Gjoa Haven
An ArcticQuest 1831 news item
Written by Dom Mee
- 7 Aug 2003
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Well I am pleased to say that I have finally arrived at the Inuit settlement of Gjoa Haven in the high Arctic.
The weather is very unsettled with high winds and heavy rain, the mean air temperature hangs at around 5°, I have received a warm welcome from the Inuit people and I am delighted to say that my equipment has also arrived safe and sound thanks to Mike Patterson from Livingston International (AFF).
I am awaiting my trip flares and charts which will arrive later this week. I have been kept busy preparing the boat IDS International and all of my equipment for the voyage. The ice has cleared around the coast from Gjoa Haven, but the current high winds make a passage within the next few days impossible.
I will be ready to leave on Friday or Saturday so hopefully the weather will improve. I am again at the mercy of the weather so no change there! This whole area is rich in exploration history and I will be meeting with the elders of the settlement to hear their stories of encounters with explorers both past and present.
The landscape resembles that of a lunar landscape I can see why NASA use this area for Astronaut training. Everyone here travels around on quad bikes and many of the Inuit are out on the Tundra hunting for Caribou, musk ox and Polar bear.
Well everything is going according to plan I am making up for the lost time in Edmonton so all being well I will be on my way by the weekend.