CROCKER BAY AND THE CUNNINGHAM GLACIER – August 19, 2014

This afternoon there was a zodiac tour around the face of the glacier and the icebergs in the area. Twelve of the LCT group got on the same zodiac and off they went. We waited for the other people in the group and left a little later. Today it was COLD, the wind picked up and coming off that ice it was the first time I felt cold. Our smaller group had an expedition leader named Peter. He is full of information and will be on the Sumo trip as well. In fact quite a few of the team will be on Sumo so it is nice to know some of them from the start.

This afternoon we entered the Prince Regent inlet on our way to the Bellot Strait where we will need our ice breaker to get through the strait and through the heavy ice to open water. The Prince Regent Inlet was also blocked at one point but broke up enough for us to get through on our own and the Radisson will join us tomorrow at noon. During the night we heard a lot of bumping and grinding as we started through the ice. Many were up at 5.00 am in the observation lounge watch as the ship slowly navigated the ice. At one point the ship went up to the ice and then stopped and back up and changed direction. Guess that piece was a “NO GO”.

WHALES AND POLAR BEARS- 8.00 am
Stefan the expedition leader announced there were Bow Head whales in front of the ship. Ken and I decided we need to get up and go look and slowly stared to get ready. Hard to get out of that warm bed. Then another announcement we have spotted our first polar bears and the course was changed to go the Polar Bears. Now THAT news got us into warp speed.

What a thrill we had in store. A mother bear and a cub on the ice. The bear kept coming closer and closer with the little one in the rear. The cub imitated almost every movement of the mother. It was an adorable sight. She was sniffing the air and smelling us and was obviously curious. At one point she growled at us. The bears came right to the ice edge and extremely close to the ship. Impossible to give an exact figure but probably about 50 feet. No need for binoculars. The cameras were clicking and the opened the lower deck in the front of the ship. I managed a perfect spot. I knelt down and looked through the railings. All the cameras could shoot over my head. It was a fantastic sighting. I thought the mother was going to go into the water but she did not. It was so cold that after a while almost everyone had to come inside and the bear started walking back to the middle of the ice. The staff went to see, everyone it seemed was on the decks. Smiles all around this morning.

We anchored at the entrance to Bellot Straits. This is very narrow Strait leading into Peel Sound which is still 9/10ths blocked at the last report. There are treacherous currents and a lot of ice in the Bellow Strait so we hope that the Radisson decides it is a go for us to proceed. The helicopter was sent to check out the conditions and flew over the ship. Again the cameras were clicking away. Now we are waiting for the assessment of the situation from the Radisson. We started a sheet to guess the time of the next landing. The choices ranged from tomorrow the 21st all the way to the 25th. This is truly an adventure no one knows for sure what will happen next. There is an old Hudson Bay Trading Post abandoned site at the entrance to the strait. If we cannot go through today we will do a landing here this afternoon.
Lots of card playing, polar bear picture comparing and FISH trivia at afternoon tea. The expedition team take turns with trivia all about their particular area of expertise. The expedition team have really grown on us. Most have a good sense of humor with a couple of standouts who will be on the ship for Sumo. I find I can settle into the lazy sea day routines very easily.
We just heard the official word. After two flights from the helicopter it was decided they could not do safe passage today. So we both the Radisson and Silver Explorer stay anchored for the night and we will see what the conditions will be tomorrow.


















Hudson Bay Company outpost.