Headed to Gjoa Haven

Last night the ice charts showed us what we’ve all been waiting for; a solid lead in the ice had formed on the west side of the Sound.  This was just what we needed to make the big jump down to Gjoa Haven.  Two days before we’d dropped the hook in Pattinson Harbor, an incredibly beautiful and deep fjord-like indentation on the coast that ran east around four miles to a fresh water lake.  While here we had a chance to rest, observe caribou and even another polar bear this morning.  Even though the water was 31 degrees and the air 34, the tall, steep hills were showing more and more evidence of green undergrowth, a sure sign that we’ve been heading further south. 

Almost immediately out of the harbor we ran into what we hope is some of the last sheet ice, this rated at 3 – 4/10ths.  As the accompanying pictures show, we put Sefton and Chauncey up on the radar arch for the day from which they communicated with the pilothouse as to the best lead to take to head through this last bit of blockage.  As the 2^nd picture shows, these small openings which lead to the larger openings weren’t always obvious and several times we had to stop, push a pack of ice out of the way with a boat hook, or take advantage to the prop-wash and or bow thruster wash to clear our way out.  As I type this the larger lead is about five miles off and after that it “should” be clear for sometime to come.  Maybe Gjoa Haven in two more days, our first community of any size since we left Greenland.