Shanties

      The above is the first line from the quote featured on today’s daily program. And indeed, we are homeward bound. We’ve left Baffin Bay and are in the Davis Strait now. Close to the shoreline of Greenland … getting close to our disembarkation in Kangerlussuaq tomorrow.

      Our day featured some lectures in the morning.

      Ken kicked things off with a presentation entitled “Ghosts of Cape Sabine” … an account of the disastrous Greeley Expedition of 1881 … filled with adventure, abandonment, and human tragedy. Then, Sam spoke to us about “Hoods, Beards, Rings, Harps and Walrus: Seals of the Arctic” … a review of the phocids (true seals) and otariids (eared seals) … only a few of which we saw on this voyage.

      The disembarkation briefing came right before lunch. We now have a general feel for tomorrow’s schedule. It’s good to see that we won’t be kicked off the ship bright and early. For the eagle-eyed readers who will notice a flight to Copenhagen … no worries, that’s not for us. This is the solution for those passengers who don’t have visas to enter the USA at Niagara Falls International Airport on the regular charter flight/bus transfer arrangements.

      We started out the afternoon with a session called “Baffin Bay Banter” … a time for shipmates to regale us with their own adventures. I considered participating by talking about either our polar bear encounters in Churchill; our brown bear encounters in Alaska; or our North Pole trip on 50 Let Pobedy. But the wifi wasn’t strong enough for me to download photos to accompany the words. Should we find ourselves on another Quark expedition, I will go prepared.

      Then we began what I would describe as “expedition-in-review” sessions.

      First up was a “Chocolate Bar and Bubbly with Photo Show” … designed to have us “admire” images taken by staff and guests these past two weeks. A few hours later, we had the Captain’s Cocktail Party … for final cheers.

      Our post-dinner get together featured a slideshow … a look-back on our journey. Dave did a great job. That said, I have a bone to pick with our shipmates. Namely that participation in the photo journal on this expedition was abysmal. I checked the laptops set aside for sharing purposes — a PC and a MAC — every few days to upload my contribution of 5-6 photos Dave had asked us to share. Rarely was there more than a few others in the folder. While it was fun to see my photos in the slideshow, it was a shame there weren’t more from others as such sharing gives everyone a different perspective.

      (Speaking of the photo journal … in the past, we’ve received this information on a CD. This time, everything, including daily programs, lectures, photos, etc., will be uploaded online for us to download … in about 4-6 weeks we were told.)

      Thus we’ve officially wrapped up the expedition. Our bags are packed and ready to be put outside the door tomorrow morning. One more sleep left on the Ultramarine.      Read more

    • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin
      1
      Day 8

      There Be Whales!

      August 5, 2022 ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

      As the ship was positioning from Ilulissat to the nearby ice for our zodiac cruise, Mui and I spotted two humpback whales feeding near some bergs. They were too far away to photograph, so we enjoyed the sighting with our binoculars until they disappeared.

      Little did I know then that we’d have a another encounter with whales on the way back to the ship after Fabrice called time on our cruise. I don’t know if they were the same whales, but once again there were two of them. And this time they were close … like right by the zodiac close.

      Needless to say, we did take the time to enjoy their company until they disappeared into the depths of the sea once again.

      What a great way to wrap up our day in and around Ilulissat.      Read more

    • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin
      211
      Day 8

      Ilulissat Ice Cruising

      August 5, 2022 ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

      Back onboard after our trek in Ilulissat, we grabbed a quick bite to eat in the dining room while Ultramarine repositioned for our afternoon zodiac cruise amongst the ice.

      There is simply too much ice in the Icefjord to safely cruise there. No problem, however, cruising around the bergs that have left the fjord to begin their journey to wherever the currents take them. Some of these bergs, which head into the North Atlantic eventually, have been observed as far as 2,000 miles away from their place of birth.

