From the Bellot Straight we headed north and at 6am arrived at Prince Leopold Island. This is a roughly circular island of 68 km2. A plateau surrounded by steep cliffs of 250m. It is an important bird sanctuary and home to 155,000 mating pairs of various species. This makes it one of the most important locations for breeding marine birds in the Canadian Arctic. Unfortunately, when we arrived the island was shrouded in mist. We heard many birds but could only see a few.
Later in the day we got to Beechey Island. Scene of many important historical events in the story of opening of the NWP. HMS Terror and HMS Erebus overwintered here. Three of Franklin’s ill-fated 1845 expedition have their graves here. Fresh snow and a stiff, chilly breeze gave the place a properly arctic feel. Diane was ship-bound with her broken arm. Far too dangerous for her to try and get in and out of a RHIB. I managed to get ashore for an hour or so.
Here we also encountered a lovely motor yacht called “Senses”. At 59m long this classy vessel can accommodate a dozen guests in six cabins. It has a crew of thirteen and many toys including jet skis and a helicopter. Charters start at $360,000 per week.
In the evening, we were at Radstock Bay. There was too much wind for a landing so instead we cruised right up into the fjord. The inlet splits into two and each arm has a glacier calving into it. We also saw another polar bear. I don’t think I will ever tire of encounters with these magnificent bears. This time I even managed to get a couple of half decent photographs.
