Ultimate Northwest Passage

Kangerlussuaq marks the beginning of your Arctic voyage as you arrive into the airport of this town at the head of a fjord. The area is home to a range of wildlife, including muskoxen, gyrfalcons and caribou that you may spot as you make your way to the vessel to set sail on your expedition. 

As the most northerly town in Greenland to have a port that remains free of ice in winter, Sisimiut is rapidly growing, with commercial fishing bolstering the economy and leading to the town boasting the largest business center in the north of the country. This modern side to the town is balanced with a more conventional side in the traditional dog sled which is still a commonly used form of transport, thanks to the snow and ice that cover the town in winter and spring.

The very name of Ilulissat is a hint to its cool climate and icy waters, meaning ‘Icebergs’ in the local Kalaallisut language, with the Ilulissat icefjord producing nearly 20 million tons of ice every day. With 4,500 residents, Ilulissat is the third-largest town in Greenland and is home to almost as many sled dogs, a necessity in the cold climate. As you explore the town you may like to visit the local history museum which is housed in the former home of Knud Rasmussen, a renowned polar explorer and folk hero.

Today you make a visit to Uummannaq in Greenland. This isolated community depends on fishing and the local fish-processing factory for their livelihood and as you travel around the town you will see signs of this industry, as well as a granite church and the country’s northernmost ferry terminal. The village lies at the foot of the Uummannaq Mountain, a heart-shaped basalt landmark whose name translates as ‘in the shape of a seal’s heart’.

This morning you’re greeted by the mesmerising emptiness of the Davis Strait as the ship makes its way from Greenland to Canada. A full day at sea is an opportunity to relax, trawl through your photos and attend presentations given by the onboard experts who will discuss the wildlife, history and geology of the coming destinations. As you’re traveling through an important migration corridor, keep your eyes peeled for any birds and whales that may cross your path.

This Arctic seascape lies in Baffin Bay, a striking chain of islands that reaches from Melville Bay to Kiatassuaq and includes Meteorite Island, home to one of the world’s largest iron meteorites. Attracted by the meteorite’s iron, migrating Inuit settled here in Savissivik and used the metal in their tools and harpoons. As you sail through these frozen waters you may see the instantly recognisable blue-white icebergs that drift across the sea, their mass steadily shrinking as the earth warms.

Lying in the north of Baffin Island, Pond Inlet is a small Inuit community that was named after by English astronomer John Pond in 1818 by the explorer John Ross. Now a thriving town of 1,500 residents, Pond Inlet is considered to be one of Canada’s ‘Jewels of the North’ due in part to its spellbinding glaciers and towering mountain ranges. The region’s history can be charted back to the ancient Dorset and Thule people with a number of archaeological sites nearby, while the Inuit hunted the seals, polar bears, walrus and narwhals here before the European and American whalers arrive to trade in bowhead whales. As you explore the town you may like to visit the art galleries where the traditional printmaking and stone carving of the Inuit can be found. 

Canada’s sixth largest island, Devon Island was first sighted by Robert Bylot and William Baffin in 1616 but didn’t make an appearance on maps until 1820 when William Edward Parry named it after Devon, England. In the local Inuktitut language it is called Talluruti, or ‘a woman’s chin with tattoos on it’, a name inspired by the deep crevasses that cover the island and are reminiscent of facial tattoos. Landing at Dundas Harbour you will visit the remains of a Thule settlement that dates back to 1000 AD and includes middens, graves and tent rings, while a more recent addition is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police outpost. Established in 1924 to monitor foreign whaling and other illegal activities, the site was abandoned in 1933 after the severe conditions and isolation proved too inhospitable. It was permanently closed in 1951.

Separated from Devon Island by the Barrow Strait, the two were discovered at the same time by Captain William Edward Parry, though Beechey Island was named by his lieutenant Frederick William Beechey for his father, the artist William Beechey. Though small, this island has played a key role in a number of Arctic explorations, most notably as a camp for Sir John Franklin’s tragic expedition to find the Northwest Passage. The remains of three of the crew were found on the island, a hint as to the events of that ill-fated journey. It was used as a base in 1850 by Edward Belcher as he surveyed the area and again in 1903 by Roald Amundsen on his successful journey to the Northwest Passage. It has since been declared a Territorial Historic Site in recognition of this illustrious history of Arctic exploration.

With another landing on Devon Island, this time at Radstock Bay, your visit today takes in the incredible variety so representative of the Arctic, with Thule settlements, ancient fossils and exceptional birdlife. While the island was first mapped by the British in 1820, it had long been home to the Thule people and evidence of their settlement can be seen in the garmat homes, crafted from rocks, sod and whale bones, with skin roofs. Beautiful fossils of corals, nautiloids and crinoids can also be seen, while across the waters of Lancaster Sound lies Prince Leopold Island, a Canadian Bird Terrestrial Habitat. This federally listed migratory bird sanctuary boasts large colonies of thick-billed murres, Northern fulmars and black-legged kittiwakes.

You have a day at sea as the ship travels along Peel Sound, a vast channel that separates Prince of Wales Island from Somerset Island. Named by the explorer, Vice Admiral Horatio Austin as a tribute to Sir Robert Peel, the waterway has seen its fair share of Arctic expeditions. Sir John Franklin sailed through the strait in 1846, only to find his ships icebound shortly after, while Francis Leopold McClintock and Allen Young both found their route through the Peel Sound blocked by ice.

As you chart a course through the Northwest Passage, you’ll come to Gjoa Haven, a tiny hamlet in Nunavut. Located above the Arctic Circle in the Kitikmeot Region, it is the only settlement on King William Island and honours Roald Amundsen who spent the winter here with his boat, the Gjoa, and called it ‘the finest little harbor in the world’.

Nome’s history is rather more illustrious and far-reaching than its name would suggest – a spelling error resulted in the British Admiralty christening it ‘Cape Nome, having mistaken ‘? Name’ for ‘C. Nome’. Despite this somewhat ignominious moniker, the town has a history dating back 10,000 years to the Inupiaq Eskimo, though its fame arrived in 1898 when Jafet Lindberg, Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson, the so-called ‘Three Lucky Swedes’, struck gold in Anvil Creek and started a gold rush that saw the population balloon to 28,000. Now home to just over 3,500, the town retains much of the architecture from this gold rush era. Your voyage draws to a close here, with a chance to say your goodbyes before disembarking the ship and continuing on your journey.