      Fabrice, who is one of our biologists on this expedition, took us on a fantastic cruise around the ice. His years of experience in the polar regions allowed him to go where others might not have dared. He knew how to read the ice, staying away from some of the bergs and approaching others … always at a safe distance. In fact, one of the bergs he said we should only appreciate from a distance gave us a good sized calving when one side fell completely apart.

      The group size for zodiac cruises are kept to 8 passengers or less. On this cruise, however, we had one extra person … Dave, our expedition photographer. Thanks to him, we have a wonderful memory-shot by which to forever remember this outing.      Read more

    • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin
      2
      Day 7

      Disko Bay: Ice Baby Ice

      August 4, 2022 ⋅ 🌧 45 °F

      Our morning at sea promised sightings of ice. After all, to get to Eqip Sermia, our planned destination for today, we had to sail through Disko Bugt (in Greenlandic … Qeqertarsuup tunua) … where big bergs and small chunks of ice can clog the waters. This southern inlet of Baffin Bay, located north of the Arctic Circle, is the largest open bay in western Greenland.

      Today, the waters were not nearly as clogged with Mother Nature’s ice sculptures as they had been on our trip in 2013. There were growlers, bergy bits, and icebergs in all shapes and sizes … with plenty of water to negotiate a route amongst them.

      Mui and I spent the majority of the morning bundled up, wandering the outside decks. Going up … going down. Going forward … going aft.

      Such majesty our eyes beheld!      Read more

    • TravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
      3
      Day 4

      Night Time Boat Trip

      June 23, 2023 ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

      The evening excursion on Lisa, our faithful boat that kept us safe, was at 10pm until 1am and though in Britain that is at night, you can see that it is still very much day time here.

      The aim was the same as before, though we headed north out of the harbour this time. In this direction the icebergs were less densly packed, but it was thought that by going this way there may be more chance of seeing a whale.

      The evening light was lovely, being extremely yellow/gold. This might be due to the contrast between the iceberg white and the deep blue of the sea.

      As you can see, the nature of the photos here is different than this morning and although it had been cluttered, I felt that the morning cruise provided more of a photographic opportunity. I still got some photos however, but we didn't get to see a whale. 😓

      Overall then, an enjoyable time with no scary moments. 😂      Read more

    • TravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
      Day 5

      The Whale

      June 24, 2023 ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

      We were speeding through the water back to Illulisatt and were now in open water. We were all chatting, as you do, then all of a sudden the boat slowed down and we then heard the skipper had spotted a whale, so we grabbed our cameras.

      In no time I saw it, we all did of course, then it disappeared. You would think it would submerge and reappear a bit further on, but that's not how it worked. The whale would dive but would then reappear at some completely random location nowhere near where you thought it would be. The whale was feeding, so when it dived it swam around finding food and then it would surface., which made it really hard to take photographs, but I must say that it was extremely exciting. At one point the whale surfaced only a few metres from our boat, so close you could smell it. On another occasion we watched it swim under our boat.

      I got three photos on the phone but you'll need to look hard to see any detail. The short video is best but I sort of messed up at the end so missed the whale's tail rising out of the water. You can certainly hear the shutters clicking though. My phone photos aren't brilliant but at least they are a record of the event. I have much better photos taken on the big camera, not all that many but a lot better, so I'll show them to you after I get home.

      Jeroen, one of our group leaders, got some great images using his drone. The last two photos are his. If you are on Instagram he is @jvn.photo      Read more

    • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin
      Day 9

      Crossing the Davis Strait

      August 6, 2022 ⋅ ⛅ 39 °F

      On arrival in Sisimiut, Ultramarine’s Master had docked with the ship’s bow facing out to the sea. Thus, when the time came to leave our berth, it was just a matter of letting the lines go. And off we went into the fog … with blue skies giving us hope that the heavy mist might burn off in time.

      It wasn’t meant to be. Within a short while, the fog was as thick as could be. No hope of seeing anything — wildlife or otherwise. In other words, a good time to rest up a bit.

      When we went down to the Ambassadors Theater later for the daily recap and briefing, there was one big question on our minds. Where are we going? OK, two questions. When will we get there being the second one.

      Christian, our Expedition Leader, was ready with ice, wind, and sea charts. He didn’t have to say much. The ice in the south and middle coast of Baffin Island was still problematic. So, instead of a short crossing due west and then north along the coast of Baffin, we’d be taking a longer route, heading north and around the ice … fingers crossed.

      The sea and wind conditions are expected to be kind to us. If that holds true, we should be where we want to go early on the 8th. That means we’ll have a day at sea tomorrow before we begin “expeditioning” anew.      Read more

    • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin
      Day 7

      Our Fourth Bear

      August 4, 2022 ⋅ 🌧 46 °F

      Is it just me or is there a polar bear behind the iceberg playing peek-a-boo with us?

      You see it too, don’t you? No? Take a look at the left edge of the photo where the bear’s cone-shaped snout is peeking out.

      ☺️🙃🤪      Read more

    • GROSUD 2023
      Day 14

      Aufbruch aus Tasermiut

      August 23, 2023 ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

      Irgendwann ist auch das schönste camp vorüber... Um 7 wecken uns die ersten Regentropfen. Nun ist das Sonnen Wetter durch...
      Eigentlich hätte es noch eine kleine Wanderung geben sollen, denn die nächste Gruppe und damit auch unser Zodiac kommen erst ca 13 uhr.

      Es schauert nun gelegentlich.
      Aber beim packen und Zelt herrichten bleibt es noch mild und trocken.

      Erst nach der Suppe um 11 kommt mehr Regen auf... Ohje. Heute müssen wir ca 1,5 Stunden auf's Wasser, das wird SCHATTIG. hoffentlich kommt mir die asiatische Nudel Suppe nicht wieder hoch...

      Ziel heute: der Ort mit dem gelben Hostel ohne Dusche, wo im Hafenbecken der Rentier Kopf im Wasser gelagert ist.

      Plan für den Nachmittag: nix!! Juhu, ein Ruhetag. Wir werden uns bestimmt im Supermarkt ne Pizza, Nudel Suppe oder SALAT holen, Socken lüften und den Waschlappen kreisen lassen 😉😉

      Zumindest brauchen wir jetzt nicht mehr mit kackbeutel in die Büsche gehen. War aber auch kein Drama 🇬🇱🇬🇱      Read more

      See translation
    • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin
      Day 6

      Our Plans Change!

      August 3, 2022 ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

      An expedition in remote areas of the world has one essential component … flexibility. That came in to play this afternoon.

      Our community visit to Maniitsoq this afternoon has been canceled. So has tomorrow’s call on Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. There is a front moving in that is going to make it quite unpleasant to stick around this part of Greenland.

      Make the crossing to Baffin now, you say? No can do. In fact, we’ll likely have to scrap southern Baffin altogether. The problem with that part of the itinerary is ice. Yes, the ship can operate in 3/10ths to 4/10ths ice. But there is too much of it in the area that we are supposed to explore in a few days’ time. The ice chart Christian, our Expedition Leader, shared with us at the briefing this afternoon shows 7/10ths to 9/10ths coverage.

      Another reason we have to stick around Greenland and wait for the front to blow out is fuel. There are only two places around here where we can top off Ultramarine’s tanks — Nuuk and Sisimiut. While we are OK fuel-wise, the top-off is needed to finish out Quark’s Arctic Canada season.

      So, what’s the plan? We’re going to head north along the Greenland coast to Eqip Sermia up in the Disko Bay Area. We hiked at Eqip Sermia in 2013, so we’re familiar with where we are going. From the image we’ve been shown, however, a different route is planned this time.

      Yup … flexibility is definitely the name of the game.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Davis Strait, Davis Stræde, Davisstrædet, Détroit de Davis

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